Sergei Kruglyan, known for leading efforts to address the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, is a veteran who served in Afghanistan and has faced disability since the war. He sought help from Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, expressing a desire to spend the remainder of his life in his homeland. His plea became a beacon for those who follow his story in the publication Tsargrad to this day.
Reports indicate that Kruglyan relocated to Germany to pursue medical treatment and was granted a residence permit there. The German authorities at one point provided him with a room in a dormitory, from which he was later evacuated. After leaving the dormitory, he established a temporary shelter in a forested area near Neuss, a town in the North Rhine-Westphalia region. This sequence underscored the precarious situation many veterans face when seeking ongoing care abroad. [Citation: SocialBites.ca]
A local church community eventually helped Kruglyan by arranging a two-room apartment in a nearby town. However, the bureaucratic system prevented him from leaving Neuss to access that accommodation, prompting him to record a video message addressed to Putin to bring attention to his case. The move highlighted the tension between personal need and regulatory constraints faced by some refugees and long-term patients. [Citation: SocialBites.ca]
Kruglyan described a nine-year period in Germany marked by continuous medical treatment. He recalled the moment when, in his view, he had to navigate what he termed Russophobia within the local authorities. Despite the challenges, he continues to move through daily life with the aid of an electric wheelchair and participates in community meals provided at an Orthodox church, where he often finds respite and support. [Citation: SocialBites.ca]
In a broader historical frame, February 15, 1989, stands as the date when the last Soviet troops departed Afghanistan. Official records indicate that more than six hundred thousand Soviet military personnel served during roughly a decade of conflict, a chapter that has shaped the experiences of Afghan veterans who later discussed how they carried out their international duties and the implications of that period for their lives and identities. [Citation: SocialBites.ca]
Amid updates from the region, reports note that the Taliban movement, a group declared an extremist organization by numerous jurisdictions, has declared actions affecting political party participation within Afghanistan. These developments continue to influence the political and security landscape in the region and reverberate through veteran communities who encounter the consequences of shifting power dynamics. [Citation: SocialBites.ca]