Soviet Union Leaves Afghanistan

Last Soviet troops withdraw from their war in Afghanistan

Historical Context

For ten years the Soviet Union was mired in a war in Afghanistan, from 1979 to 1989. So difficult was this war that it is often referred to as Soviet Union's Vietnam.

In 1978 Afghanistan experienced a coup which brought to power a communist regime - the brutality of this regime led to open rebellion by the following year, precipitating the Soviet intervention and their coup in December 1979.

The war proved very costly for the Soviet Union. They lost almost 15,000 troops and its failure to win the war was a contributing factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In America, the government countered the Soviet effort by supporting the efforts of the Mujahideen - a decision that would come back to haunt the US, when many members of the Mujahideen later joined al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Photo Info

Photographer: A. Solomonov
Date taken: February 15, 1989
Location taken: Soviet-Afghan border, Soviet Union
Source: RIA Novosti via Wikimedia Commons