The Soviet-Afghan War began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on December 24, 1979, and ended with the withdrawal of Soviet forces on February 15, 1989. It was a war that had a global impact and indirectly led to the fall of the USSR.
Afghanistan in the 50s and 60s, was a country that was beginning to modernize and industrialize with the help of both the Soviet Union and the United States. As animosity grew between the two world superpowers, the U.S. quickly created military ties with the neighboring country of Pakistan, so the Soviet Union created a military and political presence in Afghanistan to counter the American alliance.
Until 1973, Afghanistan was led by a monarchy, but the Shah had little to no influence on his subjects. …show more content…
He knew the world condemned the Soviets’ actions and wanted to mend relations in the west. In addition, the war effort had a crippling effect on the economy and the fate of Soviet Russia would be determined by the outcome of the war. Once defeat was imminent, Gorbachev wanted to prevent further damage and decided to withdraw his army. The last soldier to cross the Friendship Bridge to the border city of Termez, in Uzbekistan, did so on February 15, 1989. Although the withdrawal was called a year earlier, it was hard for the Soviets to just leave the country in the hands of radical insurgent groups and gave it one last push, but to no avail.
Scholars argue that the repercussions of the Soviet Afghan War were so serious, that it led to the downfall of the USSR which occurred around four years after the withdrawal. However, one thing that is undebatable is that the war did worsen East-West relations and threw the rest of the world into a frenzy about the extreme measures that were taken throughout the war by the …show more content…
They witnessed first hand how horrible and chaotic war actually was, especially with the drastic measures taken by the Soviet side. At first these soldiers were extremely proud to be a part of the mighty Red Army, as it represented the values of being a Soviet; strong, forceful and honorable. However, when these soldiers actually experienced the reality of the war, it completely turned them off from the communist party and what it stood for. A large amount of war veterans created civil organizations that further weakened the political system, and pushed for reform of the dilapidated Soviet
Afghanistan in the 50s and 60s, was a country that was beginning to modernize and industrialize with the help of both the Soviet Union and the United States. As animosity grew between the two world superpowers, the U.S. quickly created military ties with the neighboring country of Pakistan, so the Soviet Union created a military and political presence in Afghanistan to counter the American alliance.
Until 1973, Afghanistan was led by a monarchy, but the Shah had little to no influence on his subjects. …show more content…
He knew the world condemned the Soviets’ actions and wanted to mend relations in the west. In addition, the war effort had a crippling effect on the economy and the fate of Soviet Russia would be determined by the outcome of the war. Once defeat was imminent, Gorbachev wanted to prevent further damage and decided to withdraw his army. The last soldier to cross the Friendship Bridge to the border city of Termez, in Uzbekistan, did so on February 15, 1989. Although the withdrawal was called a year earlier, it was hard for the Soviets to just leave the country in the hands of radical insurgent groups and gave it one last push, but to no avail.
Scholars argue that the repercussions of the Soviet Afghan War were so serious, that it led to the downfall of the USSR which occurred around four years after the withdrawal. However, one thing that is undebatable is that the war did worsen East-West relations and threw the rest of the world into a frenzy about the extreme measures that were taken throughout the war by the …show more content…
They witnessed first hand how horrible and chaotic war actually was, especially with the drastic measures taken by the Soviet side. At first these soldiers were extremely proud to be a part of the mighty Red Army, as it represented the values of being a Soviet; strong, forceful and honorable. However, when these soldiers actually experienced the reality of the war, it completely turned them off from the communist party and what it stood for. A large amount of war veterans created civil organizations that further weakened the political system, and pushed for reform of the dilapidated Soviet