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Looking from inside.
Colonial empires started to
disintegrate after World War II. The biggest number of sovereign
states in Africa – 17 was proclaimed in
1960. This is why this year was declared the Year of Africa.
By the middle of the 1970s only one colonial empire – the Portuguese
remained at the continent. After the April revolution in Portugal
in1974 the events developed swiftly and the next year the colonial
power was forced to grant independence to its former colonies
including Angola.
The aim of SWAPO (South
West Africa People’s Organization, later SWAPO of Namibia) founded
in 1960 was to get independence for Namibia. Fighting wing of SWAPO
called People’s Liberation Army of
Namibia (PLAN in English abbreviation) was set up in 1962. First
combat clashes with the South-African troops took place in 1966.
Actually combat operations could be conducted in the Caprivi
Strip which was bordering on the friendly independent state of
Zambia. Also, in 1966 the United Nations annulled the South African
mandate on ruling Namibia. New possibilities were opened after
proclamation of the People’s Republic of Angola on November 11,
1975. For some time after Angola independence SWAPO maintained
neutral relations with the opposition group UNITA but after several
years they went drastically in different directions and became
enemies. The MPLA led Government of Angola allowed the creation of
the camps of Namibian refugees on the Angolan soil. In the context
of the Namibian struggle for independence sometimes the expressions
refugee camp and training center mean the same.
Jumbo training center was
opened at 15-16 km south-west of Lubango in January 1977. It was
located in a eucalyptus forest on the road to Humpata turning to the
right. In many African languages the word jumbo or a similar word
jamba means “elephant” or “big”. The group of Soviet military
advisers to SWAPO formed also in January 1977 and consisting of 16
officers including 6 interpreters took an active part in setting up
the center. Colonel Yuri Zaputryaev was its commander. Next year
another training center Tobias Hainyeko with the adjoining
Onkulumbashi camp was launched in the bush about 30 km north or
north-east of Lubango. Apparently in March-April 1978 the Soviet
advisers moved from Maconje Hotel run by the Cuban military to a
separately standing building at a walking distance from Maconje.
SWAPO Secretary for Defense Peter Nanyemba played an enormous role
in setting up these two important centers. In the Tobias Hainyeko
center he organized operative command headquarters which was a
strong underground bunker.
The author of the review
Mikhail Istomin arrived in the People's Republic of Angola on August
31, 1979 and stayed in the country until June 8, 1981. In the
framework of his duties he functioned as an interpreter of English,
Portuguese and Spanish. The first president of independent Angola
Agonstinho Neto passed away on September 10 immediately after
arrival of the author to Lubango. This was the reason of
considerable tension in the country and among the Soviet advisers.
Depending on the need of
the Angolan Armed Forces in advisers and technicians the USSR
Ministry of Defense dealt with the selection of personnel. The
interpreters were of two origins - military by profession and called
up to the army from the civilian life. The latter were called up as
lieutenants to the Armed Forces after graduating from the
Universities of Foreign Languages with military departments. Those
who before studying at the University had served in the military and
went to work say as teachers at school were called up as lieutenants
(senior lieutenants). The people who studied at the establishments
without military departments and had never served in the military
were proposed to travel abroad as military interpreters with the
“employee” status in the Armed Forces. It was not hard to recruit
English interpreters as in Angola there was not big need in them.
The interpreters who came to serve 2 or 3 years from the civilian
life were mainly lieutenants at the time of the mission and became
senior lieutenants of reserve after dismissal from the army.
Spanish and Portuguese are
kindred but different
languages which should be studied separately. Besides, at that time
in the USSR there were few Portuguese dictionaries,
manuals, grammars and literature
in general. In field conditions it was important to understand,
speak and translate but this was far from
the professional level. Here I mean the quality of the language
training after accelerated courses of the Portuguese language of
less than one year which was a typical case for the professional
military interpreters. Mixed Spano-Portuguese language of which we
can hear from some of the eyewitnesses just cannot exist.
Apparently it was a combination of words from these two languages.
Portuguese in Angola differs from Portuguese in Portugal and African
countries by specific words and accent (intonations).
It is interesting that before the departure
abroad the officers received new civilian clothes and footwear from
the warehouse of the Main Department of the General Staff of the
Armed Forces of the USSR in Moscow. After arrival from the USSR in
Luanda the Soviet officers were transported to the Soviet military
mission from where they were distributed by the military districts
and military units of the Angolan Armed Forces FAPLA. Foreign USSR
passports were withdrawn and instead the newly arrived received an
identification card in Portuguese with a photo and stamps of the
Consular Department of the USSR Embassy. The author of the review up
to now has a certificate with the number M-20 in which it is written
about the profession of the bearer «assessor soviético» (Soviet
adviser). For the Angolans it was a general expression for the
Soviet military. The author has not heard about flying from the USSR
to Angola and back on the planes of foreign companies. May be it was
later in the 1980s. Aeroflot planes could land in Budapest, Burgas,
Brazzaville and on the way back also in Lusaka. There might have
been other airports. From Luanda to Lubango and back Soviet military
and their families flew by military planes with the Soviet crews.
Military and political events
During
service of the author of the review in Lubango in 1979-1981 there
were two Chief Soviet military advisers in the People’s Republic of
Angola – Lieutenant-General Vasily Shakhnovich (1977-1980) and
Lieutenant-General Georgy Petrovsksy (1980-1982). At the same time
Colonel Nikolai Kurushkin was the head of
the Soviet military advisers to SWAPO in Lubango. He was also the
adviser to the SWAPO Secretary for Defense Peter Nanyemba. Colonel
Boris Perebillo was in charge of the group from 1982 through 1985.
He was substituted by Colonel Vladimir Shaida who functioned as the
commander until 1988. Soviet military advisers to SWAPO were
directly subordinated to the Chief Military Adviser in
Angola. Soviet military advisers to FAPLA (Angolan Armed Forces) of
the 5th Military District led by Colonel Vladimir
Shishkanov were also based in Lubango. He was also adviser to the
commander of the FAPLA 5th Military District. The heads
of both groups were in constant communication on the issues of
mutual interest.
It should be mentioned that
first Soviet advisers to the FAPLA 5th Military District
came to Lubango on October 26, 1976 only 3 months before the arrival
of the Soviet military advisers to SWAPO.
Such military forces were
located in the Lubango area:
-
FAPLA (People’s Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola) of the
5th Military District.
-
Regiment “South” of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba
-
Groups of Soviet military advisers to FAPLA and SWAPO
-
PLAN (People’s Liberation Army of Namibia). In the period
under consideration there existed such facilities of PLAN – Jumbo
Training Center, Tobias Hainyeko Training Center with Onkulumbashi
camp, military hospital in the town of Lubango not far away from the
Huila Provincial Hospital. It should be remembered that Namibian
mothers with small children and teenagers lived in a refugee camp in
the Province of Kwanza Sul. The author visited this camp among
coffee plants with a group of Soviet military doctors. The trip was
made through Luanda. Two doctors from the German Democratic Republic
rendered medical assistance to the Namibian refugees in this camp.
The Soviet military advisers to SWAPO included two advisers,
specialists (technicians) of different military specialties and
English interpreters. With few exceptions they were officers and
warrant-officers of the Soviet Armed Forces. The strength of the
group varied in the range 25-27 people with the wives being about
40-45 people.
Members
of the Communist Party and Young Communist League constituted
practically 100% of the group personnel. In the conditions of
Angola this did not have any sense at all and nobody was involved in
any party activities. I cannot remember if any communist party
meetings were held. The same can be said about the Young Communist
League.
Jumbo
Training Center had at its disposal heavy military equipment – 10
Soviet made tanks T-34, several Armored Personnel Carriers and
Combat Reconnaissance Patrol Vehicles. Namibian combatants were
taught to handle the hardware – to drive, to shoot and to maintain.
Infantrymen, artillerymen, sappers and miners, communication and
reconnaissance staff were trained at the Tobias Hainyeko Training
Center. Military nurses were trained at the military hospital in
Lubango. Preparation in all specialties was conducted in Russian
with translation into English and with additional translation into
Kwanyama, a language relating to the Ovambo language group. In
addition to teaching at the courses of military nurses the Soviet
doctors treated sick and wounded SWAPO combatants at the hospital as
well as at the camps.
The People's Liberation Army
of Namibia was first confronted by the South African Defense Force (SADF)
and South African Police (SAP) which from August 1, 1980 were
reorganized on the territory of Namibia into the South West Africa
Territorial Force (SWATF) and South West Africa Police (SWAPOL),
respectively. At the end of the 1970s the total strength of the
South African army in Namibia was reportedly as high as 60,000 men.
In the course of military actions some army battalions were
notorious – first of all the 32nd Battalion Buffalo (700
men mainly of Angolan origin) and 101
Battalion as well as the police force Koevoet (K.O.E.V.O.E.T)
translated from Afrikaans as “Crowbar” formed in June 1979.
The two last units consisted in 80% of the black Namibians from the
Ovambo tribe. As for the Koevoet its strength quickly grew to 3000
men. The first condition for enlisting was to know English or the
language of the Boers Afrikaans. The salary and other privileges
were so attractive that it was not easy to join the force even
knowing the required languages. On the other hand, SWAPO guerrillas
punished by death the Namibian traitors from Koevoet at the first
opportunity. There was good reason for such special treatment of
the countrymen by the SWAPO fighters – it is considered that 80% of
the losses in personnel were inflicted on the PLAN precisely by
Koevoet. Moreover, the balance of losses was considerably in favor
of the police formation. The strength of the South West Africa
Territorial Force quickly rose to 21,000 men. The above-mentioned
units were the shock force in fighting the PLAN guerrillas. It
should be clear that the local army and police in South West Africa
remained closely integrated into the corresponding structures of
South Africa. One can find on the Internet that the strength of the
People’s Liberation Army of Namibia by the end of the war in 1989
was as high as 32,000 men.
It should be mentioned that
about 11,000 people – SWAPO guerrillas, members of the security
forces and civilians died during the armed conflict from 1966 until
1989. The population of the country rose from 735,000 people in
1966 to 1,386,000 people in 1989. There were 1,057,000 people in
Namibia in 1980. The losses should be compared with the number of
the inhabitants apparently from 1978.
The original population of
the Huila Province is represented by the tribe Nhaneca-Humbe. The
group of Mwila-Mumhuila in it is known by the photos of semi-naked
women with traditional adornments. Nhaneca-Humber people were only
distant relatives to the Ovambo tribe constituting the bulk of SWAPO.
The Ovambo tribe specifically its groups of Kwanyama and Ndona
lived/live in Angola only at the extreme south. As to the tribal
composition of SWAPO one can also mention Herero, Nama and Damara.
The latter two use clicking languages like the Bushmen (San tribe).
The author of the review has not seen at the camps the Whites and
the Bushmen.
The PLAN men lived in the
tents (huts) or in dugouts. In winter time in June, July and August
at night the temperature could drop to zero. That is why warm cloths
and sleeping accessories were very important. In general one can
say that Lubango and its surroundings were very comfortable place
for life at the height of 1700 meters above sea level.
In the camps there was a
net of trenches for personnel and shelters for military hardware.
Such installations could considerably diminish the losses from the
air strikes and would be very useful to repulse land operations of
the enemy.
I
remember that in field conditions the Namibians cleaned their teeth
with twigs of certain bushes (trees) with the bark removed.
It is hard to say now many
Namibian fighters were based in the two camps simultaneously. May be
it was 2-3 thousand. According to the South African data in 1978 the
total PLAN strength was up to 16,000 men. These figures seem to be
too high. PLAN supplies with foodstuffs were very limited. Once
during one of the crisis the Commander Colonel Nikolai discussed
with Peter Nanyemba the possibility of hunting an elephant in the
bush to alleviate the problem. I do not remember how the situation
was solved. The Commander knew English, understood and spoke it, but
often used the services of an interpreter to have time to think,
especially at the official events. He could also correct the
translation.
During the week the Soviet
officers travelled for the service to one of the SWAPO camps and
returned home before lunch. It is interesting to note that each
morning at the officers’ meeting one of the interpreters presented
political information including on the news of the South African
radio. Especially impressive it was on June 8, 1980, the next day
after the South African air raid on the Jumbo Training Center. It is
surprising for a Soviet man not to recall if there was a Commander’s
Deputy on political matters in the group.
The author of the review
contacted with the Cubans in the canteen of the Maconje Hotel. I
remember there was a sergeant called by the Russians “Kussa” because
it was impossible for him to pronounce the Russian word “kushat” (to
eat) because of the “sh” sound. I was also involved in the
translation of discussions between the group Commander as well as
the Chief of Staff with the Commander and Chief of Staff of the
Cuban regiment “South”. I have forgotten their names.
From September 1979 until
June 1981 the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia did not have Cuban
or East German instructors what one could hear from the South
African propaganda. Also, there was neither Cuban nor Angolan
aircraft at the Lubango airport.
It could not occur to any
Soviet citizen let alone military to cross over into Namibia with
the SWAPO fighters. Although one can find it mentioned in the
memoires for effect.
Due to the activity of the
South African army and police the PLAN guerrillas could infiltrate
Namibia at a relatively small depth up to 250 km roughly speaking up
to Oshivelo. I.e. the movement was constrained by the area of the
Ovambo tribe. A big city Tsumeb is located at 350 km from the
border. The distances are taken from the town of Ondjiva in Angola.
They can be shorter depending on the place of entry.
For conducting military
operations the PLAN combatants were transported to the border at
night time mainly on the trucks IFA W50 produced in East Germany and
Scania produced in Sweden later infiltrating into Namibia. Due to
the weight limitations they could carry only small arms, grenade
launchers, mines, bazookas, sometimes portable anti-aircraft missile
systems Strela 2M with the range of 4.2 km and range in height of
2.3 km. Peter Nanyemba Secretary for Defense travelled on a high
open jeep Volvo.
Accompanying
the commander of the group the author once visited the central
office of SWAPO in Luanda. I have forgotten about the reason for the
visit. It was quite a surprise how quickly the typists did their
work typing even the texts in Cyrillic using Roman letters. I
translated for Sam Nujoma only once when he visited the commander of
the group Colonel Nikolai Kurushkin.
Soviet military advisers to
SWAPO filled up their vehicles at one of the FAPLA gas stations in
the town on the way to the Tobias Hainyeko / Onkulumbashi camp.
SWAPO transport got the fuel at the same station. One time in the
second half of 1980 a serious conflict flared up between the Angolan
authorities and the SWAPO. The Angolans demanded the Namibian
vehicles to be filled up outside the town being afraid of the South
African air strikes. I also remember vaguely how the Angolan
authorities were compelling SWAPO to abandon its office in Lubango
at the same time. I just forgot how this episode finished.
Both
the SWAPO leadership and the Soviet advisers understood that
militarily South Africa could not be
defeated. Due to this reason the main emphasis was on the harassing
attacks and formation of the National Army for the case of the
political solution of the conflict and this actually happened.
Namibia proclaimed its independence on March 21, 1990.
It is
worth while mentioning that Soviet military advisers to SWAPO did
not have any relation to the political processes both in the party
and its armed wing PLAN. Moreover, they could not in any way deal
with the counter-espionage activities within PLAN. During the
service in 1979-1981 the author did not hear about any persons
detained by the SWAPO authorities. However, after returning home in
1981 somebody from the former colleagues informed that a spy network
had been exposed within SWAPO. There was no more information as new
Soviet personnel unknown to the author came to SWAPO. The author
found out only recently about supposedly numerous spies detained in
the camps of SWAPO until 1989. Theoretically there could be spies
and they might have existed in reality. It is not known exactly how
many they were. It is not known for sure if someone was executed.
And the main aspect is whether these people were real spies or not.
It is very unlikely that they were political opponents. There could
not have been classical courts in the SWAPO camps. Such doubts led
to the result of only 57% for SWAPO in the first elections held in
November 1989 instead of the expected 2/3 majority.
During my service such major military events happened in the Lubango
area:
On
September 26, 1979 4 aircraft Mirage F III
and one aircraft Buccaneer SMk50 of the South African Air Forces
mistakenly attacked with bombs and rockets a furniture factory
“Madeira de Huila” and located nearby a FAPLA warehouse at the
outskirts of Lubango resulting in the destruction of the facilities
and death of 26 people (29 people by a different source).
On
October 28, 1979 on Sunday groups of South
African saboteurs disembarked in the afternoon from the helicopters
Puma and Alouette III undermined the railway link between Mossamedes
(called Namibe from 1982) and Lubango west of Lubango undermining
also the bridges at the serpentine road twisting in the Serra da
Leba mountain range. Enemy actions were also reported to take place
at the railroad east of Lubango in the area of Dongo. In the course
of the raid 20 civilians were killed at the serpentine road. The
bridges were repaired during three months by the Soviet bridge
building team based in Lubango. The distance between the Namibian
border and Lubango is 385 km. So it is quite probable that the South
African Special forces installed a temporary base somewhere in the
bush.
It was on this day that the
Soviet military advisers to FAPLA from the headquarters of the 5th
Military District together with the advisers from the Angolan
brigades who came to a conference travelled to Mossademes to the
“sea” (Atlantic Ocean). Other Soviet specialists working in civilian
area joined the military. The medicine related specialists went in
their minibus presumably to collect medicines. It is only natural
that the wives travelled together with their men. The distance
between Lubango and Mossamedes is 180 km. On the way back it started
to get darker when approaching the serpentine road. It must have
been at 5.30 p.m. Two cars from the column went ahead one of them
with the medics. There were some flares over serpentine with the
helicopters flying at a distance. Nobody gave special attention to
these events.
The saboteurs opened fire
at the approaching cars but the smaller Lada car managed to turn
around and warn the approaching column. The minibus of the medics
was riddled with bullets. All returned to Mossamedes and the next
day were brought to Lubango by plane. The cars were driven to
Lubango by the old road. It is not quite clear what happened to the
medics. They could not reach Lubango as the road was undermined and
the column could hardly wait for them. They must have gone on foot
to Mossamedes the entire night. The advisers to the 5th
Military District headquarters had pistols and the advisers from the
brigades were armed with submachine guns, pistols and grenades.
They could hardly sustain a combat with the S.A. Special forces. If
they had been captured alive it would have been a tremendous success
to the South African commandos. The Soviet advisers were not hunted
upon and the enemy could not know they went to Mossamedes. At that
time there was practically no surveillance from the space. Moreover,
they could find space in the helicopters only for a pair of the high
ranking officers. Sometimes these events are described as if they
had happened in 1980. That night the Soviet military advisers to
SWAPO did not sleep getting ready to repulse the enemy attack. The
group commander Colonel Nikolai said at the evening meeting at the
end of his brief report – “Stand to death”. Nobody knew what it was
about. Neither machine guns nor grenades were given to the
interpreters unpractical in military matters.
Earlier the Soviet advisers
to SWAPO with wives also visited Mossamedes at the Atlantic Ocean.
The author of the review remained in Lubango by chance. After
October 28 everybody understood that it was not a game and family
trips to the “sea” stopped for ever. The author went to Mossamedes
only once in a column of two cars – Volga GAZ 24 of the commander
and UAZ military car with officers. The departure was early in the
morning and the return took place in the afternoon before dark.
There was not need in the service of the interpreter. I have
forgotten about the purpose of the trip.
On
May 1 or May 2, 1980 the South African
saboteurs undermined draining system at the railroad Mossamedes –
Lubango. The helicopters flew away but two men – a white
South-African and a black Angolan began their hard trip to the Jumbo
Training Center. Precisely this team made the reconnaissance at the
terrain and directed the South-African Air Force at the eucalyptus
forest.
On June
6, 1980 six Mirage F III fighter-planes of
the S.A. Air Force (according to the above spies it was Buccaneer
and Canberra aircraft) hit the Namibian refugee camp (actually Jumbo
Training Center). The bombs fell on the football field. A PLAN
Company went by its edge about two minutes before. Soviet officers
travelling home in a car for lunch saw the marching company as they
were very near. Three Namibian fighters sacrificed. The author of
the review saw personally from the yard of the Soviet mission in
Lubango approximately it was at noon or may be at 30 minutes past
noon how the Cuban air defense launched several “Pechora” missiles
at the aircraft. The Angolans reported that three of them had been
brought down. The next day the South Africans told in the news that
all the aircraft had returned safely to their base. Later on they
finally recognized that two of the planes had been hit and damaged
and the pilots managed to land them miraculously. The “Pechora:
missiles explode while approaching the target. Even two missiles
exploded near one of the planes. This episode was a signal for
constructing a bomb shelter at the other side of the Soviet mission
brick fence.
Air-defense
system S-125M1A “Pechora” was being deployed in Lubango from
September 1979. Its battery consisting of a missile launcher,
command post and radar was located at top of the mountain near the
Christ the King statue rising above Lubango. Judging by the results
all was ready by June 1980. The “Pechora”
missile system functioned at the distance from 3.5 to 25 km. I.e.
it could not be used at short distances. Later on a more advanced
air defense system “Kub” (Cube) was installed in Lubango and other
big towns in the South of Angola. Its radar functioned at 65 km. If
the conflict had continued the South African aircraft could not have
entered the air space of Angola.
Here one should mention
that the air-defense system S-125M1A “Pechora” near the Christ the
King statue were covered by the air defense self-propelled guns
“Shilka” in the Cuban regiment based near the airport.
On
June 8, 1980 a plane Yak-40 of the Angolan
airline TAAG was brought down by friendly fire near the population
center Matala 175 km east of Lubango. All the passengers and a crew
of 3 Soviet citizens died. The military were very nervous after the
South African raid on the SWAPO camp near Lubango on June 7.
It
must be in the 2nd half of 1980
when the South African air force hit the Tobias Hainyeko /
Onkulumbashi Training Center north or north-east of Lubango. Several
SWAPO fighters sacrificed. The author personally saw the body of
one of the killed fighters. Cynically as it may sound the efforts
and dangers experienced by the South-African air force were not
worth such modest results. The Operative Command Headquarters of
PLAN with Peter Nanyemba at the top was located in this camp. He
was Secretary for Defense i.e. Defense Minister of SWAPO. Due to
the proximity of the South African enemy such headquarters could not
be positioned directly at the border. Apparently this was the case
when the South African aircraft used for the success of the raid a
civilian plane making its landing at Lubango airport. There were
suppositions that the enemy used different “holes” in the radar
operation. Also, the S.A. pilots knew that low altitudes could be a
salvation in the course of such operations. It was not possible to
find any additional information on this air raid. Angola not always
provided official data if the air strikes and hostile actions on
land did not concern its own armed forces.
On
October 10, 1980 PLAN combatants by two
shots of the shoulder fired Strela 2M missiles brought down IMPALA
MK II aircraft of the South-African air force near population center
Mupa south of Lubango and closer to the border. The pilot landed by
parachute and shot back with a machine gun with small caliber
cartridges until he died. His guns and equipment were brought to
the headquarters of the 5th Military District of FAPLA. I
do not remember about the body. The head of the Soviet advisers to
SWAPO Colonel Nikolai was invited to have a look. The commander took
the author of the review with him as a Portuguese interpreter.
After the South African
terrorist act on November 6-8, 1982 at the railroad Namibe-Lubango
and at the serpentine road Namibe-Lubango a PLAN unit was positioned
at the mountain foot to prevent further enemy attacks. Surprisingly,
this was done only in 1982. Similar operation of the South African
commandos was conducted as early as October 28, 1979. Practically
all supplies of the FAPLA 5th and 6th Military
Districts, Cuban army and SWAPO went through the port of Namibe.
Serious combats between
FAPLA and the South-African army began between the border and
Lubango in the population centers Kahama, Shangongo, Ondjiva in
August 1981. This was the enemy operation Protea bearing the name
of the national flower of South Africa. At this time the author was
not present in the country. I heard after returning home that some
officers of the group were decorated with state awards in connection
with these events.
All the officers –
advisers, technicians and interpreters wore the same military
clothes – camouflage shirt, camouflage trousers, military khaki
colored sweater, wide military belt of something like rigid canvass
and military laced boots with two small buckles in the upper part.
For the night duties there were camouflage pea jackets of the same
type as the shirts and the trousers. First we used as headwear a
green beret with black lining and FAPLA bands and then a camouflage
military cap with a visor. There were no insignias on the uniform.
All the officers had personal weapons – AK-47, AKM or AKMS machine
guns and TT or Makaroff pistols. The memory did not preserve
information on the source of the uniforms and weapons.
Conditions
of Life of Soviet Advisers
Soviet military arrived in
Lubango as a rule without family and later if a room was available
summoned wives sometimes with children. There was a Soviet school
in Lubango where children of both Soviet military and civilian
specialists studied.
The officers serving in
PLAN lived near the center of Lubango in a 5 storey building. Water
pressure at higher stocks was very low especially at day time. It
was not practically possible to take a bath. Due to this reason the
Commander of the group Colonel Nikolai Kurushkin made a wise
decision to construct a real Russian bathhouse. From the street one
could enter the internal yard through a wide passage also intended
for the cars. The level of the yard was practically one stock lower
than the level of the street. Here there were two rooms - for the
officers meetings and for the officers on duty. At the opposite
side of the yard under a canopy covered with the slate sheets there
was a parking place for automobiles: UAZ military jeeps, passenger
car GAZ 24 “Volga”, white Land Rover with 8 passenger seats and a
right hand drive Toyota pickup (Left-side traffic has existed in
Namibia). The cars had Angolan plate numbers but the author forgot
which. On the right of the “garage” there was something like cinema
hall where Soviet films were shown on a regular basis. On the left
behind the Armored Personnel Carrier 60 PB presented by the Cubans
after the events in Cassinga on May 4, 1978 there was a passage to
the vegetable gardens and a volleyball court. The door several
meters to the right of the passage led to the bathhouse. The
building and the yard were surrounded on all sides by brick fence
except from the street. In order to supply water to the households
and the bathhouse an enormous tank may be for 5 000 liters was
installed in the yard. Also, two sealed boxes from the «Pechora”
missiles were buried in the yard for collecting water. The officers
on duty were responsible for filling the boxes with water. They also
took care of heating the water for the bathhouse on the male and
female days. Eucalyptus wood was used in the burner located on the
back of the bathhouse i.e. on the side of the vegetable gardens. One
vegetable garden was a plot of land of 2 by 2 meters.
A bomb shelter of concrete
constructions was built immediately across the brick fence of the
vegetable gardens. In case of a call from the Cuban regiment to the
officer on duty with the code word cinco-cinco-cinco
(five-five-five) the officer hit the artillery shell and all the
people in the house had to run to the bomb shelter. This procedure
was actually repeated several times. Probably in the spring of 1980
the Cubans installed “Pechora” air defense system with radar and
knew when enemy aircraft were approaching. The pilots saw in their
indicators that the radar was following them and knew that getting
into the field of action of “Pechora” could cause them big problems
to put it mildly.
The author of the review
knew only one movie in Lubango called Arcoiris (Rainbow) visited
only once by the military advisers to SWAPO at the beginning of my
mission. I forgot why I had not gone there.
Officers with wives had
their meals at home and bachelors went for lunch and dinner to the
canteen in the Maconje Hotel run by the Cuban military.
There were several sources
of food for the Soviet advisers in Lubango:
1.
Small quantity of vegetables from the tiny vegetable gardens
;)
2.
Purchases from the Angolan shops, fazendas and factories.
Payment was made with the local currency Kwanza.
3.
Soviet long-term storage foodstuffs were brought
monthly from the Soviet shop in Luanda. The goods were assessed in
US Dollars.
4.
Periodically Soviet-Spanish Joint Venture Company “Sovinspan”
supplied from the Canary Islands various vegetables, fruits and
long-term storage foodstuffs. Vegetables and fruits were used mainly
in Luanda. “Sovispan” Company was extremely popular because of
different industrial goods in the offer – tape-recorders, cassettes,
ear-phones, watches, cameras, cloths, footwear, cosmetics, linen,
bed covers etc. The goods were assessed in US Dollars.
Alcoholic
drinks and beer were available from the Soviet shop and from “Sovispan”.
One could also buy Angolan beer N’gola at the Lubango factory. I
have not heard about any strong alcoholic drinks produced in Lubango.
The smokers used cigarettes from both shops above as well as of
Angolan manufacture as Baia (Ááÿ), Senador, SL, AC, Herminios and
even Frances without filter.
One
can recall female exchanges with the Angolan women of different
goods mainly foodstuffs for fruits and vegetables. The author had to
teach the female part of the group simple words and phrases in
Portuguese.
Banknotes of 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 Kwanzas as well as the coins
of 50 Lwei, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 Kwanzas circulated in Angola at that
time. The official rate of Kwanza in July 1981 to the US Dollar was
27 Kwanzas and 63 Lwei for 1 US Dollar. It did not vary much until
the beginning of 1993. Black market might exist in Luanda. It
should be added here that a rigid rationing system for basic
agricultural and industrial goods was in force in Angola. Both
civilian and military specialists from the USSR could buy some goods
from the shops, warehouses and factories at the government prices.
But any way in some cases it was necessary to negotiate.
It
should be mentioned that an enormous number of fruits both domestic
and wild grow in Angola which remained unexplored for the majority
of sovieticos (Soviets).
During
the mission of the husbands many wives knitted macramé from sisal –
natural coarse fiber obtained from the leaves of Agava sisolana.
The
salary in the « foreign currency rubles” was paid monthly with the
sum in US Dollars being calculated according to the official rate of
the ruble. Interpreters and other officers received 450 “foreign
currency” rubles and warrant-officers got slightly less. I do not
know about advisers. On the territory of Angola the dollar expenses
were deducted from the salary converted into dollars. I am aware of
such expenses – local currency Kwanza for 50 US Dollars, Communist
party and Young Communist League dues, subscription to the Soviet
newspapers and journals, purchases from the Soviet Trading Company,
rather store, based in Luanda and of course spending with the
Sovispan Company. In order to avoid questions spending level at
the shop was recommended to be kept at about 100 US Dollars per
month. The remaining sum in dollars was converted back into the
“foreign currency” rubles and after this converted into the concrete
notes in the form of Vneshposyltorg checks. One could receive them
at the accounting department of the military mission before going to
the USSR. The sums were not small or better to say were big and the
people were afraid of travelling with such money. Although Angola
was considered to be a country with the salaries backed by US
Dollars the ordinary military were not allowed to open accounts at
the Vneshtorgbank of the USSR with the exception of advisers – those
generals and officers who held the position of advisers. It was
much easier for the Soviet civilian specialists – they could get not
only checks at the bank in Moscow but also US Dollars before
travelling abroad. In the USSR the owners of the checks could
purchase goods in short supply in special “Beriozka” shops located
in major cities but mostly in Moscow.
If an
officer was not married or his wife was not with him abroad then
along with the Vneshposyltorg checks he received travellers checks
which one could exchange at the Sheremetievo airport in Moscow into
Soviet rubles. The scheme was not complicated. If the final salary
in the “foreign currency” rubles was say 400 rubles than 20% was
deducted which you could get later in the Soviet Rubles at 1 to 1
ratio via the travellers checks with the remaining 320 “foreign
currency” Rubles converted to the Vneshposyltorg checks at the rate
4.6 checks for 1 “foreign currency” Ruble. So there was a
considerable financial interest in the wife’s availability.
Medical attention was not a problem in the group of Soviet military
advisers to SWAPO as it included military and civilian doctors
except a dentist. For a long time the author had a mercury filling
done by a Cuban military doctor working in the center of the town.
As to the intestinal infections (there was no cholera or amoebiases
here) and malaria Lubango was a very favorable town. It should be
also added that there were mainly healthy and strong men in the
group.
In
1980 we learnt that a Soviet officer was brought from the South (Kahama,
Shangongo or Ondjiva) to the Lubango hospital diagnosed cérebral
malaria. We also heard the expression cerebral edema. He was
unconscious and the doctors could not do anything. With big
difficulties the patient was evacuated to Luanda and then to Moscow.
It is not known if he survived or not. Even if he survived the
health implications could be very severe. For the author it became
known only at present time that the name of the malaria patient was
Lieutenant Colonel Piotr Perov. Difficulties with the medicines
delivery and evacuation of the officer to Luanda were due to the
fact that the events were taking place just after the South African
air attack at the SWAPO camp on June 7, 1980. For some time military
and civilian planes did not fly and the Cuban air defense was on the
nerves.
There
was no television and TV sets in Lubango. Washing machines and air
conditioning was also unknown. Refrigerators stood in the
kitchens. The food was cooked at the gas stove with the gas coming
from a small metal bottle (garrafa). We had to buy such bottles
regularly from the state oil company Sonangol.
I do
not remember if we slept under mosquitoes nets or not. The hair was
cut by someone from the Soviet colleagues.
There
were no problems with electricity supplies. It was supplied to
Lubango and surroundings as well as to Mossamedes from hydropower
station on the Kunene River at the Matala population center 175 km
east of Lubango. The difference in level at the river was as high
as 20 meters. A group of Soviet energy power engineers was located
at the Matala hydropower station in 1984, but probably it was there
earlier. Up to now a separate power system exists at the South of
Angola.
Drinking water was supplied from underground sources. The problem
was only with insufficient pressure for higher buildings.
Telephone calls to
the USSR using international lines were not possible. In case of
emergency the connection could be established from the embassy or
from a Soviet ship. Communication with friends and relatives was
carried out by correspondence through the post box of the Soviet
Defense Ministry – Moscow-400, military post number 515 L. The
Angolans received their correspondence at the P. O. Box at the post
office. There have not been any postmen in Angola in the European
meaning of the word. There were no post codes in the country and
there aren’t. The people knew/know the urban centers more by the
name of the district (bairro) rather than by the name of the street.
In 1980 an officer
arrived to the group who was accommodated alone in a room at the top
floor. According to the rumors a radio set for direct communication
with the USSR was installed there. During 6 months presence he was
not allowed to leave the territory of the mission. Another officer
came to substitute him after 6 months.
Usual time of
serving abroad was 2 years with possible extension to 3 years. The
officer with the official position “adviser” had special conditions
for the mission duration. As to the holidays (leave) in the old
calendar belonging to the author it is marked September 19 –
November 19, 1980. It is hard to believe now that the leave actually
lasted two months.
In addition to the
Soviet advisers I heard about existence in the town of Soviet
military topographers, doctors, bridge builders who lived near the
mission of the Soviet military advisers to FAPLA and Uzbek
agriculture specialists in Humpata.
The Soviet pioneers
to SWAPO from January 1977 apparently until the spring of 1978 lived
in the Maconje hotel run by the Cuban military at Patrice Lumumba
Street, Lage District. It has high ground floor, 5 floors and
covered viewing place at the top. Later the bachelors of the group
had their lunch and dinner at the ground floor canteen. Bachelors
were real bachelors as well as those to whom the wives did not come
yet. Presently a food store Casa Boni is located at the ground floor
of the former hotel with the higher floors converted into living
premises. One can find on the Internet the picture of Maconje. The
length of the Patrice Lumumba Street is only 301 meters.
Soviet military
advisers to SWAPO lived in a 5 storey building with two entrances at
Deolinda Rodrigues Street, District 14th of April (14 de abril). At
the ground floor from the street there was a room (barracks) for the
Angolan guards with whom the author communicated rather often.
Sometimes fish was brought from Mossamedes to the fish shop next
door. At the end of 1980 abandoned rooms at the ground floor facing
the street were renovated for the bachelors. In order to reach the
flat one must use the external spiral staircase from the yard. Each
family had a separate room and several bachelors lived in one room.
After departure of the advisers to the USSR the Angolan authorities
provided accommodation in this building to the needy citizens.
Lubango Military Hospital is located across the road from the former
Soviet mission. A fast food establishment Cantina do Bemfica is in
the neighboring building. The length of the street Deolinda
Rodrigues is 1 km 930 meters.
It should be
underlined that the author of the review was lucky with the people
in the group of the Soviet military advisers to SWAPO in Lubango. I
would like to single out the Commander of the group Colonel Nikolai
Kurushkin and head of staff Colonel Vladimir Grechnev possessing
high professional and human qualities. I often translated for them.
I am still thankful to the wife of the adviser Colonel Ivan
Zherlitsyn who gave me valuable advice on acquiring a flat for the
Vneshposyltorg checks. Especially this can be appreciated by the
people who were registered in the country side. It was hard to get
urban registration, let alone to get own domicile. Colonel
Zherlitsyn produced an impression of a thoughtful and intelligent
man. He was the second Commander of the Soviet military advisers to
SWAPO before the arrival of Colonel Nikolai Kurushkin. The author
recorded the names of 35-37 colleagues. The names of several
interpreters who came during my last months of the mission I do not
remember and they are not in the list. They were not from Kharkov
and all of them were English interpreters with no connection to
Portuguese or Spanish.
Different additional
information
It should be
mentioned that in the context of this review very often the words
SWAPO and PLAN are synonyms.
Onkulumbashi
camp to be exact Omugulu-gOmbashe or Ongolumbashe was named in honor
of the population center at the north of Namibia where the first
combat of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia with the South
African troops took place in 1966.
Tobias Hainyeko
Training Center was named in honor of the first PLAN Commander who
died in combat in 1967.
The General
Assembly of the United Nations on June 12, 1968 renamed South-West
Africa into Namibia and SWAPO was recognized as the sole legitimate
representative of the Namibia’s people. This decision was actually
confirmed by the parliamentary elections in November 1989.
Independence of Namibia was proclaimed on March 21, 1990.
It is interesting
that according to the Constitution of 1992 the People’s Republic of
Angola became just Republic of Angola.
From 1975 until
1991 the 10th Main Department of the General Staff of the USSR Armed
Forces sent to Angola on mission 10,985 Generals, Admirals,
officers, warrant officers and common soldiers.
54 Soviet citizens
have not returned home from Angola with 45 being military officers.
In contrast to Afghanistan in the People’s Republic of Angola the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba were at the front edge of the war
from 1975 until 1991. Officially 2289 Cubans died in combat actions
with the non-combat losses being still higher. Soviet (Russian)
military presence ended in 1992. On December 22, 1988 Angola, Cuba
and South Africa signed in New York trilateral agreements foreseeing
granting independence to Namibia and discontinuing direct
participation of foreign armed forces in combat actions on the
territory of Angola.
The town of Lubango
was founded in 1885 by Portuguese settlers from the Island of
Madeira. From 1980 to 2021 the population of the town rose more
than 10 times from 69,000 to 871,000 people.
The main tourist
attractions in Lubango and its surroundings are as follows:
1. Automobile
road-serpentine across the mountain range Serra da Leba between the
provinces Huila and Namibe was built by a Portuguese engineer in
1915 and modernized in 1969-1974. The beginning of the pass is
located at 35-37 km south west of Lubango. The length of the
serpentine is about 20 km with the height difference of 1 km.
According to different data there are from 19 to 42 turns. An old
road between the Atlantic Ocean and Lubango inconvenient in many
aspects exists across the mountain range. On the Internet one can
find huge number of awesome photos taken from the viewing place.
2. Abyss
(gorge) Tundavala is located at 18 km north-west of Lubango.
Tundavala is a nearly vertical 1200 meters rock at the mountain
range Serra da Leba. In terms of the height difference it is
actually similar to the serpentine road at Serra da Leba. A great
view is opened up from the viewing place.
3. The statue
of Christ the King of 30 meters dominating Lubango was built in 1957
from white marble. There exist only 4 such statues in the world.
4. The
recreation and amusement park Nossa Senhora do Monte is located
lower the chapel built in 1921 at the mountain slope and is
dedicated to the patroness of the town with the same name which can
be translated as the Chapel of Our Lady of the mountain.
Presently Angola
has cellular telephone service provided by Unitel, private company
with 80% of the market and Movicel¸ subsidiary of the state company
Angola Telecom with 20% of the market as well as fixed communication
lines of Angola Telecom. To call a cell phone number from abroad one
should dial +244, number of the cellular telephone service from
three digits and subscriber number. To call a fixed communication
number one dials +244, than code of the town (in Lubango it is 61)
and subscriber number. For calling inside Angola digit 2 is dialed
additionally before the town code. In 2021 monthly payment for
Internet is around 50 US dollars. 1 Dollar is equal to approximately
600 Kwanzas.
Now 40% of the
Angolans use Portuguese at home. In Luanda this number exceeds 70%.
Among national languages one can single out Umbundu, Quimbundu and
Kikongo used in the tribes Ovimbundu, Anbundu and Kongo,
respectively. Without Portuguese language and local culture based on
the Portuguese language Angola could not exist as a state.
When compiling a
review in addition to his memory the author used various sources on
the Internet with the most important apparently being the site of
the Angola Veterans’ Union
https://www.veteranangola.ru |
