A Historic Toll: Counting The Soviet-Afghan War's Combatants

The Soviet-Afghan War was a conflict fought between the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), the Soviet Union and their paramilitary allies against the Afghan mujahideen and their foreign fighters. The war began in 1979 and ended in 1989, resulting in the deaths of approximately 3,000,000 Afghans.

The war began when the Soviets, under the command of Leonid Brezhnev, invaded Afghanistan to support the local pro-Soviet government. The invasion was a response to the Saur Revolution, which saw the overthrow of President Mohammed Daud Khan by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The PDPA was divided into two factions, the Khalq (led by Nur Mohammad Taraki) and the Parcham (led by Babrak Karmal). The PDPA was supported by the Soviet Union, who had been a major power broker in Afghan politics since 1947.

The mujahideen were backed by various countries, including Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Iran, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The mujahideen waged guerrilla warfare in small groups across the country, mostly in the rugged, mountainous terrain of the countryside. The Soviets responded by laying millions of landmines and using aerial power to destroy villages and deny safe haven to the mujahideen.

The war resulted in the deaths of approximately 3,000,000 Afghans, with millions more fleeing the country as refugees. The Soviet-Afghan War is thought to have been a significant factor in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a watershed event of the Cold War

The invasion began on Christmas Eve 1979, when the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan. They immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. The invasion was a strategic decision met by worldwide condemnation.

The invasion was the culmination of growing Soviet domination going back to 1973. The Soviets hoped that a rapid and complete military takeover would secure Afghanistan's place as an exemplar of the Brezhnev Doctrine, which held that once a country became socialist, Moscow would never permit it to return to the capitalist camp.

The invasion began a brutal, decade-long attempt by Moscow to subdue the Afghan civil war and maintain a friendly and socialist government on its border. It was met with sharp criticism from the United States and its European allies, who devised measures to compel Moscow to withdraw.

The invasion triggered a brutal, nine-year-long Afghan civil war. By the time the last Soviet troops pulled out in early 1989, the conflict had cost the lives of an estimated 1 million civilians and some 125,000 Afghan, Soviet and other combatants. The war wreaked havoc not only on Afghanistan but also on the Soviet Union, whose economy and national prestige took a severe drubbing. The military misadventure would contribute significantly to the USSR's later collapse and breakup.

The invasion was the only time the Soviet Union invaded a country outside the Eastern Bloc

The Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was the only time the country invaded a country outside the Eastern Bloc.

The invasion was a watershed event of the Cold War, marking the only time the Soviet Union invaded a country outside the Eastern Bloc. The invasion was a strategic decision met by nearly worldwide condemnation. The invasion was a response to the growing Soviet domination of Afghanistan since the 1950s, which was met with alarm in Washington. The Soviet Union had provided military training and equipment to Afghanistan since 1955, and by 1973, a third of active troops had trained on Soviet soil.

The invasion was also a response to the internal political instability in Afghanistan. In 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) overthrew the country's centrist government, headed by President Mohammad Daud Khan. The PDPA was divided into two Marxist-Leninist political groups, the People's (Khalq) Party and the Banner (Parcham) Party. The new government, which had little popular support, forged close ties with the Soviet Union, launched ruthless purges of all domestic opposition, and began extensive land and social reforms that were bitterly resented by the devoutly Muslim and largely anti-communist population. Insurgencies arose against the government among both tribal and urban groups, and all of these—known collectively as the mujahideen—were Islamic in orientation.

The Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan was a response to the growing Soviet domination of the country, and the internal political instability that ensued. The invasion was also a way to uphold the Brezhnev doctrine, which stated that once a country became socialist, Moscow would never permit it to return to the capitalist camp. The invasion was also a way to prevent Afghanistan from turning to the United States for help, which would have been seen as a provocation by the Soviet Union.

The invasion was a response to the growing influence of the United States in Afghanistan

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a response to the growing influence of the United States in Afghanistan. The invasion was also a response to the internal instability of Afghanistan, which threatened to undermine Soviet influence in the region.

The Soviet Union had been a major power broker and influential mentor in Afghan politics since 1947. The Soviet Union had provided large amounts of aid, economic assistance, military equipment training, and military hardware to Afghanistan. However, in the 1950s, Afghanistan began receiving aid from the United States as well, which caused tension between the two superpowers.

In 1973, Afghanistan's last king was overthrown in a coup by his cousin and brother-in-law, Mohammed Daoud Khan, who established a republic. Daoud Khan's regime was initially supported by the Soviet Union, but he soon began to ally himself with the United States. Daoud Khan's regime was overthrown in 1978 by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), a Marxist-Leninist political group. The PDPA established a communist government in Afghanistan, which had little popular support. The new government was fiercely opposed by conservative and religious leaders, and there was widespread opposition to its radical agrarian reforms.

The instability in Afghanistan, combined with the growing influence of the United States, alarmed the Soviet leadership. The Soviet Union feared that Afghanistan's leaders might turn to the United States for help. In late 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, sending in around 30,000 troops and installing a new, pro-Soviet leader, Babrak Karmal. The invasion was intended to prop up the faltering communist government in Afghanistan and prevent the United States from gaining influence in the region.

The invasion was an attempt to prop up the Soviet-friendly government of Babrak Karmal

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was an attempt to prop up the Soviet-friendly government of Babrak Karmal. The invasion was a watershed event of the Cold War, marking the only time the Soviet Union invaded a country outside the Eastern Bloc.

The invasion began on Christmas Eve 1979, when the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan. The Soviets immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. The invasion was a response to the internal political instability in Afghanistan, which threatened to undermine the Soviet-friendly government. The Soviets hoped that a rapid and complete military takeover would secure Afghanistan's place as an exemplar of the Brezhnev Doctrine, which held that once a country became socialist, Moscow would never permit it to return to the capitalist camp.

The invasion was met with nearly worldwide condemnation. The United States and its European allies, guided by their own doctrine of containment, sharply criticized the Soviet move into Afghanistan and devised numerous measures to compel Moscow to withdraw. The Carter administration wrote a sharply-worded letter to Brezhnev denouncing Soviet aggression, and during his State of the Union address, Carter announced his own doctrine vowing to protect Middle Eastern oil supplies from encroaching Soviet power. The administration also enacted economic sanctions and trade embargoes against the Soviet Union, called for a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and stepped up its aid to the Afghan insurgents.

The invasion triggered a brutal, decade-long civil war in Afghanistan and contributed significantly to the USSR's later collapse and breakup. By the time the last Soviet troops pulled out in early 1989, the conflict had cost the lives of an estimated 1 million civilians and some 125,000 Afghan, Soviet and other combatants.

The invasion was part of the Brezhnev Doctrine, which held that once a country became socialist, Moscow would never permit it to return to the capitalist camp

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was part of the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated that once a country became socialist, Moscow would never allow it to return to the capitalist camp.

The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy outlined in 1968 by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. It called for the use of Warsaw Pact troops to intervene in any Eastern Bloc nation that was seen to compromise communist rule and Soviet domination. The doctrine was largely a response to the Prague Spring, a period of liberalization in Czechoslovakia. The Soviets feared that liberal ideas would spread to other Eastern European states, causing instability and threatening the security of the Soviet Union.

The Brezhnev Doctrine was used to justify the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The Soviets sought to prop up the country's communist government in its battle with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas. The invasion was also motivated by the desire to maintain influence in the region, which had been a geopolitical pawn in the "Great Game" between Tsarist Russia and Great Britain since the early 19th century.

The invasion was met with international condemnation and resulted in economic sanctions and trade embargoes against the Soviet Union. The war in Afghanistan became a quagmire for the Soviets, who faced fierce resistance from the Mujahideen. The conflict lasted for nine years and resulted in the deaths of approximately 1 million civilians and 125,000 combatants. It wreaked havoc on Afghanistan and severely damaged the Soviet Union's economy and national prestige, contributing significantly to the USSR's collapse and breakup.

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