Defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan

32 years ago today, the Soviet Union defeated Afghanistan. The government of Dr. Najibullah (the last leftist government in Afghanistan) tried until the last moment to prevent the Soviet troops from leaving Afghanistan. The final word to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was finally told by Dr. Najib that Soviet troops would leave Afghanistan. He was also instructed to prepare for this decision within a year. The Soviets could no longer continue the war in Afghanistan. The Geneva Conventions were no more than an excuse for Soviet troops to leave Afghanistan. Under the Geneva Conventions, the foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Soviet Union and the United States under the auspices of the United Nations signed April 14, 1988. The process of withdrawal of Soviet troops from the city of Jalalabad began on May 15, 1988. The process was overseen by 10 UN officers. Eventually, with the passing of Gen. Boris Grumov, commander of the 40th Soviet Army, road at Hairatan (February 15, 1989), and the Soviet Union officially ends the occupation of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 27, 1979. During the nine years of fighting the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, there was unprecedented financial, life, dignity and ideological loss, and endangered the Afghan people.

Withdrawal or Failure 

Mikhail Gorbachev’s statement to Dr. Najibullah (the last Soviet puppet leader in Kabul) that “whether the Kabul government is ready or not, Soviet troops will leave Afghanistan” illustrates the difficult situation of the Soviet Union at the time of its withdrawal. Unfortunately, there are still those who do not view the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan as an outright defeat and regard it as a type of tactical withdrawal under the Geneva Conventions. However, if the Soviet Union adhered to international laws and treaties, unlike all international conventions and treaties, it would not invade a neighboring and powerless state. And after the aggression, it did not ignore dozens of requests for withdrawal from Afghanistan by the United Nations, the Organization of the Conference of Islamic States and other international organizations calling for an immediate exit.

Factors of Soviet Failures

Why did the Soviet Union fail in Afghanistan? There’s a lot to say about it. But according to experts, there are three major factors behind the Soviet failure in Afghanistan:

1- The strong religious spirit and sensitivity to foreigners among Afghans are key factors in the Soviet failure in Afghanistan. If the pages of history are flipped, it is clear that Afghans have been able to unite in difficult times throughout history and defeat any aggressor.

2- Another factor attributing the failure of Soviet forces to Afghanistan is attributed to the global support for the Afghan people’s jihad. Because at the time of jihad, all Islamic countries and the majority of non-Islamic governments were in support of our nation’s jihad, which led to the fact that the Mujahideen were universally supported in the military, financial and political arenas, and on the other by the Soviet Union and its allies In isolation.

3- The internal breakdown and the pride of the Soviet Union made it a failure in Afghanistan. The Red Army, after winning the Second World War against Nazi Germany, thought it invincible. For this reason, without regard to the consequences of the invasion of Afghanistan and without warning, the country was invaded by a military invasion that ultimately destroyed it.

International and Internal Consequences

The Soviets invaded our country with their invasion of Afghanistan, and today, after forty years, they are bleeding from the wound. There is no scope left to escape the events of the Soviet invasion and its aftermath. About two million martyrs, hundreds of thousands of widows and orphans and six million immigrants are one of the major consequences of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This is really a heavy price that the Afghan people have paid for the invasion of the Soviet Union in our country. In addition, about half a million disabled are another legacy of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. As a result of the Soviet invasion, all of our country’s political, social, economic, and military infrastructures were badly damaged, slowly destroyed, or severely damaged. This aggression paved the way for the illegal interference of foreigners in the internal affairs of our country. Before the Soviet invasion, alien attempts were made, but the extent of the effort was insufficient to bring the fate of a nation into play. When our nation wanted to stand up to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, it had to extend a helping hand to the entire world to strengthen its position, which provided part of the foreign intervention tools in our country. The ongoing war in our country is also the result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Another negative consequence of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is that many generations remain illiterate, leaving behind the caravan of human development for many years.  The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan not only failed to achieve its goals. Bell paid a price for the weight of the breakdown and the fabric itself. Because the Soviet Union did not last long after its defeat in Afghanistan and collapsed. The defeat of the Soviet Union was not only practical, but also a field of thought and belief. For so many reasons it is thought that the idea of ​​the Communistization of the world went so far as to never rise to power again. From the geographical point of view of the Soviet Union, which covers more than twenty-two million square kilometers, there is nothing left but a handful of historical narratives. With the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and then its collapse, the greatest benefit to Western nations came when a major threat was removed from the face of the world and they could breathe a sigh of relief. The Cold War is over and the world is united in favor of the United States … Eastern European, Caucasian, and Middle Asian countries once called Soviet satellites and occupied by the US were liberated and gained political independence

The End of an Empire

After nine years of jihad and resistance the Afghan people were finally forced to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan. The USSR did not last long after the defeat of Afghanistan and disappeared from the world map. Countries that were under Soviet political and intellectual control also gained independence. Those who remember the Soviet defeat of Afghanistan as Gorbachev’s tactical withdrawal and peaceful policy are persecuting history. The fact is that during the 9 years of aggression, the back of the Soviet Union was broken economically. Political tyranny and belief could no longer be tolerated by nations. The jihadist fire of the Afghan people was getting more and more intense with each passing year, and the Mujahedeen were determined to soon defeat the Red Army in historic defeat. It was at this point that the issue of the withdrawal of the Soviet Armed Forces and the national reconciliation was raised by the military to prevent further scandal in Afghanistan.