There are currently estimated to be 1,500 Russians in Afghanistan, which in this article refers not only to ethnic

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

, but also to any citizens of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, due to cooperation between the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, there were roughly 10,000

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

expatriate engineers, interpreters, construction workers, and other similar professionals living in the country, a figure which had grown to 15,000 by the eve of the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...

in 1979. However, they mostly left the country during or after the war. There was also some Russian-language media, but it closed down during the period of

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

government in the late 1990s. Some Russians remained. A peculiar example of one is Noor Mohammad, previously named Sergei Yurevich Krasnoperov, who lives in Afghanistan and considers himself a proud Afghan. He fought in the

, before converting to Islam and deserting to the Mujahideen. After the war, he decided not to return to

. He now has a wife and 6 children in Afghanistan. In

Balkh Province Balkh (Dari: , ''Balx'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country. It is divided into 15 districts and has a population of about 1,509,183, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a Persian-speaking society. The c ...

, near the border with

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, there are also reported to be numerous Russian businessmen, who have established ventures in the food, transport, and tourism industries. There are also

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

with dual Russian and Israeli passports, who have been reported to be occasionally harassed by the local security forces following discovery of Israeli citizenship. Afghanistan does not recognise Israeli passports, although bribery is not uncommon. It was not immediately clear how the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 would affect the Russian community. On 19 October, 'Minnews' reported that the "Russian diaspora in Afghanistan have been little affected by the changes".

References

{{Ethnic groups in Afghanistan

Ethnic groups in Afghanistan Immigration to Afghanistan

See also

References