Russias policy in afghanistan center for strategic and. Why is russia so interested in afghanistan all of a sudden. They had underestimated their enemy and lacked the. The soviet army, counterinsurgency, and the afghan war. Russias long history of war and trade in central asia and afghanistan in the. Trumps bizarre history lesson on the soviet union, russia.
Afghanistan has become a key issue in the dialogue between russia and the us, nato and individual western countries. Russian officials suggest that us bases in afghanistan are part of a plan to dominate the region and threaten russia through central asia. Russias afghan policy in the regional and russiawest. Pakistans role and strategic priorities in afghanistan. There are estimated to be 1,500 russians living in afghanistan. The russian stake in afghanistan by david satter fpri senior fellow david satter is the author most recently of it was a long time ago and it never happened anyway. It is based on interviews with former members of the soviet armed forces in afghanistan, interviews with afghan reistnnce leaders and former officers, and a literature search. Policy congressional research service 1 background afghanistan has a history of a high degree of decentralization, and resistance to foreign invasion and occupation. Russias 21st century interests in afghanistan asian survey. Russia s current and foreseeable policy towards afghanistan is multivectored, complex and shows, at times, signs of incoherence. Sovietafghan war part of the cold war and the continuous afghanistan conflict mujahideen fighters in the kunar province of afghanistan in 1987 date december 24, 1979 february 15, 1989 9 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day location afghanistan result mujahideen victory soviet failure to quell the afghan mujahideen insurgency geneva accord 1988 withdrawal of. Military strategic culture and the paradoxes of asymmetric conflict introduction the enemys objective is to have us concentrate our main.
Conventional soviet doctrine ran aground in afghanistan against two related obstacles. Find out whats happening in the world as it unfolds. An increased russian involvement in afghanistan has. For iran and russia, afghanistan is more likely to be an area of geopolitical competition than a sphere of cooperation. Why is china protecting the pakistanbased jaishemohammad militant group. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. Its role in russia s relations with the countries of central asia, china, pakistan, iran and india is also growing. Why russia is back in afghanistan the conversation. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, invasion of afghanistan in late december 1979 by troops from the soviet union. What is at stake now for russia in and around afghanistan. Likewise, coordination with china in central asia is not new. The outcome of western involvement in afghanistan is likely to. This development is striking, since for three decades after the withdrawal of soviet troops in 1989, moscow has demonstrated little appetite for involvement or intervention south of the postsoviet space. Pdf this monograph explores military culture as an explanatory variable in a focused comparative study of the sovietafghan war and the first.
A russian t62 commando tank destroyed in the panjshir river valley in parwan valley about 180 km north of kabul, on february 25, 1981. Russia returns to afghanistan the national interest. Sovietafghan war part of the cold war and the continuous afghanistan conflict mujahideen fighters in the kunar province of afghanistan in 1987 date december 24, 1979 february 15, 1989 9 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day location afghanistan result mujahideen victory soviet failure to quell the afghan mujahideen insurgency geneva accord 1988 withdrawal of soviet forces from. But beneath the surface, there are important differences. The historical relationship between russia and afghanistan offers a better understanding of the modernday dynamics of russian interests in afghanistan. Since the 19th century, russia has made efforts to establish a foothold in the country, all. Russia s afghan problem the russian federation and the afghanistan problem since 2001. Russia could ally with china and pakistan to create an alternative bloc to the u.
January 04, 2017 how russia may approach the taliban and afghanistan. In recent years russian influence in afghanistan has grown. Russia and afghanistan institute for the study of war. In other words, one of the novel features of russian policy is this coordination with iran in both syria and afghanistan, suggesting a broader irano russian partnership across the middle east for all the differences between them. Pdf afghanistan in the whirlwind of usrussia rivalry in. By humayun hassan the historical relationship between russia and afghanistan offers a better understanding of the modernday dynamics of russian interests in afghanistan. The current us occupation of afghanistan october 2001present is the latest in the cycle of conflict and rivalry between the us and russia in afghanistan and central asia. Russia in afghanistan 1979 to 1989 part 2 of 3 youtube. He accepts, without reservation, russian estimates of more than 15,000 killed. Russia and the communist past, which is just out in paperback from the yale university press.
Pdf russias concerns relating to afghanistan and the broader. Third, russia s main interest in afghanistan and surrounding region is not geoeconomics. Starting with the saur revolution military coup, an almost continuous series of armed conflicts has dominated and afflicted afghanistan. Pdf why russia is back in afghanistan david g lewis. Pdf russia and afghanistan relations after 1989 abodin. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned.
The sovietafghan war began in 1979 and ended in 1989. Russias strategies in afghanistan and their consequences for nato. Despite this, russia is still active in the region today. Making sense of russias involvement in afghanistan the. Russias actions visavis contending forces in afghanistan and central asia in the broader context of moscows rapprochement with pakistan, its ties to.
Not only does it give them a summary of afghanistan s colorful geography and history, but it also presents an uptodate picture of where the war is heading and an informed discussion of the range of choice for afghanistan and its allies. The soviet union fought a bloody and disastrous war in afghanistan in the 1980s. Report june 20 executive summary by safdar sial pakistans role and strategic priorities in afghanistan since 1980 pakistans afghan policy in the 1980s and 1990s largely remained focused on seeking strategic depth in. However, should the drivers that were present in syria emerge, russia is likely to increase its involvement. Russia views developments in afghanistan as a strategic challenge and is expressing growing concern over the prospects for stability in the country after the withdrawal of isaf forces by the end of 2014. John mccain said last week that russia is propping up the taliban to undermine u. This text is an attempt to analyse russia s policy towards afghanistan and the. It argues that none of russias afghanistanrelated concerns can be alleviated as long as the armed conflict there continues in full force. For the russians themselves, the afghan syndrome continues to be very powerful and warns against any new engagement in. Russia also claimed it was making its contribution to the collective struggle against terrorism in afghanistan, providing free assistance to equip the afghan national security forces with weapons. Russias afghan policy in the regional and russiawest contexts ifri. Russia in afghanistan 1979 to 1989 part 1 of 3 youtube. In 1979, the soviets had illsuited uniforms and inferior fighting tactics, and found it impossible to defeat the popular afghan guerrilla army. Overall, russia s debate on afghanistan reveals radi cally different positions, from proposing to tackle the threat of taliban and instability jointly with the west to.
This report on the soviet army in afghanistan focuses on morale, discipline, motivation, and cohesion. Afghanistan made it russia, because they went bankrupt fighting in afghanistan. Russia and afghanistan also share sizeable turkic ethnic minorities, such as the uzbeks and turkmen. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned dave shunk 26 december 2008 col dave shunk, usaf, ret. The russian experience in afghanistan is not a simple story. 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. Second, the main focus of russia s regional policy is on central asia, not afghanistan. Understanding russian involvement in afghanistan oped. Eyes on the endgame for a relatively limited investment, afghanistan offers an ideal opportunity for russia to make headway in its geopolitical competition with the west. Unfortunately the author tends to lean toward russian interpretation of events at the cost of scholarly balance. Making sense of russias policy in afghanistan ifri. The image of the soviet army fighting against islam in afghanistan also contributed to a rapid rise of islamic fundamentalism in the central asian republics and possibly to the strengthening of the independence movement in chechnya, both of which continue to pose major security threats to russia today.
We have advanced the professional skills of almost counternarcotics officers from afghanistan and central asia. Vladimir putins posturing towards afghanistan has opened a new chapter in the great game in the heart of asia. Ciardp85t00287r000018 secret soviet prisoners in afghanistan the afghan insurgents apparently hold 50 to 100 soviet prisoners. The drivers for such an action are currently absent. Cidob find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Afghansty is in fact afghanistan from a russian perspective a useful and valuable work. Understanding war in afghanistan is an excellent book for journeyman students of afghanistan. The reason russia was in afghanistan was because terrorists were. A russian journalists account of the soviet war in afghanistan. Far from being the imperialist expansion it is sometimes caricatured to be, the russians stumbled into afghanistan reluctantly, beset.
In recent years, there have been signs that russia is reactivating its policy to wards afghanistan in the political, economic and security spheres. Afghanistans significance for russia in the 21st century sciendo. Russia is a great power that retains muscle memory. Soviets take over in afghanistan in an attempt to stabilize the turbulent political situation in afghanistan, the soviet union sends 75,000 troops to enforce the installation of. This is a good start, and it should give us the confidence to go much further by examining, for example, how drugs. 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. Nato and russia have also achieved a great deal together in our joint work on counternarcotics training. Russia is unlikely to intervene on a scale comparable to the 2015 action in syria in any of the other three countries examined in the reportlibya, yemen, and afghanistan. In the 1960s and 1970s, due to cooperation between the soviet union and afghanistan, there were roughly 10,000 russian expatriate engineers, interpreters, construction workers, and other similar professionals living in the country, a figure which had grown to 15,000 by the eve of the sovietafghan war. 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. For a relatively limited investment, afghanistan offers an ideal opportunity for russia to make headway in its geopolitical competition with the west.
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