One of those legacies will surely be architectural. Chapter 17 guided reading notes flashcards quizlet. The soviet war in afghanistan was a war initially fought between the forces of the afghanistan government and afghan assistance fighters, supporter from abroad. Information about the soviet war in afghanistan is extremely difficult for me to find. The history of atrocities and massacres of civilians around the world only starts officially from 1917 russian revolution and it has continued past 1989 collapse of the soviet union only in. May 01, 2002 the soviet armies advancing into east prussia in january 1945, in huge, long columns, were an extraordinary mixture of modern and medieval. The establishment of the republic of afghanistan increased the soviet investment in afghanistan and the pdpa influence in the governments military and civil bodies. The war crimes which were perpetrated by the soviet union and its armed forces from 1919 to 1991 include acts which were committed by the red army later called the soviet army as well as acts which were committed by the nkvd, including acts which were committed by the nkvds internal troops. For decades, western scholars have generally excused these atrocities in germany and hungary as revenge for german atrocities in the territory of the soviet union and for the mass killing of soviet pows 3.
Best books about the soviet invasion of afghanistan history. Best books about the soviet invasion of afghanistan. What extent was the soviet atrocities in afghanistan. The author of this book was the british ambassador to the ussr and then the russian federation but i highly appreciate his objective approach throughout the book which is about the causes of soviet involvement in afghanistan right up till the withdrawal of the troops and its.
The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in. Are us military atrocities in afghanistan just the work of a few bad apples. Some soviet soldiers are so filled with rage that they kill everyone they see, said one of the deserters, alexei peresleni, a 20yearold sergeant. The analysis is based on extensive interviews with 35 former members of the soviet armed forces who served in afghanistan, aug. For example, it gives a practically monthbymonth account of what gorbechev said and did in 1989 and 1990, but gives no hint that the soviet union fell because the vast majority of its people simply no longer believed in the system. Starting with the saur revolution military coup, an almost continuous series of armed conflicts has dominated and afflicted afghanistan. Afghanistans forgotten war crimes abc news australian. The sovietafghan war began in 1979 and ended in 1989. Sometimes referred to as the soviets version of the vietnam war, the soviet war in afghanistan ended up being a losing battle for the soviet union, and in many ways, accelerated the dissolution of communism in the east. Aug 15, 2010 war history documentaries 501,642 views.
Existing explanations of the soviet unions breakdown. Nov 10, 2017 the trump administration marked this weeks 100th anniversary of the bolshevik revolution by declaring a national day for the victims of communism. The report examines major factors that negatively affect morale and discipline. The higher estimates of mass killings account for crimes against civilians by governments, including executions, destruction of population through manmade hunger and deaths during forced deportations, imprisonment and through forced labor. The soviets retreated in 1989, leaving afghanistan to a civil war that swept up the sovietconstructed edifices in the conflagration. The soviet war in afghanistan in pictures, 19791989. The soviet armies advancing into east prussia in january 1945, in huge, long columns, were an extraordinary mixture of modern and medieval. This first cca of the 20172018 academic year will explore that revolutions leaders. India in afghanistan from the soviet invasion to the us withdrawal. Afghan freedom fighters to discuss soviet atrocities in afghanistan, especially the september 1982 massacre of 105 afghan villagers in lowgar. The soviet union, china and angloamerican intelligence in the afghan war library of middle east history. Ballam multiple formats at commercial handbook of the union of soviet socialist republics washington. Next, we outline the role of the afghanistan war in the breakdown of the soviet union and provide evidence in support of our contention. As the united states haltingly finishes up its long presence in afghanistan, there is much to learn from the soviet experience about the type of legacy that the u.
The entry of the soviet union into the country caused an. They raped every german female from eight to 80 the guardian. Nearly ten years of bloodshed and political turmoil have followed the soviet invasion of afghanistan in 1979. What were the worst crimes that the soviet union committed. Short summary of the soviet war in afghanistan synonym. What crimes were committed by soviets in afghanistan. By joanne laurier 10 january 2020 written and directed by. The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in afghanistan until midfebruary 1989. But it is not simply the number of victims that distinguishes communist from noncommunist atrocities in the. State formation and collapse in the international system. War crimes perpetrated by the soviet union and its armed forces from 1919 to 1991 include acts committed by the red army later called the soviet army as well as the nkvd, including the nkvd s internal troops. The soviet role in world war ii antony beevor youtube.
Past atrocities in kabul and afghanistans legacy of. Oct 10, 2006 the first official deployment of the soviet army into the kingdom of afghanistan began dec. There was little reason for the massacre itself, being ordered after nkvd interrogatio. Soviet armed forces in afghanistan, interviews with afghan reistnnce leaders and former officers, and a literature search. On december 24, 1979, the soviet union invades afghanistan, under the pretext of upholding the sovietafghan friendship treaty of 1978 as midnight approached, the soviets organized a. The first official deployment of the soviet army into the kingdom of afghanistan began dec. Gregory feifers book about the soviet experience in afghanistan is the best i have read to date. Soviet occupation not only proved a major trauma for the people of afghanistan. Sovietafghanistan war overview history of war in the 20th. Though the soviet union departed afghanistan 25 years ago, its decadelong presence left the countrys capital, kabul, with an abundance of yellow sovietmade volga cabs, a spate of new industrial enterprises, and an increase in the number of medical clinics, academic institutions, and urban transportation infrastructure. The new york times keeps whitewashing communisms crimes. Mar 19, 2011 that government collapsed only when the soviet union collapsed, and gorbachevs successor, boris yeltsin, decided to end all russian aid, in money and kind, to afghanistan. Though the soviet union departed afghanistan 25 years ago, its decadelong presence left the countrys capital, kabul, with an abundance.
One day in the life of ivan denisovich by aleksandr solzhenitsyn, child 44 by tom rob smith, voices from chernobyl. It is based on interviews with former members of the soviet armed forces in afghanistan, interviews with afghan resistance leaders and former officers, and a literature search. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. Russian information bureau, 1926, by russian information bureau multiple formats at.
In pursuing this argument, a detailed and compelling analysis of the effects of the war upon the soviet union is provided. I am in 100% agreement with you but i think this hypocracy is the result of many things but before ill tell you one more incident in the soviet afghan war 19791989 one russian soldier told his commanding officer that they have burned down a wh. Death estimates vary widely, depending on the definitions of deaths included. Much of this history is well known the book is 20 years old but curiously the allure of communism persists with identity politics the promotion of equality of outcome and avoidance of offence promoted in western universities. In some cases, these acts were committed upon the orders of the soviet leader joseph stalin in pursuance of the early soviet. They bombed villages full of civilians, ran over civilians in tanks.
Human rights watch and other human rights groups have already documented, in numerous earlier reports, the atrocities of soviet armed forces and the afghan client government, and the crimes and. The soviet afghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the soviet army and the democratic republic of afghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mostly in the afghan countryside. The incorrect assumption that those two were also working with iran and china to undermine the soviet union only served as confirmation bias for the idea that the soviet union was being encircled. This is a lifeless accumulation of facts and events that tells nothing of the spirit that was behind the soviet union s rise or its fall. They bombed villages full of civilians, ran over civilians in tanks and set them on fire, gave kids toy shaped grenades,etc. Another major difference between the israel and afghanistan reports is bulk. Zeckhauser, derek leebaert duke university press, 1983 political science 324 pages. Feb 12, 2012 the soviets retreated in 1989, leaving afghanistan to a civil war that swept up the soviet constructed edifices in the conflagration. The military hierarchy denied the enlisted men legal access to drink, yet fighting a highstress and in the early years, at least officially unacknowledged. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. This report on the soviet army in afghanistan focuses on morale, discipline, motivation, and cohesion. In 1976, alarmed by the growing power of the pdpa and the partys strong affiliation with the soviet union, daoud khan tried to scale back the pdpas influence. Governments in the soviet union, china and cambodia initiated programs of radical social transformation and killed, tortured or allowed to starve whole groups thought hostile to change or simply unworthy of life.
Jan 12, 2017 in 1979, soviet troops entered afghanistan and for the next decade the ussr was mired in a conflict that eventually caused the country to unravel. However improbably, a few of these are still inhabited, like. In afghanistan, a soviet past lies in ruins the new york times. When i was interviewing veterans of the sovietafghan war for my doctorate, many and horrifying were the accounts of parties fueled by aftershave, rosewater, and rubbing alcohol. That government collapsed only when the soviet union collapsed, and gorbachevs successor, boris yeltsin, decided to end all russian aid, in money and kind, to afghanistan. Boozing through the sovietafghan war was more horrifying. Nov 25, 2012 gregory feifers book about the soviet experience in afghanistan is the best i have read to date. Dec 22, 2014 currently foreign editor of ogonyok, the ussrs leading weekly news magazine and a staunch supporter of glasnost, he offers in this work an introductory essay which speculates on the scenario for the soviet union s entry into afghanistan in late december 1979, followed by two gripping accounts of russian soldiers under fireone in the spring.
The soviet withdrawal from afghanistan amin saikal. Popular soviet union books meet your next favorite book. Without proper equipment and training, the afghanistan government was unable to resist the opposition,called the mujahedeen, eventually seeking the aid of the soviet union. In the great gamble, gregory feifer examines the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground. The army of the soviet union killed large numbers of afghans to suppress their resistance. The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union.
The fateful siege this year marks the centenary of the russian revolution. The author of this book was the british ambassador to the ussr and then the russian federation but i highly appreciate his objective approach throughout the book which is about the causes of soviet involvement in afghanistan right up till the withdrawal of the troops and its aftermath from the russian point of view. Soviet forces in afghanistan, rather than on strictly operational analysis. Undoubtedly the katyn massacre one of the many mass graves holding the 22,000 polish officers and intelligentsia executed by the nkvd during the katyn massacre. The september 11th sourcebooks national security archive. The soviet union began trying to build its influence in afghanistan. A mujahideen, a captain in the afghan army before deserting, poses with a group of rebels near herat, afghanistan, on february 28, 1980. The trump administration marked this weeks 100th anniversary of the bolshevik revolution by declaring a national day for the victims of communism. The soviet war in afghanistan was a grueling debacle that has striking lessons for the twentyfirst century. Many mass killings occurred under 20thcentury communist regimes. In addition to the 125page annex, the main body of the israeli practices report is 126 pages. In december 1979, in the midst of the cold war, the soviet 40th army invaded afghanistan in order to prop up the communist government of the peoples democratic party of afghanistan pdpa against a growing insurgency. Soviet war in afghanistan simple english wikipedia, the. Minutes of conversation between brezhnev and honecker, and andropovgromykoustinovponomarevs reports to brezhnev in the summer and fall of 1979 shed light on soviet thinking on wider geostrategic implications of the situation in afghanistan, the impact of the iranian revolution in the region, perceived u.
Oct 28, 20 the history of atrocities and massacres of civilians around the world only starts officially from 1917 russian revolution and it has continued past 1989 collapse of the soviet union only in. In gripping detail, he vividly depicts the invasion of a volatile country that no power has ever successfully conquered. The major problem with the book is that at times it feels spotty. He particularly addresses the argument that the war in afghanistan was central to the fall of the soviet union. Aug 04, 2014 the soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989. Various professors and scholars from yale law school believe that the afghans were victims of genocide by the soviet union. Russia in afghanistan 1979 to 1989 part 1 of 3 youtube. But from some sources ive read, ive read that apparently the soviets were basically worse than the taliban. In some cases, these acts were committed upon the orders of the soviet leader joseph stalin in. Why does no one talk about the atrocities committed by. The war in afghanistan 19791989 has been called the soviet union s vietnam war, a conflict that pitted soviet regulars against a relentless, elusive, and. Throughout the cold war, the united states and the soviet union competed for power and influence in different areas of the world.
55 1263 489 626 288 390 1405 1048 1507 1350 132 107 1124 714 823 1398 968 839 96 1137 15 867 1324 945 929 1153 655 430 330 1295 785 248 675 1011