Coping with Afghan and Chechen syndrome

Psychologists describe it as post-traumatic stress disorder—when the human mind struggles to cope with the aftermath of war. Others simply call it Afghan or Chechen syndrome.

Clinically, it refers to a series of psycho-pathological experiences whereby the mind attempts to erase the memory of past stress-inducing events, keeping the victim in a state of anxiety for months and sometimes years.

This photo-story tells about the wartime lives of Russian soldiers and their subsequent adaptation to civilian life.

Vladimir Kravchenko

1985-1987

Afghanistan (Ghazni Province)

Artem ProtsyukWe were in a tank and rode over a landmine. The turret was blown about six meters up into the air. The gunner was lying at the bottom of the vehicle, and I was caught between the hatches under what was left of the turret. Miraculously everyone survived.

Back home, I hit the vodka. I was on the bottle for ten years.

Without my new family and job I wouldn’t have got through it. They pulled me out of the hole.