https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/08/the-soviet-war-in-afghanistan-1979-1989/100786/
Nearly twenty-five years ago, the Soviet Union pulled its
last troops out of Afghanistan, ending more than nine years of direct
involvement and occupation. The USSR entered neighboring Afghanistan in
1979, attempting to shore up the newly-established pro-Soviet regime in
Kabul. In short order, nearly 100,000 Soviet soldiers took control of
major cities and highways. Rebellion was swift and broad, and the
Soviets dealt harshly with the Mujahideen rebels and those who supported
them, leveling entire villages to deny safe havens to their enemy.
Foreign support propped up the diverse group of rebels, pouring in from
Iran, Pakistan, China, and the United States. In the brutal nine-year
conflict, an estimated one million civilians were killed, as well as
90,000 Mujahideen fighters, 18,000 Afghan troops, and 14,500 Soviet
soldiers. Civil war raged after the withdrawal, setting the stage for
the Taliban's takeover of the country in 1996. As NATO troops move
toward their final withdrawal this year, Afghans worry about what will
come next, and Russian involvement in neighboring Ukraine's rebellion
has the world's attention, it is worth looking back at the Soviet-Afghan
conflict that ended a quarter-century ago. Today's entry is part of the
ongoing series here on Afghanistan.
