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111-663: During the Soviet–Afghan War it was a stronghold of the mujahideen . They held their fort at Kot-e Ashro until 1987, when they were forced to surrender to the Soviets. Some 450 mujahideen were executed upon the orders of a Soviet commander. In 2006, the Taliban captured the town, and it ceased to be the capital of Jalrez district. In late July to early August 2012, 11 citizens of the Hazara ethnic group were brutally tortured and beheaded by

222-637: A feudal system into a Communist society, while the moderate Parcham faction favored a more gradualist and gentler approach, arguing that Afghanistan was simply not ready for Communism and would not be for some time. The Parcham faction favored building up the PDPA as a mass party in support of the Daoud Khan government, while the Khalq faction were organized in the Leninist style as a small, tightly organized elite group, allowing

333-437: A Vietnamese quagmire? ' " When asked to clarify this remark, Slocombe explained: "Well, the whole idea was that if the Soviets decided to strike at this tar baby [Afghanistan] we had every interest in making sure that they got stuck." Yet a 5 April memo from National Intelligence Officer Arnold Horelick warned: "Covert action would raise the costs to the Soviets and inflame Moslem opinion against them in many countries. The risk

444-712: A covert operation under MI 's Major-General Naseerullah Babar . In 1974, Bhutto authorized another secret operation in Kabul where the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Air Intelligence of Pakistan (AI) extradited Burhanuddin Rabbani , Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Ahmad Shah Massoud to Peshawar , amid fear that Rabbani, Hekmatyar and Massoud might be assassinated by Daoud. According to Baber, Bhutto's operation

555-648: A few aircraft, and (according to debated Soviet sources) a million gold rubles to support the resistance during the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. In 1942, the USSR again moved to strengthen the Afghan Armed Forces by providing small arms and aircraft and establishing training centers in Tashkent , Uzbek SSR . Soviet-Afghan military cooperation began on a regular basis in 1956, and further agreements were made in

666-570: A high and steep hill in Kabul, was surrounded by landmines and guarded by extraordinarily large contingents of the Afghan National Army . Nonetheless, Afghan forces suffered major losses during the Soviet operation; 30 Afghan palace guards and over 300 army guards were killed while another 150 were captured. Two of Amin's sons, an 11-year-old and a 9-year-old, died from shrapnel wounds sustained during

777-618: A large influx of foreign fighters known as the Afghan Arabs . American and British involvement on the side of the mujahideen escalated the Cold War , ending a short period of relaxed Soviet Union–United States relations . Combat took place throughout the 1980s, mostly in the Afghan countryside, as most of the country's cities remained under Soviet control. The conflict resulted in the deaths of approximately 3,000,000 Afghans, while millions more fled from

888-463: A popular cause to unite the Afghan people divided along tribal lines, and a modern, well equipped Afghan army which would be used to suppress anyone who would oppose the Afghan government. His Pashtunistan policy was to annex Pashtun areas of Pakistan, and he used this policy for his own benefit. Daoud Khan's irredentist foreign policy to reunite the Pashtun homeland caused much tension with Pakistan,

999-477: A preemptive strike. What was envisioned in the fall of 1979 was a short intervention under which Moscow would replace radical Khalqi Communist Amin with the moderate Parchami Communist Babrak Karmal to stabilize the situation. Contrary to the contemporary view of Brzezinski and the regional powers, access to the Persian Gulf played no role in the decision to intervene on the Soviet side. The concerns raised by

1110-629: A propaganda campaign targeting the Soviet-backed leadership of the DRA, which (in the words of Steve Coll ) "seemed at the time a small beginning." The Amin government, having secured a treaty in December 1978 that allowed them to call on Soviet forces, repeatedly requested the introduction of troops in Afghanistan in the spring and summer of 1979. They requested Soviet troops to provide security and to assist in

1221-500: A propaganda victory to their opponents, and Afghanistan's overall inconsequential weight in international affairs, in essence realizing they had little to gain by taking over a country with a poor economy, unstable government, and population hostile to outsiders. However, as the situation continued to deteriorate from May–December 1979, Moscow changed its mind on dispatching Soviet troops. The reasons for this complete turnabout are not entirely clear, and several speculative arguments include:

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1332-547: A significant factor that contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991; it is for this reason that the conflict is sometimes referred to as "the Soviet Union's Vietnam " in retrospective analyses. In March 1979, there had been a violent uprising in Herat , wherein a number of Soviet military advisers were executed. The ruling People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which had determined that it could not subdue

1443-756: A significant part of your own people. And the people would never forgive such things. – Alexei Kosygin, the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, in response to Taraki's request for Soviet presence in Afghanistan Following the Herat uprising , the first major sign of anti-regime resistance, General Secretary Taraki contacted Alexei Kosygin , chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and asked for "practical and technical assistance with men and armament". Kosygin

1554-511: A special KGB group Зенит ( Zenit – "Zenith"), later known as Vympel and Гром ( Grom - "Thunder"). There were also 87 troops of a company of the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment . 520 men from the 154th Separate Spetsnaz Detachment of the USSR Ministry of Defence known as the " Muslim Battalion " because it consisted exclusively of soldiers from the southern republics of the USSR. This motorized rifle battalion had been formed in

1665-712: A state that allied itself with the United States. The policy had also angered the non-Pashtun population of Afghanistan, and similarly, the Pashtun population in Pakistan were also not interested in having their areas being annexed by Afghanistan. In 1951, the U.S. State Department urged Afghanistan to drop its claim against Pakistan and accept the Durand Line. In 1954, the United States began selling arms to its ally Pakistan, while refusing an Afghan request to buy arms, out of fear that

1776-747: Is also known as the Afghan jihad , especially by the non-Afghan volunteers of the Mujahideen. In the 19th century, the British Empire was fearful that the Russian Empire would invade Afghanistan and use it to threaten the large British colonies in India . This regional rivalry was called the " Great Game ". In 1885, Russian forces seized a disputed oasis south of the Oxus River from Afghan forces, which became known as

1887-478: Is only one leading force in the country – Hafizullah Amin. In the Politburo, everybody fears Amin. During its first 18 months of rule, the PDPA applied a Soviet-style program of modernizing reforms, many of which were viewed by conservatives as opposing Islam. Decrees setting forth changes in marriage customs and land reform were not received well by a population deeply immersed in tradition and Islam, particularly by

1998-690: The American embassy in Kabul and "was capable of reaching an agreement with the United States "; however, allegations of Amin colluding with the Americans have been widely discredited and it was revealed in the 1990s that the KGB actually planted the story; and the deteriorating ties with the United States after NATO's two-track missile deployment decision in response to Soviet nuclear presence in Eastern Europe and

2109-472: The KGB , Soviet leaders felt that Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin 's actions had destabilized the situation in Afghanistan. Following his initial coup against and killing of Taraki , the KGB station in Kabul warned Moscow that Amin's leadership would lead to "harsh repressions, and as a result, the activation and consolidation of the opposition." The Soviets established a special commission on Afghanistan, comprising

2220-583: The KGB chairman Yuri Andropov , Boris Ponomarev from the Central Committee and Dmitry Ustinov , the Minister of Defence . In late April 1979, the committee reported that Amin was purging his opponents, including Soviet loyalists, that his loyalty to Moscow was in question and that he was seeking diplomatic links with Pakistan and possibly the People's Republic of China (which at the time had poor relations with

2331-469: The New York Times on 27 December 1979, was "Amin had been sentenced to death at a revolutionary trial for crimes against the state and that sentence had been carried out". One story at the time was Amin was killed by Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy , a previous Minister of Communication until ousted by Amin, who was present with two other previous ministers during the assault to give credence to accounts that it

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2442-749: The Pamir Mountains , near the border with British India, civil servant Mortimer Durand was sent to outline a border, likely in order to control the Khyber Pass . The demarcation of the mountainous region resulted in an agreement, signed with the Afghan Emir, Abdur Rahman Khan , in 1893. It became known as the Durand Line . In 1947, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, Mohammad Daoud Khan , rejected

2553-701: The Panjdeh Incident . The border was agreed by the joint Anglo-Russian Afghan Boundary Commission of 1885–87. The Russian interest in Afghanistan continued through the Soviet era, with billions in economic and military aid sent to Afghanistan between 1955 and 1978. Following Amanullah Khan 's ascent to the throne in 1919 and the subsequent Third Anglo-Afghan War , the British conceded Afghanistan's full independence. King Amanullah afterwards wrote to Russia (now under Bolshevik control) desiring for permanent friendly relations. Vladimir Lenin replied by congratulating

2664-518: The Revolutionary Council and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the newly established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. On 5 December 1978, a treaty of friendship was signed between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan. "We only need one million people to make the revolution. It doesn't matter what happens to the rest. We need the land, not the people." After the revolution, Taraki assumed

2775-625: The Tajbeg Palace , where Amin was moving to. In Moscow, Leonid Brezhnev was indecisive and waffled as he usually did when faced with a difficult decision. The three decision-makers in Moscow who pressed the hardest for an invasion in the fall of 1979 were the troika consisting of Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko ; the Chairman of KGB, Yuri Andropov , and the Defense Minister Marshal Dmitry Ustinov . The principal reasons for

2886-407: The United States "; however, allegations of Amin colluding with the Americans have been widely discredited, with the Soviet archives revealing that the story of Amin as a CIA agent had been planted by the KGB . The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was initially led by Nur Muhammad Taraki , who was pro-Soviet Union, which resulted in cordial Afghan–Soviet relations. In September 1979, Taraki

2997-499: The 1970s, which saw the USSR send advisers and specialists. The Soviets also had interests in the energy resources of Afghanistan, including oil and natural gas exploration from the 1950s and 1960s. The USSR began to import Afghan gas from 1968 onwards. Between 1954 and 1977, the Soviet Union provided Afghanistan with economic aid worth of about 1 billion rubles. In the 19th century, with the Czarist Russian forces moving closer to

3108-532: The Afghan Army, on the orders of Daoud Khan following his policy of Pashtun irredentism , made two unsuccessful incursions into Pakistan's Bajaur District . In both cases, the Afghan army was routed , suffering heavy casualties. In response, Pakistan closed its consulate in Afghanistan and blocked all trade routes through the Pakistan–Afghanistan border. This damaged Afghanistan's economy and Daoud's regime

3219-600: The Afghans for their defence against the British, and a treaty of friendship between Afghanistan and Russia was finalized in 1921. The Soviets saw possibilities in an alliance with Afghanistan against the United Kingdom, such as using it as a base for a revolutionary advance towards British-controlled India . The Red Army intervened in Afghanistan to suppress the Islamic Basmachi movement in 1929 and 1930 , supporting

3330-485: The Afghans would use the weapons against Pakistan. As a consequence, Afghanistan, though officially neutral in the Cold War, drew closer to India and the Soviet Union, which were willing to sell them weapons. In 1962, China defeated India in a border war , and as a result, China formed an alliance with Pakistan against their common enemy, India, pushing Afghanistan even closer to India and the Soviet Union. In 1960 and 1961,

3441-766: The Amin/Taraki period in response to the revolts. The revolt began in October among the Nuristani tribes of the Kunar Valley in the northeastern part of the country near the border with Pakistan, and rapidly spread among the other ethnic groups. By the spring of 1979, 24 of the 28 provinces had suffered outbreaks of violence. The rebellion began to take hold in the cities: in March 1979 in Herat , rebels led by Ismail Khan revolted. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people were killed and wounded during

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3552-715: The Basmachis were mostly defeated by the Soviets, and Central Asia was incorporated into the Soviet Union. In 1929, the Basmachi rebellion reignited, associated with anti- forced collectivization riots. Basmachis crossed over into Afghanistan under Ibrahim Bek , which gave a pretext for the Red Army interventions in 1929 and 1930. The Soviet Union (USSR) had been a major power broker and influential mentor in Afghan politics , its involvement ranging from civil-military infrastructure to Afghan society. Since 1947, Afghanistan had been under

3663-621: The Chief of the Soviet Army General Staff, Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov who warned about the possibility of a protracted guerrilla war, were dismissed by the troika who insisted that any occupation of Afghanistan would be short and relatively painless. Most notably, though the diplomats of the Narkomindel at the Embassy in Kabul and the KGB officers stationed in Afghanistan were well informed about

3774-517: The Czechoslovak StB ; files from January 1979 revealed information that Afghanistan sent AGSA spies to Czechoslovakia to find and assassinate Karmal. In 1978, the Taraki government initiated a series of reforms, including a radical modernization of the traditional Islamic civil law, especially marriage law, aimed at "uprooting feudalism " in Afghan society. The government brooked no opposition to

3885-608: The Durand Line, which had been accepted as an international border by successive Afghan governments for over half a century. The British Raj also came to an end, and the Dominion of Pakistan gained independence from British India and inherited the Durand Line as its frontier with Afghanistan. Under the regime of Daoud Khan, Afghanistan had hostile relations with both Pakistan and Iran. Like all previous Afghan rulers since 1901, Daoud Khan also wanted to emulate Emir Abdur Rahman Khan and unite his divided country. To do that, he needed

3996-468: The General Staff ( Darul Aman Palace ). Veterans of the Soviet Union's Alpha Group have stated that Operation Storm-333 was one of the most successful in the unit's history. Documents released following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s revealed that the Soviet leadership believed Amin had secret contacts within the American embassy in Kabul and "was capable of reaching an agreement with

4107-400: The Herat revolt. Some 100 Soviet citizens and their families were killed. By August 1979, up to 165,000 Afghans had fled across the border to Pakistan. The main reason the revolt spread so widely was the disintegration of the Afghan army in a series of insurrections. The numbers of the Afghan army fell from 110,000 men in 1978 to 25,000 by 1980. The U.S. embassy in Kabul cabled to Washington

4218-502: The KGB contingent, Col. Boyarinov, was killed. All the surviving participants in the KGB troops in the operation were wounded. Also, Soviet army doctor Colonel Viktor Kuznechenkov, who was treating General Secretary Amin, was killed by friendly fire in the palace and was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner. According to Oleg Balashov, who was second in command of the assault group,

4329-623: The Khalqi plans to transform Afghanistan would provoke a rebellion from the general population, which was socially and religiously conservative. Immediately after coming to power, the Khalqis began to persecute the Parchamis, not the least because the Soviet Union favored the Parchami faction whose "go slow" plans were felt to be better suited for Afghanistan, thereby leading the Khalqis to eliminate their rivals so

4440-505: The King in a bloodless coup , and established the first Afghan republic . Following his return to power, Daoud revived his Pashtunistan policy and for the first time started proxy warring against Pakistan by supporting anti-Pakistani groups and providing them with arms, training and sanctuaries. The Pakistani government of prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was alarmed by this. The Soviet Union also supported Daoud Khan's militancy against Pakistan as they wanted to weaken Pakistan, which

4551-478: The PDPA split into two rival factions, the Khalq (Masses) faction headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki and the Parcham (Flag) faction led by Babrak Karmal . Symbolic of the different backgrounds of the two factions were the fact that Taraki's father was a poor Pashtun herdsman while Karmal's father was a Tajik general in the Royal Afghan Army. More importantly, the radical Khalq faction believed in rapidly transforming Afghanistan, if necessary even using violence, from

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4662-493: The PDPA was sparked by the repression imposed on them by Daoud's regime and the death of a leading PDPA member, Mir Akbar Khyber . The mysterious circumstances of Khyber's death sparked massive anti-Daoud demonstrations in Kabul , which resulted in the arrest of several prominent PDPA leaders. On 27 April 1978, the Afghan Army , which had been sympathetic to the PDPA cause, overthrew and executed Daoud along with members of his family. The Finnish scholar Raimo Väyrynen wrote about

4773-420: The Soviet Union ). Of specific concern were Amin's supposed meetings with the U.S. chargé d'affaires, J. Bruce Amstutz , which were used as a justification for the invasion by the Kremlin . Information forged by the KGB from its agents in Kabul provided the last arguments to eliminate Amin. Supposedly, two of Amin's guards killed the former General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki with a pillow, and Amin himself

4884-508: The Soviet Union with a wide range of views, mainly split between those who wanted to ensure that Afghanistan remained a socialist state and those who were concerned that the unrest would escalate. Eventually, a compromise was reached to send military aid, but not troops. The conflict began when the Soviet military , under the command of Leonid Brezhnev , moved into Afghanistan to support the Afghan administration that had been installed during Operation Storm-333 . Debate over their presence in

4995-460: The Soviet leadership initiated Operation Storm-333 (the first phase of the intervention) on 27 December 1979. Storm-333 was part of a bigger operation, Baikal-79, aimed at taking control over approximately 20 key strongholds in and around Kabul, which included major military headquarters, communication centers and jails. The core of Storm-333 assault team included 25 men from the Гром ( Grom – "Thunder") unit of Alpha Group , and 30 operators from

5106-428: The Soviet military would begin a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan . The final wave of disengagement was initiated on 15 May 1988, and on 15 February 1989, the last Soviet military column occupying Afghanistan crossed into the Uzbek SSR . With continued external Soviet backing, the PDPA government pursued a solo war effort against the mujahideen, and the conflict evolved into the Afghan Civil War . However, following

5217-410: The Soviets would have no other choice but to back them. Within the PDPA, conflicts resulted in exiles , purges and executions of Parcham members. The Khalq state executed between 10,000 and 27,000 people, mostly at Pul-e-Charkhi prison , prior to the Soviet intervention. Political scientist Olivier Roy estimated between 50,000 and 100,000 people disappeared during the Taraki–Amin period: There

5328-402: The Taliban in Kot-e-Ashro. In one incident on August 1, five people were forced off a vehicle and killed together. This Wardak Province , Afghanistan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking

5439-409: The Third World, particularly beginning in mid-1979." In March 1979, "CIA sent several covert action options relating to Afghanistan to the SCC [ Special Coordination Committee ]" of the United States National Security Council . At a 30 March meeting, U.S. Department of Defense representative Walter B. Slocombe "asked if there was value in keeping the Afghan insurgency going, 'sucking the Soviets into

5550-442: The USSR earlier in 1979 at the specific request of the Afghan leader to guard his residence as he could not rely on Afghan troops. These support troops were not issued armor or helmets, but one of them recalls that a magazine tucked inside his clothes protected him from an SMG bullet. The teams were assisted by Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy in leading it to Tajbeg Palace. The raid on the Tajbeg Palace , where General Secretary Amin

5661-481: The army was melting away "like an ice floe in a tropical sea". According to scholar Gilles Dorronsoro, it was the violence of the state rather than its reforms that caused the uprisings. Pakistani intelligence officials began privately lobbying the U.S. and its allies to send materiel assistance to the Islamist rebels. Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 's ties with the U.S. had been strained during Jimmy Carter 's presidency due to Pakistan's nuclear program and

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5772-428: The beginning of the protracted Afghan conflict , it saw the Soviet Union and the Afghan military fight against the rebelling Afghan mujahideen . While they were backed by various countries and organizations, the majority of the mujahideen's support came from Pakistan , the United States (as part of Operation Cyclone ), the United Kingdom , China , Iran , and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf , in addition to

5883-559: The clashes and died shortly after. Amin's wife and daughter were wounded, but survived. 347 other Afghans, including 30 of Amin's most personal guards from Palace and Leader's guards, also died in the fighting, and part of the palace went up in flames. 150 of the 180 Palace and Leader's guards, who were regular troops, surrendered when they realized the attacking troops were from the USSR, not from an Afghan unit. A total of 1,700 Afghan soldiers surrendered to Soviet troops and were taken prisoner. The whole operation took about 40 minutes. It

5994-412: The clashes. In the aftermath of the operation, a total of 1,700 Afghan soldiers who surrendered to Soviet forces were taken prisoner, and the Soviets installed Babrak Karmal , the leader of the PDPA's Parcham faction, as Amin's successor. Several other government buildings were seized from Amin's Khalqist government during the operation, including those for the Ministry of Interior Affairs , KAM , and

6105-469: The country as refugees ; most externally displaced Afghans sought refuge in Pakistan and in Iran . Approximately 7.4% to 22.2% of Afghanistan's erstwhile population of 13.5 million people (per the 1979 census) is estimated to have been killed over the course of the Soviet–Afghan War. The decade-long confrontation between the mujahideen and the Soviet and Afghan militaries inflicted grave destruction throughout Afghanistan and has also been cited by scholars as

6216-450: The country soon ensued in international channels, with the Muslim world and the Western Bloc classifying it as an invasion, while the Eastern Bloc asserted that it was a legal intervention. Nevertheless, numerous sanctions and embargoes were imposed on the Soviet Union by the international community shortly after the beginning of the conflict. Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan's major cities and all main arteries of communication, whereas

6327-438: The crisis between Pakistan and Afghanistan was resolved and Pakistan re-opened the trade routes. After the removal of Daoud Khan, the King installed a new prime minister and started creating a balance in Afghanistan's relation with the West and the Soviet Union, which angered the Soviet Union. In 1973, Daoud Khan, supported by Soviet-trained Afghan Army officers and a large base of the Afghan Commando Forces , seized power from

6438-416: The developments in that country, such information rarely filtered through to the decision-makers in Moscow who viewed Afghanistan more in the context of the Cold War rather than understanding Afghanistan as a subject in its own right. The viewpoint that it was the United States that was fomenting the Islamic insurgency in Afghanistan with the aim of destabilizing Soviet-dominated Central Asia tended to downplay

6549-548: The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, all support to the Democratic Republic was pulled, leading to the toppling of the government at the hands of the mujahideen in 1992 and the start of a second Afghan Civil War shortly thereafter. In Afghanistan, the war is usually called the Soviet war in Afghanistan ( Pashto : په افغانستان کې شوروی جګړه , romanized:  Pah Afghanistan ke Shuravi Jagera ; Dari : جنگ شوروی در افغانستان , romanized:  Jang-e Shuravi dar Afghanestan ). In Russia and elsewhere in

6660-416: The effects of an unpopular Communist government pursuing policies that the majority of Afghans violently disliked as a generator of the insurgency and strengthened those who argued some sort of Soviet response was required to a supposed "outrageous American provocation." It was assumed in Moscow that because Pakistan (an ally of both the United States and China) was supporting the mujahideen that therefore it

6771-411: The enemies of the revolution, and millions of people had to be eliminated in order to secure the victory of the October Revolution . Taraki and Amin's regime even attempted to eliminate Parcham's leader Babrak Karmal. After being relieved of his duties as ambassador, he remained in Czechoslovakia in exile, fearing for his life if he returned as the regime requested. He and his family were protected by

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6882-449: The execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in April 1979, but Carter told National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance as early as January 1979 that it was vital to "repair our relationships with Pakistan" in light of the unrest in Iran . According to former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official Robert Gates , "the Carter administration turned to CIA ... to counter Soviet and Cuban aggression in

6993-430: The failure of Congress to ratify the SALT II treaty, creating the impression that détente was "already effectively dead." The British journalist Patrick Brogan wrote in 1989: "The simplest explanation is probably the best. They got sucked into Afghanistan much as the United States got sucked into Vietnam, without clearly thinking through the consequences, and wildly underestimating the hostility they would arouse". By

7104-426: The fall of 1979, the Amin regime was collapsing with morale in the Afghan Army having fallen to rock-bottom levels, while the mujahideen had taken control of much of the countryside. The general consensus amongst Afghan experts at the time was that it was not a question of if, but when the mujahideen would take Kabul. In October 1979, a KGB Spetsnaz force Zenith covertly dispatched a group of specialists to determine

7215-446: The fight against the mujahideen ("Those engaged in jihad ") rebels. After the killing of Soviet technicians in Herat by rioting mobs, the Soviet government sold several Mi-24 helicopters to the Afghan military. On 14 April 1979, the Afghan government requested that the USSR send 15 to 20 helicopters with their crews to Afghanistan, and on 16 June, the Soviet government responded and sent a detachment of tanks, BMPs , and crews to guard

7326-419: The following months right up to December 1979. However, the Soviet government was in no hurry to grant them. We should tell Taraki and Amin to change their tactics. They still continue to execute those people who disagree with them. They are killing nearly all of the Parcham leaders, not only the highest rank, but of the middle rank, too. – Kosygin speaking at a Politburo session. Based on information from

7437-409: The former Soviet Union, it is usually called the Afghan war ( Russian : Афганская война ; Ukrainian : Війна в Афганістані ; Belarusian : Афганская вайна ; Uzbek : Afgʻon urushi ); it is sometimes simply referred to as " Afgan " (Russian: Афган ), with the understanding that this refers to the war (just as the Vietnam War is often called "Vietnam" or just " 'Nam" in the United States ). It

7548-440: The front BMP and, when the BMP was immobilized by fire from Amin's troops, ordered them to abandon the BMP and run to the palace. All five were quickly wounded by intensive fire from the guards, but were saved by bulletproof vests and helmets. This account generally agrees with that of Aleksandr Lyakhovskiy, Soviet war historian and former director of the USSR Defense Ministry in Afghanistan, who gives more details and accentuates

7659-495: The government in Kabul and to secure the Bagram and Shindand air bases. In response to this request, an airborne battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A. Lomakin, arrived at Bagram on 7 July. They arrived without their combat gear, disguised as technical specialists. They were the personal bodyguards for General Secretary Taraki. The paratroopers were directly subordinate to the senior Soviet military advisor and did not interfere in Afghan politics. Several leading politicians at

7770-421: The government's unpopularity. After 20 months of Khalqist rule, the country deteriorated in almost every facet of life. The Soviet Union believed that without intervention, Amin's government would have been disintegrated by the resistance and the country would have been "lost" to a regime most likely hostile to the USSR. Operation Storm-333 Operation Storm-333 ( Russian : Шторм-333 , Štorm-333 )

7881-401: The government. They started their rebellion in the Panjshir valley , but lack of support along with government forces easily defeating them made it a failure, and a sizable portion of the insurgents sought refuge in Pakistan where they enjoyed the support of Bhutto's government. The 1975 rebellion, though unsuccessful, shook President Daoud Khan and made him realize that a friendly Pakistan

7992-470: The grave internal situation and inability for the Afghan government to retain power much longer; the effects of the Iranian Revolution that brought an Islamic theocracy into power, leading to fears that religious fanaticism would spread through Afghanistan and into Soviet Muslim Central Asian republics; Taraki's murder and replacement by Amin, who the Soviet leadership believed had secret contacts within

8103-459: The group was led by two elite units of Alpha and Vympel (15–20 each). The Alpha group targeted Amin, and the Vympel group had the task of collecting factual evidence that Amin was collaborating with the United States. Both groups were brought to Afghanistan secretly and blended with Muslim Battalions to make an impression that the operation was carried out by local units, whereas in reality nearly all work

8214-509: The hands of our enemies – both yours and ours". Brezhnev also advised Taraki to ease up on the drastic social reforms and to seek broader support for his regime. In 1979, Taraki attended a conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana , Cuba. On his way back, he stopped in Moscow on 20 March and met with Brezhnev, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and other Soviet officials. It

8325-523: The influence of the Soviet government and received large amounts of aid, economic assistance, military equipment training and military hardware from the Soviet Union. Economic assistance and aid had been provided to Afghanistan as early as 1919, shortly after the Russian Revolution and when the regime was facing the Russian Civil War . Provisions were given in the form of small arms , ammunition,

8436-556: The invasion were the belief in Moscow that Amin was a leader both incompetent and fanatical who had lost control of the situation, together with the belief that it was the United States via Pakistan who was sponsoring the Islamist insurgency in Afghanistan. Andropov, Gromyko and Ustinov all argued that if a radical Islamist regime came to power in Kabul, it would attempt to sponsor radical Islam in Soviet Central Asia , thereby requiring

8547-418: The latter to enjoy ascendancy over the former. In 1971, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul reported that there had been increasing leftist activity in the country, attributed to disillusionment of social and economic conditions, and the poor response from the Kingdom's leadership. It added that the PDPA was "perhaps the most disgruntled and organized of the country's leftist groups." Intense opposition from factions of

8658-439: The leadership, prime ministership and general secretaryship of the PDPA. As before in the party, the government never referred to itself as " communist ". The government was divided along factional lines, with Taraki and Deputy Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin of the Khalq faction pitted against Parcham leaders such as Babrak Karmal. Though the new regime promptly allied itself to the Soviet Union, many Soviet diplomats believed that

8769-474: The local military garrison in the Nuristan region of eastern Afghanistan and soon civil war spread throughout the country. In September 1979, Deputy Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin seized power, arresting and killing Taraki. More than two months of instability overwhelmed Amin's regime as he moved against his opponents in the PDPA and the growing rebellion. Even before the revolutionaries came to power, Afghanistan

8880-417: The mujahideen waged guerrilla warfare in small groups across the 80% of the country that was not subject to uncontested Soviet control—almost exclusively comprising the rugged, mountainous terrain of the countryside. In addition to laying millions of landmines across Afghanistan, the Soviets used their aerial power to deal harshly with both Afghan resistance and civilians, levelling villages to deny safe haven to

8991-434: The mujahideen, destroying vital irrigation ditches and other infrastructure through tactics of scorched earth . The Soviet government had initially planned to swiftly secure Afghanistan's towns and road networks, stabilize the PDPA, and withdraw all of their military forces in a span of six months to one year. However, they were met with fierce resistance from Afghan guerrillas and experienced great operational difficulties on

9102-606: The ones who had supported his coup, and started replacing them with familiar faces from Kabul's traditional government elites. Daoud also started reducing his dependence on the Soviet Union. As a consequence of Daoud's actions, Afghanistan's relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated. In 1978, after witnessing India's nuclear test, Smiling Buddha , Daoud Khan initiated a military buildup to counter Pakistan's armed forces and Iranian military influence in Afghan politics. The Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan 's strength grew considerably after its foundation. In 1967,

9213-458: The original price; however, the Soviets were not pleased about the developments in Afghanistan and Brezhnev impressed upon Taraki the need for party unity. Despite reaching this agreement with Taraki, the Soviets continued to be reluctant to intervene further in Afghanistan and repeatedly refused Soviet military intervention within Afghan borders during Taraki's rule as well as later during Amin's short rule. Lenin taught us to be merciless towards

9324-661: The ousted king Amanullah, as part of the Afghan Civil War (1928–1929) . The Basmachi movement had originated in a 1916 revolt against Russian conscription during World War I , bolstered by Turkish general Enver Pasha during the Caucasus campaign . Afterwards, the Soviet Army deployed around 120,000–160,000 troops in Central Asia, a force similar to the peak strength of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in size. By 1926–1928,

9435-399: The potential reaction from local Afghans to a presence of Soviet troops there. They concluded that deploying troops would be unwise and could lead to war, but this was reportedly ignored by the KGB chairman Yuri Andropov . A Spetsnaz battalion of Central Asian troops , dressed in Afghan Army uniforms, was covertly deployed to Kabul between 9 and 12 November 1979. They moved a few days later to

9546-472: The powerful landowners harmed economically by the abolition of usury (although usury is prohibited in Islam) and the cancellation of farmers' debts. The new government also enhanced women's rights, sought a rapid eradication of illiteracy and promoted Afghanistan's ethnic minorities, although these programs appear to have had an effect only in the urban areas. By mid-1978, a rebellion started, with rebels attacking

9657-559: The reforms and responded with violence to unrest. Between April 1978 and the Soviet Intervention of December 1979, thousands of prisoners, perhaps as many as 27,000, were executed at the notorious Pul-e-Charkhi prison , including many village mullahs and headmen. Other members of the traditional elite, the religious establishment and intelligentsia fled the country. Large parts of the country went into open rebellion. The Parcham Government claimed that 11,000 were executed during

9768-421: The rugged mountainous terrain. By the mid-1980s, the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan had increased to approximately 115,000 troops and fighting across the country intensified; the complication of the war effort gradually inflicted a high cost on the Soviet Union as military, economic, and political resources became increasingly exhausted. By mid-1987, reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced that

9879-577: The so-called "Saur Revolution": "There is a multitude of speculations on the real nature of this coup. The reality appears to be that it was inspired first of all by domestic economic and political concerns and that the Soviet Union did not play any role in the Saur Revolution". After this the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) was formed. Nur Muhammad Taraki, General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, became Chairman of

9990-461: The time such as Alexei Kosygin and Andrei Gromyko were against intervention. After a month, the Afghan requests were no longer for individual crews and subunits, but for regiments and larger units. In July, the Afghan government requested that two motorized rifle divisions be sent to Afghanistan. The following day, they requested an airborne division in addition to the earlier requests. They repeated these requests and variants to these requests over

10101-409: The uprising by itself, asked for urgent Soviet military assistance; in 1979, over 20 requests were sent. Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin , declining to send troops, advised in one call to Afghan prime minister Nur Muhammad Taraki to use local industrial workers in the province. This was apparently on the belief that these workers would be supporters of the Afghan government. This was discussed further in

10212-628: The west, and Afghanistan would be forced into a closer relationship with the Soviet Union. The pro-Soviet Afghans (such as the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)) also supported Daoud Khan's hostility towards Pakistan, as they believed that a conflict with Pakistan would induce Afghanistan to seek aid from the Soviet Union. As a result, the pro-Soviet Afghans would be able to establish their influence over Afghanistan. In response to Afghanistan's proxy war, Pakistan started supporting Afghans who were critical of Daoud Khan's policies. Bhutto authorized

10323-537: Was "a militarily and politically neutral nation, effectively dependent on the Soviet Union." A treaty, signed in December 1978, allowed the Democratic Republic to call upon the Soviet Union for military support. We believe it would be a fatal mistake to commit ground troops. [...] If our troops went in, the situation in your country would not improve. On the contrary, it would get worse. Our troops would have to struggle not only with an external aggressor, but with

10434-470: Was a lie. Only after he tried but failed to contact the Chief of the General Staff, he muttered, "I guessed it. It's all true." He was captured alive by Grom troops, but semi-conscious, suffering convulsions due to interrupted medical treatment related to a poisoning that occurred on 16 December of the same year. The exact details of his later death have never been confirmed by any eye witness. The official announcement of his death on Kabul Radio, as reported by

10545-601: Was a military raid executed by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan on 27 December 1979. Special forces and airborne troops stormed the heavily fortified Tajbeg Palace in Kabul and assassinated Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin , a Khalqist of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who had taken power in the Saur Revolution of April 1978. It was the start of the Soviet–Afghan War . The assassination of Amin

10656-415: Was an Afghan-controlled operation. Gulabzoy and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar , the previous Minister for Defense, later confirmed his death. This story of his death after a summary trial is supported by the fate of Amin supporters who were executed on the spot with a bullet in the back of the neck, after a 'Revolutionary Troika' arrested and sentenced them to death. Amin's two sons sustained shrapnel wounds during

10767-439: Was an ally of both the United States and China. However, it did not openly try to create problems for Pakistan as that would damage the Soviet Union's relations with other Islamic countries, hence it relied on Daoud Khan to weaken Pakistan. They had the same thought regarding Iran, another major U.S. ally. The Soviet Union also believed that the hostile behaviour of Afghanistan against Pakistan and Iran could alienate Afghanistan from

10878-478: Was an excellent idea and it had hard-hitting impact on Daoud and his government, which forced Daoud to increase his desire to make peace with Bhutto. Pakistan's goal was to overthrow Daoud's regime and establish an Islamist theocracy in its place. The first ever ISI operation in Afghanistan took place in 1975, supporting militants from the Jamiat-e Islami party, led by Ahmad Shah Massoud, attempting to overthrow

10989-468: Was deposed by Hafizullah Amin, due to intra- party strife. After this event and the suspicious death of Taraki (an apparent assassination by Amin's orders), Afghan–Soviet relations started to deteriorate. The KGB claimed that Amin was a "smooth-talking fascist who was secretly pro-western". By December the Soviet leadership had established an alliance with Babrak Karmal. The Soviet Union declared its plan to intervene in Afghanistan on 12 December 1979, and

11100-447: Was done by Alpha and Vympel. Before the operation, Balashov surveyed the area in the guise of a bodyguard of a Soviet diplomat. His unit knew that they were going to a death zone and felt uncomfortable about it – about 80% of them were wounded shortly after they left their vehicles, yet they continued the assault. As Balashov expected, Amin's troops targeted the first and last vehicle in the convoy of six. He placed his team of five men in

11211-539: Was in his best interests. He started improving relations with Pakistan and made state visits there in 1976 and 1978. During the 1978 visit, he agreed to stop supporting anti-Pakistan militants and to expel any remaining militants in Afghanistan. In 1975, Daoud Khan established his own party, the National Revolutionary Party of Afghanistan and outlawed all other parties. He then started removing members of its Parcham wing from government positions, including

11322-420: Was in residence with his family at the suggestion of his KGB security advisers, took place around 7 p.m. on 27 December 1979. The Tajbeg Palace was guarded by the Afghan National Army . During the attack, Amin still believed the Soviet Union was on his side, and told his adjutant, "The Soviets will help us." The adjutant replied that it was the Soviets who were attacking them; Amin initially replied that this

11433-490: Was later determined in 2009 that Amin was mortally wounded by a fragment of a grenade that was thrown by Senior lieutenant Alexander Nikolaevich Plyusnin (1949–2022). The wife of the Minister of Foreign Affairs , Shah Wali (born 1939), was also killed in the operation. During the assault on the Tajbeg five officers of the KGB special forces, seven troops from the "Muslim Battalion", and two paratroopers were killed. The commander of

11544-452: Was not heard. During meetings between General Secretary Taraki and Soviet leaders in March 1979, the Soviets promised political support and to send military equipment and technical specialists, but upon repeated requests by Taraki for direct Soviet intervention, the leadership adamantly opposed him; reasons included that they would be met with "bitter resentment" from the Afghan people, that intervening in another country's civil war would hand

11655-468: Was part of a larger Soviet plan to secure and take control of Afghanistan with support from the PDPA's Parcham faction, which opposed the hardline ideology espoused by the rival Khalq faction; a number of Soviet troops crossed the Amu Darya and entered Afghanistan by land while others flew to airbases around the country with exiled Parchamis in preparation for the assassination. The Tajbeg Palace, located on

11766-464: Was portrayed as a CIA agent. The latter is widely discredited, with Amin repeatedly demonstrating friendliness toward the various delegates of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and maintaining the pro-Soviet line. Soviet General Vasily Zaplatin , a political advisor of Premier Brezhnev at the time, claimed that four of General Secretary Taraki's ministers were responsible for the destabilization. However, Zaplatin failed to emphasize this in discussions and

11877-485: Was pushed towards closer alliance with the Soviet Union for trade. However, these stopgap measures were not enough to compensate the loss suffered by Afghanistan's economy because of the border closure. As a result of continued resentment against Daoud's autocratic rule, close ties with the Soviet Union and economic downturn, Daoud Khan was forced to resign by the King of Afghanistan, Mohammed Zahir Shah . Following his resignation,

11988-559: Was rumoured that Karmal was present at the meeting in an attempt to reconcile Taraki's Khalq faction and the Parcham against Amin and his followers. At the meeting, Taraki was successful in negotiating some Soviet support, including the redeployment of two Soviet armed divisions at the Soviet-Afghan border, the sending of 500 military and civilian advisers and specialists and the immediate delivery of Soviet armed equipment sold at 25 percent below

12099-574: Was that a substantial U.S. covert aid program could raise the stakes and induce the Soviets to intervene more directly and vigorously than otherwise intended." In May 1979, U.S. officials secretly began meeting with rebel leaders through Pakistani government contacts. After additional meetings Carter signed two presidential findings in July 1979 permitting the CIA to spend $ 695,000 on non-military assistance (e.g., "cash, medical equipment, and radio transmitters") and on

12210-420: Was ultimately the United States and China who were behind the rebellion in Afghanistan. Amin's revolutionary government had lost credibility with virtually all of the Afghan population. A combination of chaotic administration, excessive brutality from the secret police, unpopular domestic reforms, and a deteriorating economy, along with public perceptions that the state was atheistic and anti-Islamic, all added to

12321-521: Was unfavorable to the proposal on the basis of the negative political repercussions such an action would have for his country, and he rejected all further attempts by Taraki to solicit Soviet military aid in Afghanistan. Following Kosygin's rejection, Taraki requested aid from Leonid Brezhnev , the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Soviet head of state , who warned Taraki that full Soviet intervention "would only play into

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