In particular, three different moments of russian history have led to the creation of todays afghanistan. On august 15, 2017, russian president vladimir putins special envoy to afghanistan, zamir kabulov, urged the united states to withdraw its military presence from afghanistan and end its 16year. Loyns treatment is crucial to understanding the failure of soviet. But since then, many enduring myths have grown up about the wartorn country. The soviet intervention in afghanistan by alfred l.
However, iran will face challenges in winning over the afghan populace. Putins russia is repackaging that defeat as a patriotic victory. Russia needs to maintain a role in afghanistan for the sake of its regional influence and is using the limited means it has to do so just as smaller states like uzbekistan offer new leadership. Russia s recent push for influence in afghanistan follows a pattern across the region, where moscow has challenged american influence in libya, turkey, syria and the gulf.
Iran and afghanistan were two which particularly felt its effects. Russia and the usnato operations in afghanistan 42 iv. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. 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 term the great game was used well before the 19th century and was associated with games of risk, such as cards and dice. In his enlightening and refreshing book, largely based on russian sources, rodric braithwaite, the british ambassador in moscow at the time of. Gregory feifer is an author whose books include the great gamble. Central asia has lost its former importance to russia as a military buffer zonefirst between the russian and british empires, and then between the ussr and u.
As the trump administration weighs whether to send more troops to afghanistan. Arkady bronnikovfuel, from the forthcoming book russian criminal tattoo playing cards the subculture of the vory the plural of vor dates back to the earlier, tsarist years, but was. Throughout those four decades, tehran has struggled to protect and project its interests within the borders of its tumultuous eastern neighbor. During the cold war 19471991, when the soviet union and the united states were engaged in an arms race, the soviet union promoted its foreign policy through the world peace council and other front organizations. The war in afghanistan 19791989 has been called the soviet unions vietnam war, a conflict that pitted soviet regulars against a relentless, elusive, and ultimately unbeatable afghan guerrilla force the mujahideen. A complete analysis of the soviet intervention in afghanistan in late 1979 must wait until enough time passes for that event to be evaluated in terms of longrange soviet military and political objectives. Moscows true objective was to gain enough influence to re. How did the soviet invasion of afghanistan impact the cold.
With great britain and russia maneuvering for influence in afghanistan, dost mo. Trump was wrong about the soviet war in afghanistan the. With the hidden war he provided the world its first glimpse inside the soviet military machine, capturing the soldiers terror, helplessness, and despair at waging war in a foreign land against an unseen enemy for unclear purposes. Publishers weekly journalist loyn dissects numerous misbegotten british, russian, and us efforts to bend this not quite nationstate to serve their respective interests. I believe is an epic statement to the russian experience in afghanistan. This event began a brutal, decadelong attempt by moscow to subdue the afghan civil war and maintain a friendly and socialist. Yet more than a decade later, the region has experienced a steady decline in democratic standards. Islamism, the iranian revolution, and the soviet invasion.
As of this december, 40 years will have passed since the soviet union invaded afghanistan a period that coincides with virtually the entire lifespan of the islamic republic of iran. The cold war profoundly affected the fate of many states. The great game is attributed to captain arthur conolly 180742 who. Since writing the books, afghanistan has become a big part of my life. As nato troops move toward their final withdrawal this year, afghans worry about what will come next, and russian involvement in. This event began a brutal, decadelong attempt by moscow to subdue the afghan civil war and maintain a. This study explores iranian influence in afghanistan and the implications for the united states after most u.
Making sense of russias involvement in afghanistan the. The level of detail about how raids were conducted to what kind of canned rations were provided the soldiers offers a pretty realistic look at the way wars are. As neighbors with a 585mile frontier, iran and afghanistan have connections spanning centuries. Russia and afghanistan institute for the study of war. Russia accused of supplying taliban as power shifts create. The great game is attributed to captain arthur conolly. The cia ended its aid in 1992, the russians sometime later, and the prorussian government in kabul fell. Why russia wants the us to stay in afghanistan the diplomat. Some writers have claimed that it also influenced nonaligned peace groups in the west, although the cia and mi5 have doubted the extent of soviet influence. Mountainous regions of afghanistan such as hazarajat and nuristan, however, were completely free of soviet influence. Outside superpower influence in countries to topple governments and sponsor leaders almost always seems to. Soldiers upon completion of their service in afghanistan in kabul. The history of afghanistan has been dominated by the geographical fact that it lies on the route of invasion to india.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in soviet russian history, military historians and also to anyone interested in the terrors of war and what it was like to witness it. Usips scott worden discusses the complex relationship between the two countries, how iran has built influence there, and where the u. 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. Afghanistans significance for russia in the 21st century sciendo. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states. The soviet army launched a total of nine offensives against one key, guerrillaheld pass called the panjshir valley in the first five years of the war alone.
In 1988, the soviet army left afghanistan after a concerted campaign by the westernbacked mujahideen. The terrorist attack that killed 27 sikhs in a centuriesold gurdwara sikh temple last week highlighted yet again the continued and systematic decimation of sikhs and other religious minorities in afghanistan this most recent attack, for which islamic state isis has claimed responsibility, represents yet another poignant chapter in a larger narrative of the. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops. Russian influence past and present contributed greatly to the current state of afghanistan. This partly reflected the growing influence of the kgb chairman yu. Greater iranian influence in afghanistan could help.
On 28 february 1921, afghanistan and soviet russia signed a friendship treaty. Until his death in 2000, artyom borovik was considered one of the preeminent journalists in russia. Iran condemned the soviet occupation of afghanistan and demanded its withdrawal, but tehran was cautious not to antagonize moscow. The russian federation and the afghanistan problem since 2001 introduction 5 theses 7 i. The collapse of the soviet union brought an end to such cold war conflicts. How iran found its feet in afghanistan foreign affairs. Russia has influenced afghanistan both directly and indirectly. The french equivalent le grand jeu dates back to at least 1585 and is associated with meanings of risk, chance and deception in the historical sense the term dated from the mid19th century.
The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. The mujahideen also held herat and kandahar much of the time. Iran has substantial economic, political, cultural, and religious leverage in afghanistan. Afghan schools have received thousands of iranian books, many of which espouse the values of the islamic republic. Russia s regional activity concerning the afghan question 53 v.
Their domestic and foreignpolicy settings were influenced by the onset of the cold war in ways that produced contrasting outcomes for the two countries, helping eventually to open space for the rise of radical islamism in their politics, with impacts well. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden from the soviet invasion to september 10, 2001 by steve coll 4. Russian foreign policy in afghanistan and central asia since september 11, 2001 and anticipate its future. He is currently executive director of the institute of. Afghan political factions, leaders, the human rights and refugee. Iran refused to become a frontline state against the soviet occupation, and refused to participate in the washingtonislamabadriyadh axis that financed and managed the afghan resistance. History 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. But in the past decade, and particularly under putins rule, russia has sought a bigger world footprint. It depicts how afghanistan, which survived the britishrussian great. Following a protracted civil war that began in 1816, the barakzay clan became the ruling dynasty of afghanistan, with its most powerful member, dost mo. 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. Ambassador braithwaite brings refreshing candor and objectivity a highly politicized subject.
Since 1979the year of irans revolution and the soviet invasion of afghanistan relations between tehran and kabul have ebbed and flowed. These relations are independent of the great game which consists of russian british confrontations over afghanistan since 1840. Russian documents and memoirs edited by svetlana savranskaya. The weight of the material that loyn has gathered makes his book extremely valuable given our current circumstances. Sikhs in afghanistan a neglected, vanishing minority.
The increased soviet defense spending and the war in afghanistan combined with a moribund economy forced the soviets to make difficult decisions. This book was quite dry on the one hand, and on the other was a pretty candid look at the soviet efforts in afghanistan. Russia considers afghanistan as its nearabroad and desires to assert its influence, the foreign official said. What putin really wants in syria russia never sought to be a smalltime fixer in the middle east. Cyrus and the persians, alexander and the macedonian phalanxes, the barbarian scythians, freebooting turanian knights all these passed through the land of the afghans to reach the fabulous wealth of the indian peninsula. At the end of december 1979, the soviet union sent thousands of troops into afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of kabul and large portions of the country. Russia and afghanistan also share sizeable turkic ethnic minorities, such as the uzbeks and turkmen. Page 5 asia the lawful influence to which russia has a right, and which. Angloafghan wars britishafghani history britannica. British concern over russian advances in central asia and growing influence in west asia and persia in particular culminated in two angloafghan wars and the siege of herat 18371838, in which the persians, trying to retake afghanistan and throw out the british, sent armies into the country and fought the british mostly around and in the. T his is the book that every politician, every general, every diplomat contemplating getting into, or out of, afghanistan should be made to read. I grew up in america, west germany, the ussr and russia and have worked for both the u. Is boroviks book the definitive history of the soviet war in afghanistan. The soviet army was driven from afghanistan 30 years ago.
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