The Soviet Afghan War
The Soviet-Afghan War
During the Cold War many countries, especially developing countries, were caught in between two super powers separate ideologies. The United States did everything it could to promote democracy during the Cold War and the Soviet Union attempted to promote communism. Both the US and USSR interfered in many different nations’ political affairs in an attempt to gain allies and influence in all areas of the world. In one such corner, the seemingly insignificant country of Afghanistan was greatly affected by this power struggle between giants and the Soviet Union’s attempts in gaining influence. From 1933 to 1973 Afghanistan was ruled by Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Shah ruled the country during a period of relative peace and led Afghanistan into its first attempt at modernization after the Second World War. In July 1973 Zahir Shah’s forty-year reign came to an abrupt end when his former Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan led a non-violent coup and seized power of Afghanistan for himself. Daoud eliminated the monarchial system in Afghanistan and established a republic naming himself as the new President of the country. Daoud began to make politicians in the USSR nervous by disintegrating some of Afghanistan’s dependence on the Soviet Union and promoting new western alliances. During his rule Daoud eliminated all communists from the cabinet and began legislation to ban communist parties in Afghanistan. Daoud’s decisions made the communist element in his country uneasy and he was the target of a coup five years into his own rule in April 1978. Many of military officers that helped Daoud in his coup against the Shah were the same that killed the President and most of his family. The military had now aligned itself with a Soviet influenced party that would lead the country into civil war, the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA. The PDPA first started in Afghanistan in 1965 as a political group interested in
During the Cold War many countries, especially developing countries, were caught in between two super powers separate ideologies. The United States did everything it could to promote democracy during the Cold War and the Soviet Union attempted to promote communism. Both the US and USSR interfered in many different nations’ political affairs in an attempt to gain allies and influence in all areas of the world. In one such corner, the seemingly insignificant country of Afghanistan was greatly affected by this power struggle between giants and the Soviet Union’s attempts in gaining influence. From 1933 to 1973 Afghanistan was ruled by Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Shah ruled the country during a period of relative peace and led Afghanistan into its first attempt at modernization after the Second World War. In July 1973 Zahir Shah’s forty-year reign came to an abrupt end when his former Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan led a non-violent coup and seized power of Afghanistan for himself. Daoud eliminated the monarchial system in Afghanistan and established a republic naming himself as the new President of the country. Daoud began to make politicians in the USSR nervous by disintegrating some of Afghanistan’s dependence on the Soviet Union and promoting new western alliances. During his rule Daoud eliminated all communists from the cabinet and began legislation to ban communist parties in Afghanistan. Daoud’s decisions made the communist element in his country uneasy and he was the target of a coup five years into his own rule in April 1978. Many of military officers that helped Daoud in his coup against the Shah were the same that killed the President and most of his family. The military had now aligned itself with a Soviet influenced party that would lead the country into civil war, the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA. The PDPA first started in Afghanistan in 1965 as a political group interested in