Afghanistan and the Cold War/Fall of the USSR

1. Afghanistan and the Cold War/Fall of the USSR

2. The Soviet Invasion in Afghanistan (1979-1989) Overview • The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a 10-year war which wreaked incredible destruction on Afghanistan. • The war started officially started on December 24, 1979. • Soviet troops ultimately withdrew from the area between May 15, 1988 and February 2, 1989. The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had left Afghanistan on February 15.

3. Roots of the War • The roots of the war lay in the overthrow of the Afghanistan government in April 1978 by left-wing military officers, who then handed power over to two Marxist-Leninist political parties, the Khalq (“Masses”) and Parcham (“Flag”), who together had formed the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. • Having little support among the people, the new government forged close ties with the Soviet Union, launched ruthless purges of all domestic opposition, and began extensive land and social reforms that were bitterly resented by the devoutly Muslim and largely anti-Communist population.

5. Muslim tribal-based insurgencies arose against the government. • This insurgency prompted the invasion of the country by about 30,000 Soviet troops in December 1979 with the aim of propping up the Soviet Union’s new but faltering client state. • Leonid Brezhnev (leader of Russia) declared the Soviet Union had a right to come to the assistance of an endangered fellow socialist country. This assertion of a right is now known as the Brezhnev Doctrine.

6. World Reaction • The invasion was regarded by many as an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country by another. • The United Nations General Assembly passed United Nations Resolution 37/37 on November 29, 1983, which stated that the Soviet Union forces should withdraw from Afghanistan. • Others supported the Soviet Union, regarding it as coming to the rescue of an impoverished ally, or as a pre-emptive war against Islamist terrorists. The CIA invested US$2.1 billion over a 10-year period to create an anti-Soviet resistance.

7. Why was Afghanistan Important? • Some believed that the Soviet Union's presence in Afghanistan was motivated by a desire to bring its forces closer to a strategic choke-point: the mouth of the Persian gulf, the route for most of the world's oil supertankers.

9. Muslim rebels, or mujahideen which means, “strugglers”

10. The Afghan War quickly settled down into a stalemate, with about 100,000 Soviet troops controlling the cities, large towns, and major garrisons and the mujahideen roaming relatively freely throughout the countryside. • The Soviets then attempted to eliminate the mujahideen’s civilian support by bombing and depopulating the rural areas. Their tactics sparked a massive flight from the countryside; by 1982 some 2.8 million Afghans had sought asylum in Pakistan, and another 1.5 million had fled to Iran.

11. The mujahideen were eventually able to neutralize Soviet air power through the use of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States. • The mujahideen were fragmented politically into a handful of different groups, and their military efforts remained uncoordinated throughout the war. • The quality of their arms and combat organization gradually improved because of the experience and arms shipments being sent by the United States and other countries via Pakistan.

12. It Did Not Work… • Soviet troops were not able to gain access to the Persian Gulf. • After a long and unsuccessful conflict with the CIA-backed Mujahedeen, Soviet troops ultimately withdrew from the area between May 15, 1988 and February 2, 1989. The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had left Afghanistan on February 15.

13. Taliban • Taliban, an extreme Islamic Fundamentalist group took control of Afghanistan. • They committed massacres throughout the country in order to solidify their power. • Once in power they imposed strict Islamic laws • Harbored terrorists (Left) Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban

14. Mikhail Gorbachev • The last leader of the Soviet Union. • Under his leadership new reforms were introduced in order to save the Soviet Union • Perestroika – Capitalism • Glasnost – Freedom of speech • Policy of non-interference in the politics of Eastern European Nations

15. Revolts in Poland • Worker’ protests led to demands for capitalism and free elections change in Poland. • Solidarity Movement, led by Lech Walesa demanded free parliamentary elections. Lech Walesa, an electrician who became the leader of the Solidarity Movement will be elected as the president of Poland.

16. Revolts in Romania • Romania had modernized under communist leader NicolaeCeaușescu • When Ceaușescu ordered his security forces to fire on demonstrators who demanded free elections it in sighted a violent overthrow of the government. • Ceausescu and his wife was captured, tried and executed.

17. Revolts in East Germany • In East Germany the Communist leader Erich Honecker ruled oppressively. He used the Stasi (Secret Police) to crush any opposition. • Mass demonstration in 1989 forced him to open the “Berlin Wall.” • Germans celebrated by tearing down the wall. • Germany was reunited in 1990

18. The Fall of Soviet Union • Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe led to the fall of the Soviet Union • Boris Yeltsin was elected as the President of Confederation of Independent States • Fall of the Soviet Union led to great economic hardship in former Soviet Nations.

19. Before and After

20. Russia Existing competition and distrust between the U.S. and Russian Federation

21. Consequences of the Cold War • United States becomes the sole Super Power of the world – the most powerful nation • Economically • Militarily • Politically (Influence in the world)

22. Cold War Legacy • Russo-Georgian war 2008: Russia briefly invaded the country of Georgia when the country elected pro-western President. • Annexation of Crimea 2014: Russia helped the region of Crimea separate from Ukraine. • Pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine 2014: Russia is supporting Ukrainian separatists in their civil war. While the Western nations are supporting the Ukrainian government. • Syrian Civil War • Syrian civil war started when the President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria brutally suppressed protestors who wanted more democracy in the country. This turned into a civil war. • Russia is supporting the Syrian Government sending weapons to Assad’s government. • United States is supporting Syrian rebels. • Civil war created a climate that helped create the terrorist group we know as the Islamic State (ISIL)