Unknown Angola

Starting in the early 1960s, Angola was engulfed in the Portuguese Colonial War, struggling for independence. Immediately after the end of the Angolan War of Independence, the Angolan Civil War began, lasting from 1975 to 2002. It was a power struggle between three rival parties: the MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA.

The government of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) inquired for the USSR’s military assistance in the fight for its statehood. The Soviet Union acted on this call for help. Angola was perceived as an outpost of Africa’s socialism by the Soviet leadership. It could become an important political point in Southern Africa, an opposition to the economically well-off Republic of South Africa, supported by the United States. The best military and civilian specialists were sent to the republic to carry out this task.



Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Tulov poses at the Local History Museum, where he gives extracurricular history lessons to schoolchildren. Between 1978 and 1981, he served as an advisor to the chief of infantry brigade staff in the Republic of Angola. He spoke warmly of working with the Angolans and mentioned that both countries’ military considered each other brotherly peoples that had to unite against colonialists. Nikolai Ivanovich is a veteran of many battles in Angola. His house was damaged during one of the bombings, which left a deep trace in his memory.
Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Tulov poses at the Local History Museum, where he gives extracurricular history lessons to schoolchildren. Between 1978 and 1981, he served as an advisor to the chief of infantry brigade staff in the Republic of Angola. He spoke warmly of working with the Angolans and mentioned that both countries’ military considered each other brotherly peoples that had to unite against colonialists. Nikolai Ivanovich is a veteran of many battles in Angola. His house was damaged during one of the bombings, which left a deep trace in his memory.
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