How much did the Soviet Union spend on its military?
Since the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union devoted between 15 and 17 percent of its annual gross national product to military spending, according to United States government sources. In early 1989, Gorbachev announced a military budget of 77.3 billion rubles, but Western authorities estimated the budget to be about twice that.
How did the Soviet Union help in the war in Afghanistan?
Since 1947, Afghanistan had been under the influence of the Soviet government and received large amounts of aid, economic assistance, military equipment training and military hardware from the Soviet Union.
How much did the war in Afghanistan cost the US?
Measured in dollars — what it would have cost the United States to procure, operate, and maintain the same force in Afghanistan — CIA estimated that the total cost through the seven years of the war was about $50 billion. This is only 75 percent of what the war in Vietnam cost the United States in the peak year of 1968.
How much would have been spent if the USSR never invaded Afghanistan?
Of this total. about 3 billion rubles would have been spent over the seven-year period even if the USSR had not occupied Afghanistan.
How much did Afghan war cost Soviets?
The Soviet spending on the war was substantial — about $7.5 billion between 1984 and 1987 alone — but that number was but a drop in the bucket compared to the annual Soviet military budget of roughly $128 billion.
How much did the Soviet Union lose in Afghanistan?
About 15,000 Soviet soldiersAbout 15,000 Soviet soldiers were killed, and about 35,000 were wounded. About two million Afghan civilians were killed....Soviet–Afghan War.DateDecember 24, 1979 – February 15, 1989 (9 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day)LocationAfghanistan1 more row
What were Russia's losses in Afghanistan?
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 turned into a brutal, long conflict that saw the death of an estimated one million civilians, 90,000 Mujahideen fighters and 18,000 Afghan troops. The Soviet Union lost about 14,500-15,000 men.
Who helped Afghanistan in 1979?
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.
Could the USSR have won in Afghanistan?
The Soviets could win as many pitched battles as they wanted, kill as many Afghan fighters as possible, but the endless tide of money and men would mean that the battles would just be fought over and over. Search-and-destroy missions were not going to pacify Afghanistan.
Did the Soviets win Afghanistan?
The Afghan War quickly settled down into a stalemate, with more than 100,000 Soviet troops controlling the cities, larger towns, and major garrisons and the mujahideen moving with relative freedom throughout the countryside.
How many helicopters did Russia lose in Afghanistan?
333 helicoptersThe following is a partial and unofficial list of helicopter and airplane crashes, accidents and shotdowns that occurred during the Soviet–Afghan War of 1979–89. In total, at least 333 helicopters and 118 Soviet jets were reported lost during the war.
How did the Soviet Afghan war impact Afghanistan?
In the brutal nine-year conflict, an estimated one million civilians were killed, as well as 90,000 Mujahideen fighters and 18,000 Afghan troops. The country was left in ruins. Several million Afghans had either fled to Pakistan for refuge or had become internal refugees.
When did the Soviet Union withdraw from Afghanistan?
Soviet withdrawal. The final and complete withdrawal of Soviet combatant forces from Afghanistan began on 15 May 1988 and ended on 15 February 1989 under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris Gromov . Planning for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union (USSR) from the Afghanistan War began soon after Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary ...
Who was the leader of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan?
Under the leadership of Gorbachev, the Soviet Union attempted to consolidate the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan 's hold over power in the country, first in a genuine effort to stabilize the country, and then as a measure to save face while withdrawing troops.
How did the Soviet Union achieve reconciliation?
To achieve reconciliation, the Soviet Union dedicated a serious effort to helping the Najibullah government establish relations with rebel factions, sent record packages of aid, and promised that "absolutely all of the military infrastructure would be handed over to the DRA armed forces" upon Soviet withdrawal.
What were the reforms in Afghanistan?
Political reforms were enacted by the DRA government and their Soviet allies as part of the Policy of National Reconciliation. Generally, these reforms can be characterised as seeking to allow rebel factions to align with the government and state order in Afghanistan by stripping it of its Marxist-revolutionary agenda. Throughout 1987 the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was renamed the Republic of Afghanistan, participation of all political parties in government was permitted conditional on their non-violence towards each other, and Afghanistan's Islamic identity was reassumed. These political reforms were met by scepticism from rebel leaders and PDPA members alike, and were generally unproductive. Cordovez and Harrison write:
What was Gorbachev's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan?
Understanding that the Soviet Union's troublesome economic and international situation was complicated by its involvement in the Afghan War, Gorbachev "had decided to seek a withdrawal from Afghanistan and had won the support of the Politburo to do so [by October 1985]".
When did Gorbachev withdraw from the KGB?
After the departure of Yakovlev from the Politburo in the fall of 1988, Gorbachev adopted the Shevarnadze-KGB line of policy regarding supporting Najibullah at the cost of antagonising rebel factions, and a halt of the withdrawal was ordered on November 5, 1988.
What happened after the death of Leonid Brezhnev?
After the death of Leonid Brezhnev, the political will for Soviet involvement in Afghanistan dwindled. The level of Soviet forces in the country was not adequate to achieve exhaustive military victory, and could only prevent the allied DRA from losing ground.
When did the Soviet Union start troops in Afghanistan?
By December, party morale was crumbling, and the insurgency was growing. On December 12, 1979, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev and a special commission of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPSU decided to introduce Soviet troops in Afghanistan "in order to provide international assistance ...
How many Soviet troops were in Afghanistan in 1979?
The Soviet armed forces that invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 consisted of about 40,000 officers and men and their equipment. The fierce resistance by Afghan guerrilla forces mujahidiin, literally meaning warriors engaged in a holy war. forced the Soviets to increase the size and sophistication of their military units, ...
Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan?
In 1979. against a background of slowing economic growth and military spending, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support a ?edgling Marxist government threatened by civil war and imminent collapse. Moscow‘s basic goal was to ensure the continuation of a pro-Soviet Communist regime that could rule the country on its own without a large Soviet military presence. At the time, the Soviets referred to the invasion as “limited” and “temporary” hoping that a more moderate regime in Kabul under Babrak Karmal, coupled with the Soviet military presence, would intimidate the insurgents, bolster the Afghan army, and enable most of the Soviet troops to withdraw within a couple of years.
What was Moscow's goal?
Moscow‘s basic goal was to ensure the continuation of a pro-Soviet Communist regime that could rule the country on its own without a large Soviet military presence. At the time, the Soviets referred to the invasion as “limited” and “temporary” hoping that a more moderate regime in Kabul under Babrak Karmal, coupled with ...
Why did the Soviet Union build up?
One reason for the Soviet buildup was the ineffectiveness of Afghan military and paramilitary units. When the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in a coup d'état in April 1978, the army consisted of about 80,000 officers and men and the air force of about 10,000.
What was the reason for the Soviet-Afghan Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborhood and Cooperation of December
The rationale for the decision was Article 4 of the Soviet-Afghan Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborhood and Cooperation of December 5, 1978, Article 51 of the UN Charter (on the right of states to self-defense against external aggression) and requests from the leadership of Afghanistan for military assistance.
What was the Soviet Union interested in?
The Soviet Union, always interested in establishing a cordon sanitaire of subservient or neutral states on its frontiers, was increasingly alarmed at the unstable, unpredictable situation on its southern border.
Overview
Aftermath
Soviet support for the Najibullah government did not end with the withdrawal of the regular troops. Aid totalling several billion dollars was sent by the Soviet Union to Afghanistan, including military aircraft (MiG-27s) and Scud missiles. Due primarily to this aid, the Najibullah government held onto power for much longer than the CIA and State Department expected. The mujahedeen made considerable advances following the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent, and were even a…
Events leading up to military withdrawal
Understanding that the Soviet Union's troublesome economic and international situation was complicated by its involvement in the Afghan War, Gorbachev "had decided to seek a withdrawal from Afghanistan and had won the support of the Politburo to do so [by October 1985]". He later strengthened his support base at the top level of Soviet government further by expanding the Politburo with his allies. To fulfill domestic and foreign expectations, Gorbachev aimed to withdr…
Process of military withdrawal
The withdrawal of the Soviet military began on 15 May 1988, under the leadership of General of the Army Valentin Varennikov (with General Gromov commanding the 40th Army directly). As agreed, the withdrawal was "front-loaded", with half of the Soviet force leaving by August. The withdrawal was complicated, however, by the rapid deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan. While the United States was not bound by any commitment to stop arms shipments and continued to supply the A…
See also
• Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2020–2021)
External links
• Grau, Lester. "Breaking contact without leaving chaos: the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan" (PDF). [Foreign Military Studies Office Publications]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
• Marshall, A.(2006); Phased Withdrawal, Conflict Resolution and State Reconstruction; Conflict Research Studies Centre; ISBN 1-905058-74-8
Overview
The Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989) was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the Mujahideen, as well as smaller Marxist–Leninist–Maoist groups, fought a nine-year guerrilla war against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) and the Soviet Army throughout the 1980s, mostly in the Afghan countryside. The Mujahideen were variously back…
Naming
In Afghanistan the war is usually called the Soviet war in Afghanistan (Pashto: په افغانستان کې شوروی جګړه Pah Afghanistan ke Shuravi Jagera, Dari: جنگ شوروی در افغانستان Jang-e Shuravi dar Afghanestan). In Russia and elsewhere in 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 t…
Background
In the 19th century, the United Kingdom was fearful that Russia would invade Afghanistan and use it to threaten the large British holdings 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 the Panjdeh Incident and threatened war. The border was agreed by the join…
Soviet deployment, 1979–1980
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 the fight against the mujahideen ("Those engaged in jihad") rebels. After the killing of Soviet technicians in Herat by riotin…
Operations against the guerillas, 1980–1985
The war now developed into a new pattern: the Soviets occupied the cities and main axis of communication, while the Afghan mujahideen, which the Soviet Army soldiers called 'Dushman,' meaning 'enemy', divided into small groups and waged a guerrilla war. Almost 80 percent of the country was outside government control. Soviet troops were deployed in strategic areas in the nort…
Soviet exit and change of Afghan leadership, 1985–1989
As early as 1983, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry began working with the Soviet Union to provide them an exit from Afghanistan, initiatives led by Foreign Minister Yaqub Ali Khan and Khurshid Kasuri. Despite an active support for insurgent groups, Pakistanis remained sympathetic to the challenges faced by the Soviets in restoring the peace, eventually exploring the possibility of setting up an inter…
Fall of Najibullah government, 1992
After the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, the government of Mohammad Najibullah remained in power until April 15th, 1992. Najibullah stepped down as Mujahideen guerrilla forces moved into Kabul. He attempted to fly to India under the protection of the U.N., but was blocked from leaving at the airport. He then took refuge at a United Nations compound in Kabul. After a bloody, four-year power struggle between different factions of the victorious anti-Najibullah forces, the T…
Aerial engagements
Soviet Union and Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Air Force jet fighters and bombers would occasionally cross into Pakistani airspace to target Afghan refugees camps in Pakistan. To counter the Soviet jets, the United States started providing F-16 jets to Pakistan. These F-16 jets lacked the capability to fire radar-guided beyond-visual range missiles, and thus they were required to …