Congratulations 

When did the Afghan war start? War in Afghanistan. Background

The war in Afghanistan lasted almost 10 years, more than 15,000 of our soldiers and officers died. The number of Afghans killed in the war, according to various sources, reaches two million. It all started with palace coups and mysterious poisonings.

On the eve of the war

A "narrow circle" of members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, who make decisions on particularly important issues, gathered in the office Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev on the morning of December 8, 1979. Among those especially close to the Secretary General were the Chairman of the KGB of the USSR Yuri Andropov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country Andrei Gromyko, the main ideologist of the party Mikhail Suslov and Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov. This time the situation in Afghanistan, the situation in and around the revolutionary republic were discussed, the arguments for bringing Soviet troops into the DRA were considered.

It is worth recalling that by that time Leonid Ilyich had reached the highest earthly honors on 1/6 of the planet, as they say, "I reached the highest power." Five golden stars shone on his chest. Four of them are stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union and one of Socialist Labor. Here is the Order of Victory - the highest military award of the USSR, the diamond symbol of Victory. In 1978, he became the last, seventeenth of those awarded this honor, for organizing a radical change in World War II. Among the owners of such an order are Stalin and Zhukov. In total there were 20 awards and seventeen gentlemen (three were awarded twice, Leonid Ilyich managed to surpass everyone here - in 1989 he was posthumously deprived of the award). The marshal's baton, a golden saber, was preparing a project for an equestrian statue. These attributes gave him an undeniable right to make decisions at any level. Moreover, the advisers reported that in terms of loyalty to socialist ideals and manageability, Afghanistan could be made into a “second Mongolia”. To assert his talent as a commander, his party comrades advised the general secretary to get involved in a small victorious war. It was said among the people that dear Leonid Ilyich was aiming for the title of Generalissimo. But on the other hand, it was really not calm in Afghanistan.

The fruits of the April Revolution

On April 27-28, 1978, the April Revolution took place in Afghanistan (from the Dari language, this palace coup is also called the Saur Revolution). (True, since 1992, the anniversary of the April Revolution has been canceled, instead of it, the Day of the Victory of the Afghan people in jihad against the USSR is now celebrated.)

The reason for the opposition to act against the regime of President Mohammed Daoud was the assassination of a communist figure, a newspaper editor named Mir Akbar Khaibar. Daoud's secret police were blamed for the murder. The funeral of an opposition editor turned into a demonstration against the regime. Among the organizers of the riots were the leaders of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, Nur Mohamed Taraki and Babrak Karmal, who were arrested on the same day. Another leader of the party, Hafizullah Amin, was placed under house arrest for subversive work even before these events.

So, the three leaders are still together and they do not have much disagreement, all three are under arrest. Amin, with the help of his son, gave the then loyal PDPA (People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan) troops an order to start an armed uprising. There was a change of government. The President and his entire family were killed. Taraki and Karmal were released from prison. As you can see, the revolution, or what we call revolution, came easy. The military took the palace, liquidated the head of state, Daud, along with his family. That's all - power is in the hands of the "people". Afghanistan was declared a Democratic Republic (DRA). Nur Muhammad Taraki became the head of state and prime minister, Babrak Karmal became his deputy, the post of first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs was offered to the organizer of the uprising, Hafizullah Amin. While there are three of them. But the semi-feudal country was in no hurry to imbue Marxism and introduce the Soviet model of socialism on Afghan soil with dispossession, land expropriation from landowners, and the planting of committees of the poor and party cells. Specialists from the Soviet Union were met with hostility by the local population. On the ground, unrest began, turning into riots. The situation worsened, the country seemed to go into a tailspin. The triumvirate began to crumble.

Babrak Karmal was the first to be cleared out. In July 1978, he was removed from his post and sent as ambassador to Czechoslovakia, from where, knowing the complexity of the situation at home, he was in no hurry to return. A conflict of interest has begun, a war of ambitions is already between the two leaders. Soon Hafizullah Amin began to demand that Taraki renounce power, although he had already visited Havana, Moscow, was warmly welcomed by Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, and enlisted his support. While Taraki traveled, Amin prepared to seize power, changed officers loyal to Taraki, brought troops subordinate to his clan into the city, and then, by decision of an extraordinary meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the PDPA, Taraki and his associates were removed from all posts and expelled from the party. 12 thousand supporters of Taraki were shot. The case was put like this: in the evening arrest, at night - interrogation, in the morning - execution. All in oriental traditions. Moscow respected traditions until it came to the removal of Taraki, who did not agree with the decision of the Central Committee to remove him from power. Failing to persuade him to abdicate, again in the best traditions of the East, Amin ordered his personal guard to strangle the president. It happened on October 2, 1979. It was only on October 9 that the people of Afghanistan were officially announced that “Nur Mohammed Taraki died in Kabul after a short and serious illness.”

Bad-good Amin

The murder of Taraki plunged Leonid Ilyich into sadness. Nevertheless, he was informed that his new friend died suddenly, not as a result of a short illness, but was insidiously strangled by Amin. According to the memoirs of the then Head of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR (foreign intelligence) Vladimir Kryuchkov- “Brezhnev, being a man devoted to friendship, was very upset by the death of Taraki, to some extent perceived it as a personal tragedy. He retained a sense of guilt for the fact that it was he who, allegedly, did not save Taraki from imminent death, without dissuading him from returning to Kabul. Therefore, after everything that happened, he did not perceive Amin at all.

Once, during the preparation of documents for a meeting of the Politburo Commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU on Afghanistan, Leonid Ilyich told the staff: "Amin is a dishonest person." This remark was enough to start looking for options to remove Amin from power in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Moscow received conflicting information from Afghanistan. This is explained by the fact that it was mined by competing departments (the KGB, the GRU, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, various ministries).

Commander of the Ground Forces, General of the Army Ivan Pavlovsky and chief military adviser in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Lev Gorelov, using data from the GRU and information obtained during personal meetings with Amin, reported to the Politburo the opinion of the leader of the Afghan people as "a true friend and reliable ally of Moscow in turning Afghanistan into an unshakable friend of the USSR. "Hafizullah Amin is a strong personality and should remain at the head of the state."

Completely opposite information was reported through the KGB foreign intelligence channels: “Amin is a tyrant who unleashed terror and repression against his own people in the country, betrayed the ideals of the April Revolution, colluded with the Americans, is pursuing a treacherous line to reorient foreign policy from Moscow to Washington, that he simply a CIA agent. Although no one from the leadership of the foreign intelligence of the KGB has ever presented real evidence of the anti-Soviet, treacherous activities of "the first and most faithful student of Taraki", "the leader of the April Revolution." By the way, after the murder of Amin and his two young sons during the storming of the Taj Beck Palace, the widow of the leader of the revolution with her daughter and youngest son went to live in the Soviet Union, although she was offered any country to choose from. She said then: "My husband loved the Soviet Union."

But let us return to the meeting on December 8, 1979, which brought together a narrow circle of the Politburo of the Central Committee. Brezhnev listens. Comrades Andropov and Ustinov are arguing for the necessity of bringing Soviet troops into Afghanistan. The first of them is the protection of the southern borders of the country from encroachments by the United States, which plans to include the Central Asian republics in the zone of its interests, the deployment of American Pershing missiles on the territory of Afghanistan, which endangers the Baikonur cosmodrome and other vital facilities, the danger of separation from Afghanistan of the northern provinces and joining Pakistan. As a result, they decided to consider two options for action: eliminate Amin and transfer power to Karmal, send part of the troops to Afghanistan to complete this task. Summoned to a meeting with the "small circle of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU" Chief of the General Staff Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov for an hour trying to convince the leaders of the country of the perniciousness of the very idea of ​​​​sending Soviet troops into Afghanistan. Marshall failed to do so. The next day, December 9, Ogarkov was again summoned to the General Secretary. In the office this time were Brezhnev, Suslov, Andropov, Gromyko, Ustinov, Chernenko, who was instructed to keep minutes of the meeting. Marshal Ogarkov persistently repeated his arguments against the introduction of troops. He referred to the traditions of the Afghans, who did not tolerate foreigners on their territory, and warned about the likelihood of our troops being drawn into hostilities, but everything turned out to be in vain.

Andropov rebuked the marshal: "You were not invited to hear your opinion, but to write down the instructions of the Politburo and organize their implementation." Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev put an end to the dispute: "You should support Yuri Vladimirovich."

Thus, a decision was made that had a grandiose result, which would lead to the final straight the collapse of the USSR. None of the leaders who made the decision to send Soviet troops into Afghanistan will see the tragedy of the Soviet Union. The terminally ill Suslov, Andropov, Ustinov, Chernenko, having unleashed a war, left us in the first half of the 80s, not regretting what they had done. In 1989 Andrei Andreevich Gromyko dies.

Western politicians also influenced the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. On December 12, 1979, the NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense adopted a plan in Brussels to deploy new American cruise missiles and Pershing-2 medium-range missiles in Western Europe. These missiles could hit almost the entire European part of the USSR, and we had to defend ourselves.

final decision

It was on that day - December 12 - that the final decision was made on the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. In the Special Folder of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the protocol of this meeting of the Politburo, written by the secretary of the Central Committee K.U. Chernenko. It can be seen from the protocol that the initiators of the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan were Yu.V. Andropov, D.F. Ustinov and A.A. Gromyko. At the same time, the most important fact was hushed up that the first task that our troops would have to solve would be the overthrow and elimination of Hafizullah Amin and his replacement by the Soviet protege Babrak Karmal. Therefore, the reference to the fact that the entry of Soviet troops into Afghan territory was carried out at the request of the legitimate government of the DRA is hardly justified. All members of the Politburo voted unanimously for the introduction of troops. However, noteworthy is the absence at the meeting of the Politburo of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin, who, knowing the state of the country's economy, being a man of high morals, categorically spoke out against the introduction of troops into Afghanistan. It is believed that from that moment on he had a complete break with Brezhnev and his entourage.

Twice Poisoned Amin

On December 13, an agent of the illegal intelligence service of the KGB, headed by Major General Yuri Drozdov, a certain "Misha", who speaks fluent Farsi, entered into a local special operation to eliminate Amin. His surname Talibov is found in special literature. He was introduced into Amin's residence as a chef, which speaks of the brilliant work of illegal agents in Kabul and of General Drozdov himself, a former resident in the United States. For the Afghan operation, he will be awarded the Order of Lenin. A glass of poisoned Coca-Cola prepared by "Misha" and destined for Amin was accidentally handed over to his nephew, counterintelligence chief Asadulla Amin. First aid in case of poisoning was provided by Soviet military doctors. Then, in a critical condition, he was sent to Moscow. And after the cure, he was returned to Kabul, where he was shot by order of Babrak Karmal. By that time the government had changed.

The second attempt of the cook "Misha" will be more successful. This time, he did not spare the poison for the entire team of guests. This bowl passed only Amin's security service, since she ate separately and the ubiquitous "Misha" with his ladle did not get there. On December 27, Hafizullah Amin, on the occasion of receiving information about the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, arranged a magnificent dinner. He was assured that the Soviet leadership was satisfied with the version presented about the sudden death of Taraki and the change of the country's leadership. The USSR extended a helping hand to Amin in the form of troops. The military and civilian leaders of Afghanistan were invited to dinner. However, during dinner, many guests felt unwell. Some lost consciousness. Amin also passed out. The President's wife immediately called the Central Military Hospital and the clinic of the Soviet embassy. The first to arrive were military doctors, colonel general practitioner Viktor Kuznechenkov and surgeon Anatoly Alekseev. Having determined the mass poisoning, they began resuscitation to save Hafizullah Amin, who was in a coma. They did drag the president out of the other world.

One can imagine the reaction of the chief of foreign intelligence, Vladimir Kryuchkov, to this message. And in the evening, the famous operation "Storm-333" began - the assault on Amin's palace "Taj Beck", which lasted 43 minutes. This assault entered the textbooks of the military academies of the world. For the sake of replacing Amin with Karmal, the special groups of the KGB "Grom" - division "A", or, according to journalists, "Alpha" (30 people) and "Zenith" - "Vympel" (100 people), as well as the brainchild of military intelligence GRU - Muslim battalion "(530 people) - the 154th special forces detachment, consisting of soldiers, sergeants and officers of three nationalities: Uzbeks, Turkmens and Tajiks. Each company had an interpreter with Farsi, they were cadets of the Military Institute of Foreign Languages. But by the way, and without translators, Tajiks, Uzbeks and part of the Turkmens were fluent in Farsi, one of the main languages ​​of Afghanistan. Major Khabib Khalbaev commanded the Soviet Muslim battalion. Losses during the storming of the palace in the KGB special groups amounted to only five people. Six were killed in the “Muslim battalion.” Among the paratroopers - nine people. Military doctor Viktor Kuznechenkov, who saved Amin from poisoning, died. By a closed Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, about 400 people were awarded orders and medals. Four became Heroes of the Soviet Union. The Order of the Red Banner of War (posthumously) was awarded to Colonel Viktor Kuznechenkov.

The Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or any other government document on the introduction of troops never appeared. All orders were given verbally. Only in June 1980, the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU approved the decision to send troops to Afghanistan. The fact of the assassination of the head of state began to be interpreted by the West as evidence of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. This strongly influenced our relations with the USA and Europe at that time. Meanwhile, the United States nevertheless sent its troops into Afghanistan and the war there has continued to this day - 35 years.

Snapshot at the opening of the article: on the Afghan border / Photo: Sergey Zhukov / TASS

Afghanistan has traditionally been a fairly calm country, as calm as a Muslim state can be with its inherent constant internecine struggle. By 1973-1974, intra-clan confrontations began to intensify, and in 1978 this resulted in the so-called “April” or “Saur revolution” (which means “bull revolution” in translation).

As a result of this revolution, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) came to power. Afghanistan was declared a Democratic Republic. Nur Mohammed Taraki, who belonged to the Khalq group, became the president of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Babrak Karmal of the Parcham faction became Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister, while Hafizullah Amin of Khalq received the posts of Second Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs. They were convinced that the development of the country along the path of socialism, relying on the support of the USSR, would create the best opportunities for modernization and overcoming economic and social backwardness. However, most of the tribal leaders and Muslim clergy rejected the idea of ​​transformation. In the context of the interethnic, religious war that had begun on July 19, Taraki and Amin raised the question of bringing in two Soviet divisions in case of emergency.

On October 10, Taraki's death from a long, serious illness was officially announced. Although later it became known that the officers of the presidential guard had strangled him two days before on the orders of Amin. The hunt for Taraki's supporters has passed. By November 1979, a civil war had actually begun in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, under H. Amin, this little Afghan Pol Pot, the authority of the new government was undermined by mass arrests, executions of those who were objectionable, hasty reforms that did not meet national traditions, and executions of Muslim theologians. The number of many formations of the Afghan army in 1979 was reduced by three to four times, the number of officers - even 10 times. Gradually, the idea arose to create conditions for replacing Amin with a more progressive figure. In December 1979, during the storming of the presidential palace by Soviet special forces, Amin died. Soviet military units entered Afghanistan. Babrak Karmal became the head of the party and state. The course towards "building socialism" continued.

Opposition forces began an open struggle against the authorities. Armed detachments of the Mujahideen began to be created. Unable to cope with the opposition, the government took a number of steps towards reconciliation. In 1987, Najibullah became the new president of the country. In 1988, a number of agreements were concluded on a political settlement in Afghanistan with the participation of Pakistan, the USSR and the USA. In accordance with them, all Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Despite the agreements, attempts by the authorities to bring about national reconciliation failed. In 1992, armed detachments of the Mujahideen captured Kabul. Power passed to the Jihad Council. The country was declared an Islamic state. The head of the Islamic Society of Afghanistan, B. Rabbani, began to perform the functions of the country's president. At the same time, the struggle for power in the center and in the localities continued between the commanders of military formations belonging to different parties and national groups.

In 1995, the Islamic movement "Taliban" joined the fight. Its organizers are the Taliban - former students of theological schools, trained in the opposition's military camps.

In September 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul and then most of the country. In the fall of 2001, after the Taliban government refused to extradite Osama bin Laden to the United States, a military operation was carried out in Afghanistan to overthrow the government. Along with the Americans, the forces of the armed anti-Taliban opposition took part in it. The Taliban have left Kabul. In December 2001, a new interim administration of Afghanistan was formed. In 2004, a new president of the country was elected. The current president of the country is Hamid Karzai.

Afghan war - the tragedy of our country

The fate of Afghanistan could not help worrying us. The USSR had a common border with it, about 2,400 km long. Since 1919, we have provided Afghanistan with the widest possible assistance. For example, by 1978 we ranked first among all countries in the world in terms of the amount of economic assistance provided. Over 3,000 Afghan officers were trained by us even before the April 1979 revolution. All this cannot be thrown off the scales of history.

The decision to send troops was made behind closed doors by several top leaders of the state. True, there were doubts. But the last word was left to L.I. Brezhnev. December 25, 1979 at 15:00 Moscow time began the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.

Documentary reference: “The losses of personnel of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in the Republic of Afghanistan in the period from December 25, 1979 to February 15, 1989 amounted to: 13,833 people from the 40th Army were killed, died from wounds. 49,985 people were injured, 6,759 became disabled, 330 are wanted, 312 of them are missing. In addition, military advisers - 180 people, translators, specialists from other ministries and departments - 584 people.

Over 200,000 people were awarded orders and medals during the war years. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 71 "Afghans" (Tajik, Russian, Ingush, Tatar, Ukrainian, etc.). Twenty-five of them received this title posthumously. A monument is dedicated to all of them in the ancient fortress of Balla Hissar. The faceted spire of a majestic arrow shot up into the blue azure of the sky. A five-pointed star and a laurel branch crown him. At the bottom, on black granite, is carved in Russian and Darg: "To the soldiers-internationalists." This monument was erected in 1985 at the expense of the youth of Afghanistan as a sign of deep gratitude to the Soviet soldier for his selfless help.

And all the dead were taken to their native land from distant Afghanistan by planes called "Black Tulip"

Goals:

  • find out the causes, course and results of the war in Afghanistan, showing the role of Soviet soldiers-internationalists in this military event;
  • pay attention to the consequences of the war for the USSR, emphasizing the heroism of our internationalist soldiers;
  • to instill in students a sense of love for the Fatherland, fidelity to duty, patriotism;
  • to promote the development of students' skills to extract information from various sources, analyze a historical source, systematize information, and draw a conclusion.

Preparing for the lesson:

1. The student is given the advanced task “April Revolution in Afghanistan”.
2. If possible, you can use fragments of the feature film "The Ninth Company", directed by F.S. Bondarchuk, 2005.
3. Handout.
4. If possible, it is desirable to invite a participant in the war.
5. Map.

DURING THE CLASSES

Motivational conversation:

On March 2, 2011, President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev signed a decree on awarding M.S. Gorbachev with the highest award of the Russian Federation, the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Historians evaluate the activities of the first president of the USSR in different ways, but one cannot deny the fact that under him our country emerged from the exhausting Afghan war. Today in the lesson we will learn more about this event and try to answer the problematic question: "What are the consequences of the participation of the USSR in the Afghan war?".

Information block:

1. Student's message: April Revolution of 1978 in Afghanistan On April 27 in Afghanistan, under the leadership of a group of officers, an apex military coup was carried out, supported by the army and part of the petty bourgeoisie. The President of the country M.Daud was killed. Power passed into the hands of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (established in 1965). It was announced to the whole world that a socialist revolution had taken place. In terms of economic development, Afghanistan was in 108th place among 129 developing countries of the world, at the stage of feudalism with deep remnants of tribal foundations and a communal-patriarchal way of life. The leaders of the revolution were N. Taraki and H. Amin.

2. Reasons for the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan

Teacher: On September 15, the leader of the PDPA, NM Taraki, was removed from power. On October 8, on the orders of Amin, he was killed. Opposition protests began in Afghanistan. December 12, 1979 at a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (Brezhnev L.I., Suslov M.A., V.V. Grishin, A.P. Kirilenko, A.Ya. Pelshe, D.F. Ustinov, K.U. Chernenko , Yu.V. Andropov, A.A. Gromyko, N.A. Tikhonov, B.N. Ponomarenko) single-handedly made a decision: to send Soviet troops to Afghanistan. The meeting was not attended by A.N. Kosygin, whose position was negative.

On December 25, at 15:00, the entry of Soviet troops began. The first dead appeared two hours later. On December 27, the assault on Amin’s palace began by special forces from the “Muslim battalion”, the KGB groups “Thunder”, “Zenith” and its physical elimination.

Next, the teacher invites students to get acquainted with an excerpt from the work of the famous orientalist Snesarev A.E. “Afghanistan” and try to answer the question: What are the reasons for the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan?

“Afghanistan itself is of no value. It is a mountainous country, devoid of roads, with no technical facilities, with a scattered unreliable population; and this population, moreover, is freedom-loving, distinguished by pride, cherishes its independence. The latter circumstance leads to the fact that if this country can be mastered, then it is very difficult to keep it in hands. The establishment of administration and the establishment of order will require so many resources that the country will never return these expenses; she has nothing to return.

Therefore, we must say with all frankness. that in the history of the centenary struggle between England and Russia, Afghanistan in itself did not play any role, and its value was always indirect and conditional. If you think about the essence of its political value, then it mainly boils down to the fact that Afghanistan includes operational routes to India, and there is no other. This is confirmed by thousands of years of history and the conquerors of India, who always went through Afghanistan.”

“Given the military-political situation in the Middle East, the last appeal of the government of Afghanistan was considered positively. A decision was made to bring some contingents of Soviet troops stationed in the southern regions of the country into the territory. Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in order to provide international assistance to the friendly Afghan people, as well as to create favorable conditions for the prohibition of possible anti-Afghan actions by neighboring states”

After the discussion, an entry is made in a notebook.

Reasons for the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.

1) Instability in Afghanistan, which was considered a zone of Soviet influence.
2) The threat of loss of stability in the Central Asian regions of the USSR due to the spread of Islamic fundamentalism.
3) The desire to maintain the course taken by the Afghan regime to build socialism.
4) Prevent American influence in Afghanistan.
5) The leaders of the USSR wanted to test the effectiveness of military equipment and the degree of training of troops in a real, but local war.

3. The course of hostilities

Students get acquainted with the stages of the stay of Soviet troops in Afghanistan (the printed text is on the students' tables)

First: December 1979-February 1980. The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, their placement in garrisons, the organization of the protection of deployment points.

Second: March 1980-April 1985. Conducting active hostilities, including large-scale ones, as, for example, in the province of Kunar in March 1983. Work on the reorganization and strengthening of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Third: April 1985-January 1987. The transition from active operations mainly to the support of the Afghan troops by Soviet aviation, artillery and sapper units. The use of motorized rifle, airborne and tank units mainly as reserves and to increase the morale and combat stability of the Afghan troops. Special Forces units continued to fight to prevent the delivery of weapons and ammunition from abroad. Partial withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

Fourth: January 1987 - February 1989. The participation of Soviet troops in the Afghan leadership's policy of national example. Active work to strengthen the positions of the Afghan leadership, assist in the formation of the armed forces of the DRA. Preparation of Soviet troops for withdrawal and their complete withdrawal.

Conversation with students

– What stages stand out in the Afghan war?
- What methods did the Soviet troops use?

Students briefly write down the stages of the war.

Teacher: All those who fulfilled their international military duty with dignity and honor deserved nationwide respect.

Students watch an excerpt from the film “The Ninth Company” or listen to the memoirs of a participant in those events.

The student reads a poem by K. Savelyev “And the world is not very fair ...”

And the world is not very fair:
people come home
one from the war brings checks.
another jaundice or typhus.
And the third in stuffy silence
squeaks with prosthetic straps
and anger rolls his jaws. when he hears about the war...
Taking the stations in circulation.
breathing army peregprom,
an old people comes from the war.
not very kind people.
... I remember the fury of shame,
when shiny in a warehouse,
sitting on a suitcase nearby,
whispered to me: “Still there ...”
And motorized rifles went by
in panamas burned by the sun -
fried veterans
walked into a world shattered into pieces.
Went into the world, tired of tirades.
not believing someone else's cry,
no longer remember what it means
stripes on the chest of a soldier ...
Accustomed to hard work
people come home
some bring only checks,
others - conscience and trouble.
In the twenty year spring
Soved came - a boy and a Skoda,
grown a little in two years...
Yes, aged for the war.

4. Results of the war

Teacher:“What are the results of the Afghan war?”
During the conversation and reading the text of the textbook on pp. 392-393 (Zagladin N.V., Kozlenko S.I.

History of Russia XX - the beginning of the XXI century) students make notes in a notebook.

- political defeat of the USSR
- Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan
– OKSV did not defeat the armed opposition of the Mujahideen
The civil war in Afghanistan has resumed.

5. Mistakes of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan(discussion with students)

- inconsistency of the existing organizational structure of combined arms formations with the conditions of a theater of military operations. The military formations were too cumbersome.
- an attempt to resolve the conflict with "small forces", the insufficiency of the number of troops.
- Soviet troops were unable to cut off supplies to the rebels from abroad.
- underestimation of the opposing side (at the initial stage)
- insufficient effective use of the latest weapons, especially high-precision

6. Consequences of the Afghan war

Pupils get acquainted with the data on losses and draw a conclusion.

The losses of a limited contingent of Soviet troops amounted to:
in total - 138333 people, of which officers - 1979,
combat losses - 11381 people,
Sanitary losses amounted to 53,753 people,
38,614 of them were returned to the army. 6,669 people became disabled.
417 people went missing, were captured, of which 130 people returned as of January 1, 1999.
Loss of equipment and weapons:
tanks - 147
BTR, BMP, BRDM - 1314
guns and mortars - 233, mammoths - 114, helicopters - 322.

Students write down:

The consequences of the Afghan war for the USSR:

- great loss of life
- large material losses
- the fall of the prestige of the Soviet armed forces
- the fall of the authority of the USSR in the Muslim world
- the fall of the international prestige of the USSR
- strengthening the position of the United States

Final control

1. The Afghan war has begun

2. One of the reasons for the Afghan war was:

1) maintain a foothold beneficial to the USSR and prevent US influence in Afghanistan
2) raise the international prestige of the USSR
3) fulfill the allied duty to the countries of the Organization of the Warsaw Pact

3. The leader of the Afghan revolution were:

1) M. Gaddafi
2) A.Sadat
3) N. Taraki

4. The Afghan war led to:

1) a new aggravation of international tension
2) allied relations with Muslim countries
3) reduction of strategic arms

Reflection

1. How I learned the study material

a) very well, I remembered and understood everything
b) good, but need to repeat
c) I misunderstood the main questions of the topic

2. How I worked in the lesson

a) very active
b) actively
c) preferred not to raise his hand

Homework.§41 pp. 392-393. Write an answer to a question. Do you agree with the opinion of some historians that the Afghan war became “Soviet Vietnam” for our country?

Literature.

  1. N.V. Zagladin, S.I. Kozlenko. S.T. Minakov, Yu.A. Petrov History of Russia XX-XXI centuries. “Russian word”, M., 2011.
  2. V.Andreev. Unexpected war. Voronezh, 2004.
  3. You are in my memory and in my heart, Afghanistan. Materials of the military-practical conference dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the withdrawal of the limited contingent of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Voronezh, 2004.
  4. Encyclopedia for children Avanta. History of Russia, volume 3. Astrel Publishing House 2007.

Losses of personnel according to official data. From the reference of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR: “In total, 546,255 people passed through Afghanistan. Losses of personnel of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in the Republic of Afghanistan in the period from December 25, 1979 to February 15, 1989. A total of 13,833 people were killed, died from wounds and diseases, including 1,979 officers (14.3%). A total of 49,985 people were injured, including 7,132 officers (14.3%). 6669 people became disabled. 330 people are on the wanted list.”

Awards. More than 200 thousand people were awarded orders and medals of the USSR, 71 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Afghan figures. Another reference published in the Izvestia newspaper provides a report by the Afghan government "on the losses of government troops - for 5 months of fighting from January 20 to June 21, 1989: 1748 soldiers and officers were killed and 3483 were wounded." Recalculating losses for one year from a 5-month period, we get that approximately 4196 people could be killed and 8360 wounded. Considering that in Kabul, both in the Ministry of Defense and in other government bodies, Soviet advisers controlled any information, especially from the front, it is quite obvious that the numbers of losses of Afghan military personnel indicated in the newspaper are not only clearly underestimated, but also the ratio between the wounded and the dead. Nevertheless, even these fake figures can roughly determine the actual losses of Soviet troops in Afghanistan.

13 people daily! If we assume that the military operations of the Mujahideen against the Soviet troops in the same areas were carried out with even greater bitterness and intensity, as against "gentiles and invaders", then we can roughly assume that our losses for the year were equal to at least 5 thousand killed - 13 people a day . The number of wounded is determined from the ratio of losses according to the certificate of our Ministry of Defense 1:3.6, therefore, their number will be about 180 thousand over ten years of war.

Permanent contingent. The question is, how many Soviet troops took part in the Afghan war? We learn from fragmentary information from our Ministry of Defense that there were 180 military camps in Afghanistan and 788 battalion commanders took part in the hostilities. We believe that the average battalion commander lived in Afghanistan for 2 years. This means that during the 10 years of the war the number of battalion commanders was updated 5 times. Consequently, in Afghanistan there were constantly about 788:5 annually - 157 combat battalions. The number of military camps and the number of battalions agree fairly closely with each other.

Assuming that at least 500 people served in the combat battalion, we get that there were 157 * 500 = 78500 people in the active 40th Army. For the normal functioning of the troops fighting the enemy, auxiliary units of the rear are necessary (delivery of ammunition, fuel and lubricants, repair and technical workshops, guarding caravans, guarding roads, guarding military camps, battalions, regiments, divisions, armies, hospitals, etc. .). The ratio of the number of auxiliary units to combat units is approximately 3:1 - this is approximately 235,500 military personnel. Thus, the total number of military personnel who were constantly in Afghanistan every year was at least 314 thousand people.

General numbers. So, during the 10 years of the war in Afghanistan, at least three million people passed, of which 800 thousand participated in hostilities. Our total losses amounted to at least 460 thousand people, of which 50 thousand were killed, 180 thousand were wounded, including 100 thousand who were blown up by mines - seriously wounded, 1000 were missing, 230 thousand were sick with hepatitis, jaundice, typhoid fever.

It turns out that in official data the terrible figures are underestimated by about 10 times.

Introduction

Afghan war 1979-1989 - An armed conflict between the Afghan government and allied forces of the USSR, who sought to preserve the pro-communist regime in Afghanistan, on the one hand, and the Muslim Afghan resistance, on the other.

Of course, this period is not the most positive in the history of the USSR, but I wanted to open a little curtain in this war, namely, the causes and main tasks for the USSR to eliminate the military conflict in Afghanistan.

Reason for hostilities

The main reason for the war was foreign intervention in the Afghan internal political crisis, which was the result of a struggle for power between the government of Afghanistan and numerous armed formations of the Afghan Mujahideen (“dushmans”), who enjoy the political and financial support of the leading NATO states and the Islamic world, on the other hand.

The internal political crisis in Afghanistan was the "April Revolution" - the events in Afghanistan on April 27, 1978, which resulted in the establishment of a Marxist pro-Soviet government in the country.

As a result of the April Revolution, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) came to power, the leader of which was in 1978. Nur Mohammad Taraki (was killed on the orders of Hafizullah Amin), and then Hafizullah Amin until December 1979, who proclaimed the country the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).

Attempts by the country's leadership to carry out new reforms that would make it possible to overcome the backlog of Afghanistan ran into resistance from the Islamic opposition. In 1978, even before the introduction of Soviet troops, a civil war broke out in Afghanistan.

Lacking strong popular support, the new government brutally suppressed internal opposition. The unrest in the country and the strife between the supporters of Khalq and Parcham (the PDPA was divided into these two parts), taking into account geopolitical considerations (preventing the strengthening of US influence in Central Asia and protecting the Central Asian republics), pushed the Soviet leadership to enter in December 1979 troops to Afghanistan under the pretext of providing international assistance. The entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Afghanistan began on the basis of a decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, without a formal decision on this by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In March 1979, during the mutiny in the city of Herat, the first request from the Afghan leadership for direct Soviet military intervention followed. But the commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU for Afghanistan reported to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU about the obvious negative consequences of direct Soviet intervention, and the request was rejected.

However, the Herat rebellion forced the strengthening of Soviet troops near the Soviet-Afghan border, and by order of the Minister of Defense D.F. Ustinov, preparations began for a possible landing in Afghanistan by the landing method of the 105th Guards Airborne Division. The number of Soviet advisers (including military ones) in Afghanistan was sharply increased: from 409 in January to 4,500 by the end of June 1979.

The impetus for the intervention of the USSR was US assistance to the Mujahideen. According to the official version of history, CIA assistance to the Mujahideen began during 1980, that is, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. But the reality, kept secret until today, is different: in fact, President Carter signed the first directive on covert assistance to opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul on July 3, 1979.

On December 25, 1979, the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan began in three directions: Kushka - Shindand - Kandahar, Termez - Kunduz - Kabul, Khorog - Faizabad.

The directive did not provide for the participation of Soviet troops in hostilities on the territory of Afghanistan, and the procedure for using weapons even for self-defense purposes was not determined. True, already on December 27, D. F. Ustinov issued an order to suppress the resistance of the rebels in cases of attack. It was assumed that the Soviet troops would become garrisons and guard important industrial and other facilities, thereby freeing up parts of the Afghan army for active operations against opposition groups, as well as against possible external interference. The border with Afghanistan was ordered to be crossed at 15:00 Moscow time (17:00 Kabul time) on December 27, 1979. But on the morning of December 25, the 4th battalion of the 56th Guards Airborne Assault Brigade crossed over the pontoon bridge across the border river Amu Darya, which was tasked with capturing the Salang high mountain pass on the Termez-Kabul road to ensure unhindered passage of Soviet troops. On the same day, the transfer of units of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division to the airfields of Kabul and Bagram began. Paratroopers of the 350th Guards Airborne Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel G.I. were the first to land on the Kabul airfield. Shpak.

The troops landed at the airfields of Kabul, Bagram, Kandahar. Entering troops is not easy; During the capture of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghan President Hafizullah Amin was killed. The Muslim population did not accept the Soviet presence, and an uprising broke out in the northeastern provinces, spreading throughout the country.