The Soviet-Afghan War and Volunteers

The Soviet Union's role in Afghanistan's civil war has been debated. The Soviet military was involved in the conflict, but their involvement had little impact on the situation in Afghanistan. In fact, the Soviets were not interested in interfering in Afghan politics, and they arrived without combat gear, disguised as technical specialists. In the end, they were simply bodyguards for President Taraki. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that the Soviets were resentful of their Afghan volunteers, which was a key factor for the conflict. Afghanistan's civil war
The roots of the Afghan civil war are the overthrow of a centrist government in 1978 by left-wing military officers led by Nur Mohammad Taraki. The newly reconstituted government was made up of two Marxist-Leninist political parties, the People's (Khalq) Party and the Banner (Parcham) Party. Both groups shared power in Kabul and were ruthless in purging the domestic opposition. After the Soviets' withdrawal, the Afghan Army took over the suppression of the revolution. However, the Afghan army remained ineffective for the remainder of the war, plagued by mass desertions. The Taliban subsequently took control of Kabul and made it the headquarters of Osama bin Laden's infamous terrorist network. But the Soviet-Afghan war had left a dark legacy. Soviet involvement in Afghanistan
The Soviets were heavily involved in the war in Afghanistan and were unable to penetrate the culture. They were not welcomed in major urban areas and were subject to widespread resentment. As a result, they lost access to the country and were forced to abandon their plans. The Soviets were also burdened with a large debt, and their military presence was ineffective. The war, which ended in 2001, had no clear winner and was ultimately a failure. In 1984, Soviet citizens became increasingly frustrated with the war in Afghanistan, and their dissatisfaction prompted Mikhail Gorbachev to acknowledge the Soviets' role in the conflict. The Soviets subsequently withdrew from Afghanistan after a U.N.-mediated peace process. In 1985, the Soviet government finally acknowledged the extent of its casualties in Afghanistan. The Soviet military in Afghanistan fluctuated between 90,000 and 104,000 troops. Impact of soviet-afghan war on Afghanistan
The Soviet Union was very reluctant to intervene in the Afghanistan War. Its General Secretary, Leonid Brezhnev, believed that there was no legal basis for the invasion. There had been no external aggression, and the war in Afghanistan was an internal conflict. However, an intervention in Afghanistan would have international ramifications. That is what the Soviet Union was afraid of. In response, it deployed the 40th Army across the border on 24 December 1979. Despite this diplomatic stalemate, the Afghan government soon took steps to modernize its laws. During its first 18 months in office, the Revolutionary Council of the People's Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was formed. Among the reforms introduced by the government were the radical modernization of marriage law. The goal of these reforms was to "uproot feudalism" in Afghan society. But as the unrest continued, the government reacted violently, and thousands of prisoners were executed. Many of these prisoners were villagers, and their leaders. Veterans' resentment toward volunteers
It is possible that veterans' resentment towards volunteers during the Soviet-Afghan War was partly because they were not considered veterans but rather as volunteers. In the 1980s, the Combat Brotherhood's Volunteer Brigade referred to other soldiers as brothers and characterized anti-war activists as betraying the Afghan war. While this group was partially anti-war, many members viewed themselves as victims of the state and felt betrayed by the anti-war movement. After the Afghan war, the movement of veterans was born. The first meetings were mostly social. But soon veterans started organizing and agitating for increased government support. The war was considered a political embarrassment and not a real war, which is why the Afghans weren't provided with the benefits that other, more heroic wars received. Nevertheless, veterans' organizations fought the war and became an important part of the society.