This double special issue investigates the experiences of soviet afghan veterans and the ongoing impact of the soviet afghan war 197989. Pakistans role in the sovietafghan war thoughts on history. Feb 21, 2019 the soviet war in afghanistan lasted more than nine years. The sovietafghan war had an important impact in popular culture in the west, due to its scope.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The russianukrainian film the 9th company, for example, became a blockbuster in the former ussr earning millions of dollars and also representing a new trend in russia in which some domestic films are drawing russian audiences away from hollywood staples. Best books about the soviet invasion of afghanistan. A specially equipped c141 starlifter transport carrying william casey touched down at a military air base south of islamabad in october 1984 for a secret visit by the cia director to plan strategy for the war against soviet forces in afghanistan. The soviet invasion and the afghan response, 19791982. The new leader of the ussr, mikhail gorbachev, was much more moderate than previous leaders and was, therefore, much more willing to engage in diplomatic.
The use of the war in russian cinema has attracted scholarly attention as well. The myth of soviet expansionism foreign policy journal. A soviet antihero, the journal of power institutions in postsoviet societies online, issue 17 2016, online since 06 december 2015, connection on 08 may 2020. A history of europe since 1945 is a 2005 nonfiction book written by british historian and scholar tony judt who specialised in european history. Aug 04, 2014 in the brutal nineyear conflict, an estimated one million civilians were killed, as well as 90,000 mujahideen fighters, 18,000 afghan troops, and 14,500 soviet soldiers. It starts with the soviet afghan war, and our clear agenda to help the afgans bleed the soviets. During that time of soviet occupation, regional military leaders in afghanistan helped the u. The main body of the book is about soviet army and air force tactics. Policy congressional research service summary the united states, partner countries, and the afghan government are attempting to reverse recent gains made by the resilient talibanled insurgency since the december 2014 transition to a. The afghan war center for strategic and international studies. Jul 01, 2019 in march 2018 we published a post stating that the afghan war blog would temporarily suspend posting articles and sending out the afghan war blog weekly newsletter. He then entered the foreign service and, among other postings, had two tours in moscow, the second as british ambassador from 1988 to 1992. In the book shantaram by gregory david roberts, he describes his experiences fighting with the mujahideen in afghanistan.
He controlled the flow of thousands of tons of arms across pakistan and into its occupied neighbor, arms that were acquired with cia and saudi arabian funds from the usa. Journal of soviet and postsoviet politics and society. The sovietafghan war had an important impact in popular culture in the west, due to its scope, and the great number of countries involved. The state of the afghan war center for strategic and. The intense images of afghanistans long and distant war. University of california press, 1995 isbn 9780585249766. With the current mission in afghanistan, this group has grown. The soviet afghan war anthony tuckerjones this photographic history of the soviet afghan war of 1979 to 1989 gives a fascinating insight into a grim conflict that prefigured the americanled campaign in that country. Rubin has dedicated much of his career to the study of this remote mountain country.
I learned more about the details of this war in a single chapter from this book than i have in all the other books combined. In the brutal nineyear conflict, an estimated one million civilians were killed, as well as 90,000 mujahideen fighters, 18,000 afghan troops, and 14,500 soviet soldiers. The soviet invasion had enormous implications on the global stage. The war in afghanistan 19791989 has been called the soviet. Conflict in afghanistan provides the reader with a historical overview of hostilities in afghanistan and discusses their causes, history, and impact on afghan. The book consists of separate chapters on various aspects of the war, including the experiences of various components of the soviet army. Mar 23, 2002 during that time of soviet occupation, regional military leaders in afghanistan helped the u. Exclusive prose with his unfolds personal experiences brigadier mohammad yousaf was born in 1937 and took his commission as an infantry officer into the frontier defence force regiment of the pakistan army ff6. This photographic history of the sovietafghan war of 1979 to 1989 gives a fascinating insight into a grim conflict that prefigured the americanled campaign in that country. Written by russian staff officers who fought the war, this book goes into great detail on the tactics and inner workings of the soviet military in afghanistan. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. Some 400,000 afghans lost their lives as a result of fighting between militia factions and the mujahedin, and later the taliban, who emerged from the mujahedin and rose to power in the late 1990s. The hitandrun bloodletting across the wars decade tallied more than.
They demanded that the primers contain antisoviet passages. It was a cauldron that took the lives of 15,000 soviet soldiers and hundreds of thousands of afghan civilians, and turned millions of. Reading this book may help us avoid the costly mistakes made by the soviets. Postsoviet russia is a rather broad topic, but here are some more recentlywritten books ive had to read for class or have been recommended to me by professors at harvard that give a good sense of the political and social situation there. The hitandrun bloodletting across the war s decade tallied more than. Sovietafghanistan war overview history of war in the. Cassidy, author of the new, critically acclaimed book, war, will, and warlords. Pakistans role in the sovietafghan war september 17, 2017 september 17, 2017 rousseau1214 back in islamabad, hart sat in his house at night and drafted long cables to langley on yellow legal pads, describing a soviet convoy of tanks destroyed here, a helicopter shot down there. But the soviet union had lived next door to afghanistan for more than 60 years without gobbling it up. And when the russians invaded in 1979, the key motivation was the united states involvement in a movement, largely islamic, to topple the afghan government, which was friendly to. With the surge in afghanistan expected to begin this week, we thought it was time to take a look at the long view of afghanistan, from the perspective of the books written about the struggle of two. Sigar was informed that dod has determined that although the most. The true story of life, love and loss for a green beret in post911 war by.
The intelligence came from the upper reaches of the soviet defense ministry and indicated that soviet hardliners were pushing a plan to attempt to win the afghan war within two years, sources said. A history of the soviet unionafghan war, 19791989 brewminate. Jun 28, 2008 in july 1973, afghanistans former prime minister, sadar mohammed daoud, seized control of the government with the backing of soviet trained afghan military officers and a moscownurtured afghan communist political faction. In that year, revolutionaries threw both the shah and the americans out of iran, and the cia, with full presidential authority, began its largest ever clandestine operation. Journal of soviet and postsoviet politics and society by. It is also another translation from original works by the soviet genreral staff, this time a collection of papers based on their analysis of the armies performance over its extended deployment in afghanistan. The true story of life, love and loss for a green beret in post 911 war by. The sovietafghan 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. 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. This book had so much potential, but couldnt seem to decide what it wanted to bean eyewitness account of russian soldiers who fought in afghanistan, a book. 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 afghanpakistan conflict is a complex conflict that covers two countries and has ideological, political, governance, economic, military, and security dimensions that are extremely difficult to measure and portray in summary form. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops. Following occupation duties as a soldier in post war vienna, rodric braithwaite studied russian at cambridge from 19521955. 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. This event began a brutal, decadelong attempt by moscow to subdue the afghan civil war and maintain a friendly and socialist. Aug 21, 2009 the afghan pakistan conflict is a complex conflict that covers two countries and has ideological, political, governance, economic, military, and security dimensions that are extremely difficult to measure and portray in summary form. In early january 1988, 39 soviet paratroopers were positioned on a cliff overlooking the gardezkhost road in southeastern afghanistan. The soviet side of the war has long been neglected but finally received attention from gregory feifer in the great gamble.
The book examines six decades of european history from the end of world war ii in 1945 up to 2005. May 09, 20 one of our foremost authorities on modern afghanistan, barnett r. The same month, broad offensives were waged by soviet and afghan government forces throughout afghanistan. This is the 7th book on the sovietafghan war ive read, and lester grau kept up his reputation with this book for historical investigative detail. The afghan war center for strategic and international.
In its recently released quarterly report to the u. Following occupation duties as a soldier in postwar vienna, rodric braithwaite studied russian at cambridge. In the sovietafghan war the russian general staff takes a close critical look. Most important is the pakistani version, written by the isi commander of the battle, mohammad yousaf, with mark adkin in the bear trap. Discover the best afghan war military history in best sellers. Within the soviet union demonstrations against the. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned dave shunk 26 december 2008 col dave shunk, usaf, ret. This event began a brutal, decadelong attempt by moscow to subdue the afghan. 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. The author, brigadier mohammad yousaf, was head of the afghan bureau of pakistans interservice intelligence and as such was commendably the mujahideens commanderinchief. He served as a special advisor to the late ambassador richard holbrooke during his final mission to the region and still serves the obama administration under holbrookes successor, ambassador marc grossman. In an unequal struggle, the mujahedeen resisted for ten years, then triumphed over moscow. They demanded that the primers contain anti soviet passages.
The soviet invasion of its neighbour afghanistan in december 1979 sparked a bloody nineyear conflict in that country until soviet forces withdrew in 198889, dooming the communist afghanistan government to defeat at the hands of the mujahideen, the afghan popular resistance backed by the usa and other powers. The soviet afghan war by members of the russian general staff, and translated by lester grau and michael gross, is a summary overview of the soviet experience in the afghan invasion and war of the 1980s. A single az section covers the three main eras in afghanistans history. The book examines six decades of european history from the end of world war ii in 1945 up to 2005 the book won considerable praise for its breadth and comprehensive approach. But with the collapse of the soviet union, they united states simply did not seem to care much about afghanistan, nor did it want to get involved in its politics, much to the behest of many career mid to lower level intelligence and diplomatic. Afghanistan, and bin laden from the soviet invasion to september 10. The sovietafghan war by members of the russian general staff, and translated by lester grau and michael gross, is a summary overview of the soviet experience in the afghan invasion and war of the 1980s. For many years, western scholarship on the sovietafghan war was limited to a small group of academics, soldiers, retired diplomats, regional specialists and journalists. This authoritative, clearly written volume covers all aspects of the conflicts that have taken place in afghanistan from 1747 to the present. In march 2018 we published a post stating that the afghan war blog would temporarily suspend posting articles and sending out the afghan war blog weekly newsletter. The soviet war in afghanistan lasted more than nine years. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. The americans criticized the proposal and the summit ended without a major agreement on afghanistan. The fire of civil war raged in afghanistan for more than a decade between the soviet pullout and the united statesled invasion in 2001.
S department of defense, and various polls and nongovernmental organizations have, however, gradually developed summary. A muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the sovietafghan war. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned. This proved to be a pivotal juncture in afghanistans development as a cold war battlefield. At his home in the mountains north of kabul, former mujahideen fighter shah sulaiman closed his damaged eyes, took a sip of green. One of our foremost authorities on modern afghanistan, barnett r. Afghan war books good military history reading on the war s in afghanistan. The photos, starting in 1988, span afghanistans immediate postsoviet era, the agonizing civil war of the 1990s, the period of taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, the u. A muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the. Sep 17, 2017 pakistans role in the sovietafghan war september 17, 2017 september 17, 2017 rousseau1214 back in islamabad, hart sat in his house at night and drafted long cables to langley on yellow legal pads, describing a soviet convoy of tanks destroyed here, a helicopter shot down there. A superb book on the soviet afghan war up there with the bear went over the mountain.
In this second part of a twopart interview by government book talk blog editor michele bartram, col. Counterinsurgency in afghanistan and pakistan, 20012011, describes the lessons learned after ten years of war in afghanistan. Our reasons were writing endeavors, work projects, travel, vacations, and other culprits. The recent highprofile bombings in afghanistan have reignited a debate about the state of the war. Anne ducloux, a muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the sovietafghan war. Uzbekistan to prepare the book, as no military archives were accessible2. This double special issue investigates the experiences of soviet afghan veterans and the ongoing impact of the sovietafghan war 197989. Dozens of books and hundreds of articles dealing with the war and the afghan resistance have already been published. A muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the soviet. A comprehensive az study of the history of conflict in afghanistan from 1747 to the present.