25 years have passed since the Afghan war, but to this day this event remains a complex and contradictory phenomenon of both world and Soviet history.
Preconditions and the beginning of hostilities
The geopolitical location of Afghanistan (between South and Central Asia and the Middle East), firstly, made it one of the most ancient centers of trade, and secondly, it inevitably attracts the state to participate in difficult economic and political relations.
In 1978, after the April Revolution, Afghanistan was proclaimed a Democratic Republic. The government headed by Nur Mohammed Taraki took the path of radical reforms, which led to massive protests of the population. Thus, a civil war began in the country. As a result, Nur Mohammed Taraki was killed. He was replaced by Hafizullah Amin, who did not inspire confidence in the Soviet government, as a result of which Soviet troops were brought into the territory of Afghanistan in order to support the communist government and remove Hafizullah Amin from power.
The course of the war
The opposing force against the USSR was the mujahideen, who received weapons, as well as financial support from the United States and China. Clashes between Soviet soldiers and mujahideen began in 1979. The following year, there were both military clashes (Kunar offensive, battles at Shaest, Operation Strike), and numerous accidents (tragedy at the Salang pass) and anti-government demonstrations.
Over the next four years, against the background of military clashes and demonstrations, an international commission begins to form with the aim of a peaceful settlement of the Afghan conflict, which claimed the lives of about 14.5 thousand Soviet soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians - the exact number is still either unknown or whether classified. More than 100 aircraft, about 350 helicopters, and 150 tanks were destroyed. Resistance and losses since 1986 led the USSR to a decision to develop a phased withdrawal plan, which finally happened in 1989.
results
However, the civil war did not end there. In the northern part of the country, the Northern Alliance was formed, and in 1992, after the rebels entered Kabul, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan ceased to exist. Further - the struggle for power, the massive destruction of cultural and historical monuments, and in the south of the country - the spread of the Taliban movement, which declared itself as a defender of exclusively popular interests. Since 1996, most of the country has been under the control of the Taliban.
In 2002, this regime fell in the course of Operation Enduring Freedom, forcing the Taliban into the mountainous regions and allowing the proclamation of the modern Republic of Afghanistan with a new constitution adopted in 2004 and President Hamid Karzai, elected in 2009.
