Chronological History of Afghanistan.docx

7/28/2019 Chronological History of Afghanistan.docx

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Chronological History of AfghanistanPart I (50,000 BCE - 652)

50,000 BCE-20,000 BCE

Archaeologists have identified evidence of stone age technology in Aq Kupruk, andHazar Sum. Plant remains at the foothill of the Hindu Kush mountains indicate, thatNorth Afghanistan was one of the earliest places to domestic plants and animals.

3000 BCE-2000 BCE

Bronze might have been invented in ancient Afghanistan around this time.

First true urban centers rise in two main sites in Afghanistan--Mundigak, and Deh MorasiGhundai. Mundigak (near modern day Kandahar)--had an economic base of wheat, barley, sheep

and goats. Also, evidence indicates that Mudigak could have been a provincial capital ofthe Indus valley civilization.

Ancient Afghanistan--crossroads between Mesopotamia, and other Civilizations.2000 BCE- 1500 BCE

Aryan tribes in Aryana (Ancient Afghanistan) The City of Kabul is thought to have been established during this time.

Rig Veda may have been created in Afghanistan around this time. Evidence of early nomadic iron age in Aq Kapruk IV.

600 BCE -- (There is some speculation about this date)

Zoroaster introduces a new religion in Bactria (Balkh)---(Zoroastrianism--Monotheisticreligion)(about 522 BC)--Zoroaster dies during nomadic invasion near Balkh.

522 BCE--486 BCE

Darius the Great expands the Achaemenid (Persian) empire to its peak, when it takesmost of Afghanistan., including Aria (Herat), Bactriana (Balk, and present-day Mazar-i-Shariff), Margiana (Merv), Gandhara (Kabul, Jalalabad and Peshawar), Sattagydia(Ghazni to the Indus river), Arachosia (Kandahar, and Quetta), and Drangiana (Sistan).

The Persian empire was plagued by constant bitter and bloody tribal revolts fromAfghans living in Arachosia (Kandahar, and Quetta)


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329-326 BCE

After conquering Persia, Afghanistan is invaded by Alexander the Great. Alexanderconquers Afghanistan, but fails to really subdue its people.

Constant revolts plague Alexander.323 BCE

Greeks rule Bactria (Northern Afghanistan)170 BCE-160 BCE

Bactria--Parthia50 AD

Kushan rule, under King Kanishka Graeco-Buddhist Gandharan culture reach its height.

220 AD

Kushan empire fragments into petty dynasties.400 AD

Invasion of the White Huns. They destroy the Buddhist culture, and leave most of thecountry in ruins.

425--550

Independent Yaftalee rule in Afghanistan.550 AD

Persians reassert control over all of what is now Afghanistan. Revolts by various Afghan tribes.

650 AD

The world's first oil paintings are painted in the Bamiyan caves by Buddhists.652 AD

Arabs introduce Islam


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AQ/2008

Chronological History of AfghanistanPart II (652 - 1747)

652 AD

Arabs introduce Islam962-1030

Islamic era established with the Ghaznavid Dynasty (962-1140)

Afghanistan becomes the center of Islamic power and civilization.

1030--

Mahmud Ghazni dies. Conflicts between various Ghaznavid rulers arise and as a result the empire starts to

crumple.

1140--

Ghorid leaders from central Afghanistan capture and burn Ghazni, then move on toconquer India.

1219-1221 --

Invasion of Afghanistan by Genghis Khan Destruction of Irrigation systems by Genghis Khan, which turned fertile soil into

permanent deserts.

1273

Marco Polo crossed Afghan Turkistan1332-1370

Descendants of earlier Ghorid rulers reassert control over Afghanistan.1370-1404


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The rule of Timour-i-Lang (Tamerlane)1451--

An Afghan named Buhlul invades Delhi, and seizes the throne. He finds the Lodidynasty.

1504-1519

Babur, founder of the Moghul dynasty takes control of Kabul1520-1579

Bayazid Roshan (Afghan intellectual) revolts against the power of the Moghulgovernment. Roshan was killed in a battle with the Moghuls in 1579--but his struggle forindependence continued.

1613-1689

Khushhal Khan Khattak (Afghan warrior-poet) initiates a national uprising against theforeign Moghul government.

1708

Mir Wais (forerunner of Afghan independence) makes Kandahar independent of SafavidPersia that had ruled it since 1622.

1715--

Mir Wais dies peacefully, and lies in a mausoleum outside of Kandahar.1722--

Mir Wais' son, Mir Mahmud, invades Persia and occupies Isfahan. At the same time, theDurranis revolt, and terminate the Persian occupation of Herat.

1725--

(April 25)--Mir Mahmud is mysteriously killed after going mad. Afghans start to lose control of Persia.

1736--

Nadir Shah (head of Persia) occupies southwest Afghanistan, and southeast Persia.


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1738--

Nadir Shah takes Kandahar.1747--

Nadir Shah is assassinated, and the Afghans rise once again. Afghans, under theleadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali retake Kandahar, and establish modern Afghanistan.

AQ/1997

Chronological History of AfghanistanPart III (1747 - 1978)

1747--1773

Rule of Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani). Ahmad Shah consolidates and enlarges Afghanistan. He defeats the Moghuls in the west

of the Indus, and he takes Herat away from the Persians. Ahmad Shah Durrani's empireextended from Central Asia to Delhi, from Kashmir to the Arabian sea. It became the

greatest Muslim empire in the second half of the 18th century. (1750) Khurasan----> Afghanistan.

1773-1793

Rule of Timur Shah Capital of Afghanistan transferred from Kandahar to Kabul because of tribal opposition. Constant internal revolts

1793-1801

Rule of Zaman Shah Constant internal revolts (1795) Persians invade Khurasan (province)

1801-1803

Rule of Mahmood


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Constant internal revolts1803-1809

Rule of Shah Shujah (1805) Persian attack on Herat fails. Internal fighting

1809-1818

Mahmood returns to the throne. War with Persia--indecisive victory Internal fighting

1819-1826

Sons of Timur Shah struggle for the throne--Civil War--anarchy-- Afghans lose Sind permanently

1826--

Dost Mohammad Khan takes Kabul, and establishes control.1832--1833

Persia moves into Khurasan (province), and threatens Herat. Afghans defend Heratsuccessfully.

1834--

(May)--Afghans lose Peshawar to the Sikhs; later they crushed the Sikhs under theleadership of Akbar Khan who defeated the Sikhs near Jamrud, and killed the great Sikhgeneral Hari Singh. However, they failed to retake Peshawar due to disunity and badjudgment on the part of Dost Mohammad Khan.

1836--

Dost Mohammad Khan is proclaimed as Amir al-mu' minin (commander of the faithful).He was well on the road toward reunifying the whole of Afghanistan when the British, incollaboration with an ex-king (Shah Shuja), invade Afghanistan.

1839-1842

First Anglo-Afghan War After some resistance, Amir Dost Mohammad Khan surrenders to the British and is

deported to India.


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Shah Shuja is installed as a "puppet king" by the British. (1839-1842) April 1842--Shah Shuja killed by Afghans. Afghans passionately continue their struggle against the British. Akbar Khan--Afghan hero--victorious against the British. In January 1842, out of 16,500 soldiers (and 12,000 dependents) only one survivor, of

mixed British-Indian garrison, reaches the fort in Jalalabad, on a stumbling pony.

1843

After the annihilation of British troops, Afghanistan once again becomes independent,and the exiled Amir, Dost Mohammad Khan comes back and occupies the royal throne(1843-1863).

1845--

Afghan hero, Akbar Khan dies1855

Dost Mohammad Khan signs a peace treaty with India.1859--

British take Baluchistan, and Afghanistan becomes completely landlocked.1863-1866

Sher Ali, Dost Mohammad Khan's son, succeeds to the throne. (1865)--Russia takes Bukhara, Tashkent, and Samarkand.

1866-1867

Mohammad Afzal occupies Kabul and proclaims himself Amir. October, 1867--Mohammad Afzal dies.

1867-1868--

Mohammad Azam succeeds to the throne 1868--Mohammad Azam flees to Persia Sher Ali reasserts control (1868-1879).

1873

Russia established a fixed boundary between Afghanistan and it's new territories. Russia promises to respect Afghanistan's territorial integrity.


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1878

Start of second Anglo-Afghan War The British invade and the Afghans quickly put up a strong resistance.

1879

Sher Ali dies in Mazar-i-Shariff, and Amir Muhammad Yaqub Khan takes over untilOctober 1879.

Amir Muhammad Yaqub Khan gives up the following Afghan territories to the British:Kurram, Khyber, Michni, Pishin, and Sibi. Afghans lose these territories permanently.

1880

Battle of Maiwand July 1880, Afghan woman named Malalai carries the Afghan flag forward after the

soldiers carrying the flag were killed by the British. She becomes a heroine for her showof courage and valour.

Abdur Rahman takes throne of Afghanistan as Amir. The British, shortly after the accession of the new Amir, withdraw from Afghanistan,

although they retain the right to handle Afghanistan's foreign relations. Abdur Rahman establishes fixed borders and he loses a lot of Afghan land. Nuristan converted to Islam.

1885--

The Panjdeh Incident Russian forces seize the Panjdeh Oasis, a piece of Afghan territory north of the OxusRiver. Afghans tried to retake it, but was finally forced to allow the Russians to keep

Panjdeh - Russians promised to honor Afghan territorial integrity in the future.

1893

The Durand line fixes borders of Afghanistan with British India, splitting Afghan tribalareas, leaving half of these Afghans in what is now Pakistan.

1895

Afghanistan's northern border is fixed and guaranteed by Russia1901--

Abdur Rahman dies, his son Habibullah succeeds him. Slows steps toward modernization


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1907--

Russia and Great Britain sign the convention of St. Petersburg, in which Afghanistan isdeclared outside Russia's sphere of influence.

1918--

Mahmud Tarzi (Afghan Intellectual) introduces modern Journalism into Afghanistan withthe creation of several newspapers.

1919--

Habibullah is assassinated, and succeeded by his son Amanullah (The reform King) The first museum in Afghanistan is instituted at Baghe Bala.

1921--

Third Anglo-Afghan war Once again, the British are defeated, and Afghanistan gains full control of her foreign

affairs. Amanullah Khan initiates a series of ambitious efforts at social and political

modernization.

1923--

Amanullah Khan changes his title from Amir to Padshah (King).

1929--

Amanullah Khan is overthrown by Habibullah Kalakani. After the fall of Amanullah Khan, Mahmud Tarzi seeks asylum in Turkey. The Rise and Fall of Habibullah Kalakani, popularly known as "Bache Saqao" Nadir Khan takes the throne; his tribal army loots government buildings and houses of

wealthy citizens because the treasury was empty. Habibullah Kalakani, along with his supporters, and a few supporters of Amanullah Khan

are killed by Nadir Khan. Now Nadir Khan establishes full control.

1930--

(May) Pro-Amanullah Khan uprising put down by Nadir Khan. Nadir Khan abolishes reforms set forth by Amanullah Khan to modernize Afghanistan.

1933--

Nadir Khan assassinated by a college student, and his son, Zahir, inherits the throne. Herules until 1973.


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Zahir Shah's uncles serve as prime ministers and advisors until 1953. Mahmud Tarzi dies in Turkey at the age of 68 with a heart full of sorrow and despair

toward his country.

1934--

The United States of America formally recognizes Afghanistan1938--

Da Afghanistan Bank (State Bank of Afghanistan) is incorporated.1939--

Minor pro-Amanullah Khan uprising (January 15)

1940--

Zahir Shah proclaims Afghanistan as neutral during WW21947--

Britain withdraws from India. Pakistan is carved out of Indian and Afghan lands.1949--

Afghanistan's Parliament denounces the Durand Treaty and refuses to recognize theDurand line as a legal boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pashtuns in Pashtunistan (Occupied Afghan Land) proclaim an independent Pashtunistan,but their proclamation goes unacknowledged by the world community.

1953--

Prince Mohammad Daoud becomes Prime Minister.1954--

The U.S. rejects Afghanistan's request to buy military equipment to modernize the army.1955--

Daoud turns to the Soviet Union (Russia) for military aid. The Pashtunistan (occupied Afghan land) issue flares up.

1956--


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cultural heritage.

1975--1977--

Daoud Khan presents a new constitution. Women's rights confirmed. Daoud starts to oust suspected opponents from his government.

1978--

Bloody Communist coup: Daoud is killed, Taraki is named President, and Karmalbecomes his deputy Prime Minister. Tensions rise.

Mass arrests, tortures, and arrests takes place. Afghan flag is changed. Taraki signs treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union. June--Afghan guerrilla (Mujahideen) movement is born.

AQ/1997

Chronological History of AfghanistanPart IV (1978 - Present)

1978--

Bloody Communist coup: Daoud is killed, Taraki is named President, and Karmalbecomes his deputy Prime Minister. Tensions rise.

Mass arrests, tortures, and arrests takes place. Afghan flag is changed. Taraki signs treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union. June--Afghan guerrilla (Mujahideen) movement is born.

1979--

Mass killings US ambassador killed Taraki is killed and Hafizullah Amin takes the Presidency. Amin is executed, and he is replaced with Babrak Karmal. Soviet Union (Russia) invade in December.

1980--

Dr. Najibullah is brought back from USSR to run the secret police.


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power, signs a peace pact with Rabbani, and returns to Kabul to rule as prime minister. September 27--Taliban militia force President Rabbani and his government out of Kabul.

After the capture of Kabul, the Taliban execute Najibullah. Alliance between Government, Hezbi Wahdat, and Dostum Oppression of women by the Taliban--women must be fully veiled, no longer allowed to

work, go out alone or even wear white socks. Men are forced to grow beards. Buzkashi,the Afghan national sport is outlawed.

Tensions rise as Afghan government accuse Pakistan of aiding the Taliban. Massive human rights violations by the Taliban.

1997--

Mass graves of Taliban soldiers containing between 1,500 and 2,000 bodies are found.The men were believed to have been captured in May by general Abdul Malik during theTaliban's brief takeover of Mazar-i-Sharif.

1998--

February--Earthquake strikes in northeastern Afghansitan, killing over 4,000 people,destroying villages and leaving thousands of people homeless.

August--Taliban finally capture Mazar-i-Sharif, and massacre thousands of innocentcivilians afterwards, mostly Hazaras.

August 20th--United States launches cruise missles hitting Afghanistan's Khost region.US states its intent was to destroy so called terrorist bases/training facilities used byOsama bin Laden and his followers. Some Afghan civilians are also killed.

September--Tensions rise between Iran and the Taliban. Iranians are angry about thekilling of their diplomats and a journalist by the Taliban when they captured Mazar-i-

Sharif. Soon they deploy 70,000 troops to carry out military exercises near the Afghanborder. In the end, no fighting occurs between the Taliban and the Iranian army.

1999--

February--Earthquake hits eastern Afghanistan, affecting over 30,000 people, and killingat least 60 to 70 people.

September--The ex-king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, calls for a grandassembly, or Loya Jirga to discuss ways of bringing peace to the country. The UnitedFront soon welcomes the idea, but the Taliban ridicule Mohammad Zahir Shah's attemptsat establishing peace.

October-- UN Security Council Resolution 1267 is adopted; sanctions against the Talibanon grounds that they offered sanctuary to Osama bin Ladin.

2000--

May--Taliban torture and kill civilians in the Robatak Pass(on the border between Baghlan and Samangan provinces).

September--Taloqan finally falls to the Taliban.


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December-- UN Security Council Resolution 1333 is adopted; additional sanctionsagainst the Taliban for their continuing support of terrorism and cultivation of narcotics,etc.

2001--

January--Taliban torture and kill numerous civilians (Hazaras) in Yakaolang. March--Despite pleas and requests from various international diplomats, Islamic scholars,

the Taliban destroy ancient historical statues in the Kabul Museum, historical sites inGhazni, and blow up the giant Bamiyan Buddhas from the 5th century. World expressesoutrage and disgust against the Taliban action.

April--Ahmad Shah Masood visits Europe to gather support against the Taliban. April--UN accuses Pakistan of not allowing adequate supply of food and medicines to

displaced Afghans, at the Jalozai camp, near Peshawar. April-- Mullah Rabbani, the Taliban's second-in-command dies of liver cancer. May-- Taliban order religious minorities to wear tags identifying themselves as non-

Muslims. September 9-- Ahmad Shah Masood is killed by assassins posing as journalists. Two days

later (September 11th), suicide attacks on the U.S. kill more than 3,000 people anddestroy the two towers of the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon.

October-- Abdul Haq is killed by the Taliban. The United States and UK working withthe forces of the United Front (UNIFSA) launch air strikes against the Taliban. ( TheAmericans hold Osama bin Laden directly responsible for the attacks on the World TradeCenter, and the Taliban were targeted for protecting him.)

November: Taliban lose control of Mazar-i Sharif. December 5-- Bonn Agreement. Afghan political groups come together in Bonn,

Germany and form an interim government. Hamid Karzai is chosen as Chairman.

2002--

April-- Former King Mohammad Zahir returns to Afghanistan (April) -- does not claimthrone.

War continues against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. June-- Loya Jirga elects Hamid Karzai as President of a Transitional Government. Karzai

picks members of his administration to serve until elections are held in 2004 July-- Haji Abdul Qadir (brother of Abdul Haq) is killed. US air raid in Uruzgan province

kills approximately 48 civilians, many of them members of a wedding party

2003--

War against Al Qaeda and the Taliban continue -- further weakened. August - NATO takes control of security in Kabul.

2004--

January-- Afghanistan adopts a new constitution. The country is now a republic with 3


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branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary). 2004 October/November - Presidential elections are finally held after being delayed

twice. Hamid Karzai is declared the winner, with 55.4% of the votes. He is sworn inDecember. Karzai's strongest challenger, Yunis Qanuni, came in second with 16.3% ofthe votes. The elections were not without controversy; allegations of fraud and ballot

stuffing were brought up by many of the presidential candidates including Yunis Qanuni.Many felt that Hamid Karzai had an unfair advantage over the other candidates as he hadaccess to financial and logistical resources that many of the other candidates did not have.A panel of international experts was setup to investigate the matter. The panel did findevidence of voting irregularities, however, they said that it was not enough to affect theoutcome of the elections.

2005--

Harsh winter leaves hundreds of people dead. Major advances in the disarmament process announced. March-- Dostum appointed as the Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Armed Forces.Yunis Qanuni announces new political alliance (March 31st). April-- Karzai welcomes the formation of Qanuni's political alliance.

Last updated on 4/10/2005 by AQ

http://www.afghan-web.com/history/chron/index4.html

The Role of Afghanistan in the fall of the USSRIt may seem a bit far-reaching that a country like Afghanistan had any bearing on the fall of theSoviet Union. Anthony Arnold, however, compares Soviet Union with a sick old man andAfghanistan as the pebble which this exhausted sick man stumbled on and fell. One could easilydismiss Arnold's argument if he had been the only expert, or at least among the few writers whohad articulated this point. But surprisingly, there are quiet a number of authors who suggestAfghanistan as one of the considerable factors in the demise of the USSR. Thus, in this paper Iwill put forward a number of factors which dealt fatal blows to the invincibility of the SovietUnion.

I would especially like to focus on the effects of the Afghan War in the Soviet Union's domesticdynamics and relate public opinion/opposition to the war, during and after the Soviet invasion ofAfghanistan in December 1979. But first, I would like to place Russia and Afghanistan inhistorical perspective. "Of all the burdens Russia has had to bear, the heaviest and most relentlessof all has been the weight of her past" Tibor Szamuely, the Russian Tradition" (Arnold 17).Although one may not fully grasp this statement due to one's limited knowledge of Russianhistory, never the less, one can appreciate the implication in the context of the chapter (2)
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presented by Arnold on Russian history: Under the heel of the Golden Horde [a division of theMongols which headed northward in the late 13th century and conquered lands from CentralAsia up to Moscow] Russia missed out on the nation building era of Europe. Entering late in theEuropean process (sixteenth century) Russian received the finished product and thus had todeconstruct the progress while playing catch-up. The defeat of Peter the Great in 1700 by the

Swedish King, Charles XII, focused Peter's mind on domestic shortcomings. The Petrine reformsthat followed covered about all aspects of Russian life. Peter's forceful, ruthless, and willfulattitudes dragged the country toward progress. In 1712 Peter decisively defeated Charles; and bythe end of his reign, some argue, that Russia won the fear, if not respect, of Europe- especiallymilitarily.

Catherine the Great (1762-96) brought Russia closer to the European frame of mind. UnderAlexander I (1801-25) Russia's skillful army defeated Napoleon in 1814. And its here when agroup of officers known as Decemberists staged an unsuccessful coup against the stategovernment. The Third Department [a direct ancestor of the KGB] of Nicholas I (1825-55) wasestablished to stamp out nonconformity in Russia. Moreover, this reactionary regime rested in

Slavophilism philosophy, which basically inherited the ideology that Russia had no need toborrow from the West in order to make herself known to the world - as had argued theDecemberists. Thus, the Tsar preached that Russia was uniquely capable of an orderly,benevolent despotism rooted in the Orthodox church. This ideology, however, was bypassed byAlexander II (1855-81) after the death of Nicholas I, who freed the 43 million serfs. Alexanderalso released the surviving Decemberists and eased censorship but refused to relinquish absolutepower or grant a constitution to Russia. It is under him that the prestige of Russian militarysuperiority comes to an end in 1854, when an Anglo-French army successively defeated theRussian army. Wanting an easy and low cost victory to improve its military image, Nicholas IIturned to Asia and attacked Japan in 1904. Suffering a disastrous defeat Nicholas faced waves ofstrikes which paralyzed the economy. As a result a consultative parliament, the Duma, was

established in May 1906. The new Prime Minister, Pyotr Stolypin, dissolved the first Duma, andenforced great reforms - but was finally killed in 1911 for being more effective then the Tsar,while disappointing the left and the right wings with his reform policies. Never the less, inOctober 1917, after an embarrassing defeat in World War I, the last of the Romanov dynasty,Tsar Nicholas II, was executed by the victorious Communists.

The contradiction between limited economic reform (which plagued Lenin, who reluctantlyallowed a semi-Capitalism to revive the devastated economy) and continued political absolutismcame to an end with the Stalin's launching of his twin drives of industrialization andcollectivization, which saw the total defeat of limited economic reform. Needless to say that theWorld War II victory also contributed to this formula greatly; as Col. S. Kulichk in puts it "All

vicarious war waged by Russia have led to a strengthening of totalitarianism in the country, andall unsuccessful ones have led to democracy... A strange interpretation of history, is it not?"(Arnold, 29).

Ironically, when the Soviet forces were compelled to withdraw from Afghanistan (April 15,1989), the Soviet Union was beginning to undergo the initial stages of drastic reforms fromabove since the reign of Alexander II. At the eve of Russian invasion of Afghanistan, the rottingeffects of absolute centralism and autocratic power on the national psychology [Stalinistic, old


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school philosophy] had resulted in corruption, non discipline, irresponsibility, and grassrootsapathy, the same problems which had plagued Peter the Great's administration before theSwedish War in 1700. And much like Catherine the Great's Nakaz and the Potemkin villages, aglossy blanket of false propaganda had covered the domestic degeneration, arguably, well.

To make further parallels, as Nicholas II, who made the mistake of attacking the seemingly"weaker" opponent (Japan), Brezhnev invaded the "easy" Afghanistan, totally ignoring localhistory and traditional patterns. In the same light, Gorbachev, like Tsar Alexander, sought topreserve and even to increase his personal power and to maintain the organs of suppressionwhich were so carefully nurtured by his predecessors. But his position was challenged by the oldschool hard lined conspirators in the 1991 failed coup, and was finally removed from powershortly after by Boris Yeltsin , a student of the new school of Russian thought.

On the other hand, Afghanistan became a unified country in 1747 under the leadership of anethnic Pashtun leader, Ahmad Khan of the Sadozai (later named Durrani) clan of the Abdalitribe. It is under this tribe that the leadership of Afghanistan rested until the 1978 'revolution'. In

the meantime, the expansion of Russia southward by early to mid nineteenth century posed athreat to the jewel of the British crown, India. The British predicted that Peter the Great's dreamof expansion could endanger their possessions in India, thus adopted an anti-expansionist policy(against Russia) which made Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Tibet a fence around any furtherRussian expansion; and thus began "the Great Game".

In 1839, the British invaded Afghanistan and occupied the capital, Kabul. In January 1842, outof 16,500 soldiers (and 12,000 dependents) only one survivor, of mixed British-Indian garrison,reaching the fort in Jalalabad, on a stumbling pony. Fearing another Russian influence, theBritish once again entered Afghanistan in 1878. In July 1880 the regiment was cut to ribbons,while 'Abd al-Rahman Khan became Amir of Afghanistan, but agreed to surrender Afghan

foreign relations to the British. In 1919 (Third and last Anglo-Afghan War), under AmanullahKhan, Afghanistan reclaimed its foreign independence from the British, who were never tointerfere directly into Afghan affairs again.

The question over the motive of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan may be raised. Differentauthors have put forward a long list of issues which may have enticed the Russian invasion, butthey all agree that: both countries had long and close relationship with one another; and thegovernment of Afghanistan was one of the first to recognized the Bolshevik regime. Afghanistanhad the largest per capita economic aid program with the Soviet Union before the Communistcoup; the Afghan military was trained in the Soviet Union, and finally because the U.S. didn'tsupply military equipment to the government of Afghanistan during Prime Minister (1953-63)

and later President (1973-78) Mohammad Daoud's office.

The notion of self identify and nationalism which had popular appeal in the Middle East sincethe nineteenth century, reached Afghanistan in 1960's and created popular dynamics resulting inthe evolution of the leftist and rightists parties. In 1964 a liberal constitution initiated by KingZahir, permitted multi-party elections in the Parliament and other government offices inAfghanistan. Moscow needed the service of an Afghan Communist party. Thus the People'sDemocratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was established in January 1965 by a group of


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intellectuals. Meanwhile, Conservative Islamist opposition was formed during the 1960's whenthe Pakistani Jama'at-i Islami, headed by 'Abdul 'Ala Maududi, tried to establish a sisterorganization in Kabul, with the help of some theology professors (graduates of Al-AzharUniversity, Egypt) at the Theology Department of the University of Kabul, aiming to revive theideals of Moslem Brethren. During the Soviet occupation and the civil war that followed these

leaders emerged as the major players on the Afghan scene.

The PDPA split into Khalq [People] and Parcham [Banner] factions, but were reunited underclose Soviet patronage in 1977. President Daoud tried to eliminate the PDPA in Spring 1978 byarresting its leaders. This action triggered a classic Coup de tat the next day. An armored brigadetook over the presidential palace and killed everyone inside. Three days later the DemocraticRepublic of Afghanistan was declared, and Nur Mohammad Taraki announced as the president.Although it is argued that Moscow did not directly trigger the coup, one can point out that it didnothing to prevent it either. Thus, the internal dynamics of the PDPA may have outpaced Sovietstrategy. Regardless, the damage had been done.

The neighboring countries were not however greatly alarmed by the PDPAs take-over, becausethe regional balance of power still had not changed. Only Pakistan was worried about a strongerand tougher Kabul and thus supported the anti-government elements. The West, also, did not yetsee the 1978 coup as a expansion of the Soviets toward the warm waters.

Hafizullah Amin's bodyguards assassinated President Taraki in September 1979 and he began aruthless subjugation of the opposition which consisted of two-third of the country. Shaken bypeasant revolts, urban upheavals and bloody internal feuds, the regime was on the verge ofcollapse when in December 27, 1979 the Soviets decided to intervene, killing Amin andreplacing him with Babrak Karmal. After Karmal's failure to bring peace to the country, he wasreplaced by Dr. Najibullah in May 1986. He was to remain president until the Mujahidin

coalition took power in 1992.

In establishing the parameters, one could not put a price on the casualties, however it isnecessary to apply some numerical figures into it. In fighting the Soviets the Afghans sufferedabout two million dead (mostly civilian), an economic devastation, over five million displacedcitizens, and such political and social disintegration that the very future survival of Afghanistanas a state is still questionable. The war, for the Soviets without much exaggeration, meantnothing less then national suicide, even if one counts Afghanistan as a catalyst for the breakupprocess of the Soviet Union.

Economically speaking, the cost of the war varies, according to the varying Soviet figures, but

the most agreeable figure is given as $8.2 billion per year. As for casualties, it too is an arguabletopic, due to the strict censorship of the Soviet Union. The official 15,000 dead is a grossunderestimation. Experts agree that at least 40,000 - 50,000 Soviets lost their lives in action,besides the wounded, suicides, and murders. The ultimate political cost, however, was at leastthe breakup of the surface glaze which had hidden much of the internal decay for decades. This,in part, would not have been possible without the great contributions of communicationaltechnology which became at the disposal of the populace [mostly after the Afghan War, i.e. faxmachines and the free and uncensored Media (due to Glastnos)], all of which were capable of


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reporting the slightest news around the world and all over the USSR.

However, it is the social costs that I want to emphasize. Some of my sources have focused ondifferent frames of social breakdown as a result of the war. I will go over all of them briefly.Corruption is on the top of every list. One example given by Arnold is that the price-tag for a

medical exemption from Chernobyl nuclear cleaning, in 1987, was 500 rubles, and 1000 rublesto avoid going for military service in Afghanistan. Drugs were another problem facing thesociety upon the return of the Afghan veterans. Virtually all 546,200 troops who served inAfghanistan had the chance to experiment with drugs for the first time. Cheaper and easier tocome by than alcohol in the Afghan bazaars, often drugs changed hand with guns andammunition.

Yet a greater problem was the Afghan veterans, or afgantsy, who returned to a country whichdeemed their sacrifice a mistake. Most of these soldie rs suffered psychological problems, eitherby losing their minds or turning into a life of violence, including becoming involved with thelocal Mafia. Perhaps the sharpest criticism and opposition came from Andrei Sakharov, who on

June 2, 1989, in the Congress of Deputies, shocked the nation and the deputies by calling theSoviet involvement in Afghanistan a criminal act and a war against an entire people. This is yetanother example of a daring stand against the feared system; it is particularly interesting becausethe confrontation came from a distinguished political personality who was taking this stance.

On the civilian side, the people did not know of the 1979 invasion until three days after theinvasion. And for the first year of the war the government denied any casualties in Afghanistan.In order to keep the war hidden the soldiers sent to Afghanistan were mainly chosen from theBaltic Sea area, Russia (Central Asia to a lesser extent) and were recruited from small villages.But even with assuming utmost precaution the government could not hide the invasion or itsconsequences.

Some sources focus on public opinion and the eventual escalation of protests during and thenafter the war, starting with underground papers and protest demonstrations at soldier's funeralsand grave sites (which were on small scale during the war, however). Although any protest wasbeing immediately and severely put down (for the very act of opposition against the politicalestablishment was regarded as high treason) no force could control the popular discontent of theSoviets, thus, protests were becoming more frequent and better populated. "I believed - I reallybelieved," said a retired Soviet schoolteacher, of her lifelong party membership, in Fall of 1990.A Russian biologist related in early 1992 that "they said we were the happiest people in theworld. How were we to know differently?" (Arnold, 200). Such actions are indicative of not onlythe mass frustration but also of political break-down.

According to Arnold, the Soviet Empire stood on three pillars: Military, KGB, and Communistparty, and argues that the Afghan War ate into these pillars thus weakening them to the point ofbreak-down. For example, when key military and KGB commanders refused to follow DmitrisYazov and Valdmiri Kryuchkoo's commands, in August 1991, to storm the Russian Parliamentwhere Boris Yeltsin was holding out, it was a decisive signal that the chain of command had lostits effective control. Also noteworthy is that among the civilians who manned the barricades


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around the parliament building and defied the tanks, were a sizable contingent of the afgantsy.

A channel through which a number of the Soviet people expressed their anger, frustration, anddiscontent was the independent free press. In magazines like Ogonyok people's letters werebeing published and the journalists gave accounts of the war based on personal experience. Two

of my source, Small Fires and The Hidden War mainly focus on such publications. To showveteran's discontent with the government, I am including part of a letter, written by an afgantsySenior Lieutenant, to the Ogonyok magazine: ...I will send you a letter with all the details abouthow some there [Afghanistan] "did battle," received and then were deprived of battledecorations, falsified the lists of those who would receive decorations, redistributed equipmentand personal gear, about what our superiors drank, what the higher-ups had for dinner and whatthe majority ate, where goods for the Afghan population disappeared to, how the officers madecripple of their soldiers and ignored murders and suicides, about the tragic events in battle thatwere committed with the full knowledge and under the orders of high officials, how we lived andhow they, the "regimental elite," lived, about how lists of those decorated were not issuedaccording to the rules because of the personal enmity of superiors to their subordinates, how

housekeepers, bathhouse attendants, and gardeners were reward, and in general about anythingand everything. (Borovik 286-7)

Economic devastation, political suppression, despotic rule, and forced virtues were Stalinisticold-school policies, which held the chains surrounding a society that no longer could be heldfrom change. Afghanistan was a major factor in breaking the myths which had surrounded theSoviet Empire for decades. Acknowledging the speedy implementation of Prestroika andGlasnost, coupled with a breakdown of the economics and changing Soviet ideology wereelements breaking apart the Soviet Union.

Rameen Moshref

Documents

Chronological History of Afghanistan.docx