A Soviet soldier who returned to Russia from Afghanistan saw his mother for the first time in 40 years

Former Soviet serviceman Sergei Krasnoperov saw his mother for the first time in 40 years. This was reported by RT on May 22.

"At least let's hug, you're my sweet," RT quotes his mother as saying at the time of their first meeting in so many years.

Krasnoperov's return to Russia was reported earlier in the day. He is now 60 years old. He served in the Soviet Army during the armed conflict in Afghanistan. In 1985, the former soldier left his unit and was soon captured. He could not return home then and stayed in a foreign country, where he converted to Islam, changed his name to Nurmomad and married a local woman, with whom he had six children.