Soviet Child Mines

Throughout the Cold War period the Soviet Union, along with other countries, developed and used landmines heavily in combat zones. Usually small and meant to be dropped by aircraft over an area these mines can have a long lasting impact after the war is over. One mine in particular has been specifically singled out for its high injury rate of children. The Russian PFM-1 landmine has been a nightmare for Afghans ever since the Soviet-Afghan War started in 1978.

Development and Use

Landmines became common in the late 19th century and were popular in almost all developed countries in the 20th century. Early on mines were usually made powerful enough to kill the person or persons that triggered it. As time progressed landmines became smaller and were only designed to wound. The idea being that if a soldier was injured then he would have to be taken care of by other soldiers, requiring the use of more resources than if the soldier was just killed outright.

Two examples of the PFM-1 mine, Courtesy of The AK Forum

In the 1950s and up through the 70s the Soviet Union set about developing antipersonnel mines that were small and could be deployed from aircraft. One popular mine that they developed was the PFM-1 anti personnel mine. Small and made of plastic it was easily mass produced in Soviet factories and was able to be deployed in near limitless numbers. Throughout its time in service the mine went by many names such as “The Green Parrot” and “Butterfly Mine” and “Toe Popper”, and more ominously “Soviet Toy of Death”. As the butterfly and parrot names imply the mine had two “wings”, a thin one and a fat one. The fat side held the liquid explosive and the thin side was used as a stabilizer when dropped from height. Being mostly made of plastic the only metal in the entire mine was the small aluminum fuze in between the two wings. The mines were made of a green plastic though colors could also vary between brown and white. The mine was only 61mm (2.4 inches) long and only 20mm (0.7 inches) at its widest. The total weight of the mine was 75 grams (2.6 ounces) with 37 grams (1.3 ounces) of that being the explosive itself.

Example of a dispenser that holds the mines, Courtesy of TUT.BY

When deployed the mines would be packed into a dispenser that held 34 of the little minelets. The dispenser had a metal pin hooked through the fuze of each mine in order to keep it from being armed. Once the mines were over their intended location they would be released from the dispenser and “flutter” to the ground, the thin wing helping to slow down its descent and dispersing the mines over a wider area. The retainer pin was pulled upon release and the mines would arm themselves within 40 minutes after release. Once armed and on the ground it only took an excess of 5Kg (11lbs) of force to trigger the mines, they were very sensitive. Small, mass produced, and able to be quickly deployed the PFM-1 was exactly what the Soviets were wanting.

Underside of the PFM-1 mine, Courtesy of TurboSquid

Another variant of this mine was developed later on designated the PFM-1S. It had a feature that caused the mine to self destruct after 24 hours. However they did not see near as much use as the original version, likely because many of the minefields needed to last more than 24 hours to be effective.

Cross section diagram of the aluminum fuze, Courtesy of ResearchGate

The butterfly mines first saw use in the Israeli-Syrian conflict in 1973 but saw the most widespread use during the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan. During the decade long occupation hundreds of thousands of these mines were used to cut off mountain passes, set up ambush sites, and to act as general nuisances for enemy soldiers who had no idea where these mines might be deployed. They were also used along border areas to prevent border crossings by enemy fighters. The Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989 and as a little parting “gift” they deployed many of their excess mines along paths and roads where many still sit today. Little ticking time bombs waiting for an unsuspecting person to trigger them.

Photo to show the scale of how small these mines are, Courtesy of The Red Alliance

Aftermath

Best estimates say that there are about a million mines still in Afghanistan, many the PFM-1 model. And since the Soviet invasion in 1978 there have been roughly 30,000 Afghani civilians injured by the mines, many of which children. One might ask why so many children are falling victim to these mines? Well a lot of children think they’re toys. Their small size coupled with being plastic and looking like a toy bird or butterfly draws kids to them. Also unlike many anti-personnel mines these are sensitive so even a child who does not weigh as much or have the strength of an adult can set them off easily.

One of many children that have fell victim to landmines, Courtesy of UPI

One might also ask why have the mines not been disarmed or removed by now? Mine removal started shortly after the Soviets left but it is an expensive, arduous and time consuming process. The process is made even more difficult by the makeup of the PFM-1 mines. Firstly it is expensive to remove a mine, it costs between $300 to $1000 to remove just one of them. A lot of that is due to the time it takes to find the mines and the butterfly mines make that a hard process.

When a mine removal team goes into an area they first interview the locals to find out where a suspected minefield might be. The parrot mines make this harder due to their small size and low weight. They can be moved easily by natural processes such as rain, melting snow, and general settling of the earth. Therefore a minefield can move and move rather fast before the locals realize it, complicating efforts for the teams.

Member of a mine disposal team searching for mines with metal detector, Courtesy of Prokerala

A big issue with these mines is that where they are made mostly of plastic they do not register easily on the metal detectors that are used to find them. In order to find the mines the operators must turn the sensitivity of their equipment up to find what little metal there is in them. Turning the sensitivity up creates more false positives which in turn makes the process more time consuming which costs more money.

A pile of detonated mines, courtesy of Scientific American

Another issue linked to the mines being made of plastic is that they do not break down near as easily as a steel mine would. Especially in the arid climate of Afghanistan these mines will likely stay operational until they are disarmed and removed. Lastly these mines were frequently distributed on mountain passes and along common paths so they are in heavily trafficked areas. Many of these passes are the only way to go through the mountains so locals sometimes must risk using them despite the danger.

Intentional?

Both during and after the Soviet occupation many news outlets said that these mines were specifically developed to target children. The New York Times published articles of children being targeted by them and even said that soldiers put the mines in dolls to give to kids. There is a problem with this claim however, the one recurring theme in all the publications that mention these mines targeting children is that they are either labeled as opinion pieces or are from vehemently anti-Soviet publications. There was a lot of propaganda against the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan and a story about children being targeted by landmines is perfect for someone who is anti-Soviet, especially when factually there is a disproportionate amount of children being injured by these mines.

Soviet troops during their withdrawal from Afghanistan, Courtesy of The Atlantic

Now did the Soviets purposefully lay as many mines as possible when they left Afghanistan? Yes, there are many reliable sources that reported on it. Did the Soviets commit war crimes during their time there? Yes, there are still journalists today talking about them. Did the Soviets develop the PFM-1 mine to intentionally harm children? With the evidence that is available it is not likely, and it would be hard for one to give a definitive yes. The construction of the mines and their shape were made for a practical reason that unfortunately had unintended consequences on children of the region.

Now in saying that, Russia and the United Nations both still have sealed records from the conflict that are not likely to be unsealed anytime soon. If/when they are then it might be a different story, but with the evidence available at present it is difficult to assume that these mines were made specifically to attract children.

Hope for the Future

As technology advances, faster and more cost effective solutions are being used to find these mines. One such technology is thermal imaging. Mine disposal teams are now using drones with thermal imaging cameras to uncover the location of these mines. Being made primarily plastic they let off a different heat signature than the ground around them. Especially in the sandy hot parts of the country where the sand cools off quickly at night but the plastic retains the heat longer, giving off a stronger heat signature and allowing the teams to more easily map their location. This new technology does not work everywhere and is far from perfect but it is much faster and accurate than more traditional methods.

Drone with thermal camera, Courtesy of ZME Science

There are also more charities and organizations stepping in to help people in regions affected by these mines. Many of these organizations not only go in to dispose of the mines but also teach the locals how to disarm them.

As technology continues to advance it is likely that there will be even better detection methods in the future.

Personal Thoughts

I learned about the little mines not long ago and immediately became fascinated with them. I quickly found that it was difficult finding reliable sources as I stated in the article that there was a lot of bias against the Soviets. Of course I understand the bias, the Soviets did commit many heinous acts during their occupation but I wish that publications had focused more on the real atrocities rather than making one up. Now I don’t doubt that they could have been misled by locals to believe that the mines were made for kids and I’m sure with the amount of injuries children were sustaining it wasn’t hard for them to believe. So I don’t want to totally blame the journalists for any false reporting that may have happened. Plus, as stated in the article, there are still secret document that the public isn’t allowed to see so it is still possible that the mines were meant for kids but with the available evidence I don’t completely buy the claim.

The other thing that interested me was how these mines were made of plastic. I had never heard of it before and always thought that mines were all made of metal.

The Soviet-Afghan Conflict is an interesting part of history and I think I will revisit it in a future article.

Sources

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30021997

file:///C:/Users/Matthew/Downloads/remotesensing-10-01672-v2.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/10/opinion/soviet-toys-of-death.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drones-used-to-find-toylike-butterfly-land-mines/?redirect=1

http://www.one-step-beyond.de/en/countries/afghanistan/mines/afghanistan_mine_pfm-1.html