Indopakistan rivalry and afghanistan 17 indoafghan convergence of interests. In the demise of the taliban peace talks, russia is the. Russia resurrects interest in afghanistan military times. Oil, gas and the us interest in afghanistan oil and gas are not the direct causes of the war in afghanistan, but understanding the motives of longterm us policy is important. Throughout the cold war, the united states and the soviet union competed for power and influence in different areas of the world. The odyssey of relations according to sardar paniker, the architect of indian foreign policy, burma myanmar. The real threat to us interests in afghanistan fair observer. The conflict in afghanistan is the united states longestrunning war by nearly six years. This book challenges many widely held views about the actual costs of the. Despite grievous mistakes in planning and execution, however, the soviet war in afghanistan was no unmitigated failure. Promoting the economic rise of continental and south asia by securing investments in connectivity and integrating afghanistan into those connective networks. Russian president vladimir putin shakes hands with afghan president ashraf ghani during the shanghai cooperation organization summit in ufa, russia, july 2015. In 1947, prime minister of afghanistan, mohammed daoud khan, had rejected the durrand line, which was accepted as international border by successive afghan governments for over a half a century. This study discusses the geostrategic importance of afghanistan in the context of overall soviet strategy in southwest asia.
Kalinovsky tells the most complete story to date of soviet decisionmaking about the afghan war. Hamid karzai and the russia connection the diplomat. Zamir kabulov, russias special envoy to afghanistan, recently said, taliban interests objectively coincide with ours. The sovietafghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the soviet army and the democratic republic of afghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mostly in the afghan countryside. The us interests in afghanistan and central asia russia. In his 1995 book about the intervention, the tragedy and valor of afghanistan, gen. This book deserves to become required reading for anyone interested in the conflict in afghanistan the future of nato. The kremlin surprised many with its 2008 war in georgia, its 2014 seizure of crimea and intervention in eastern ukraine, and its 2015 deployment of forces in the syrian civil war. The soviet union began trying to build its influence in afghanistan. Because of russian military cultural preferences for a bigwar paradigm that have been embedded over time, moreover, this work posits that continuity rather than change was much more probable, even though. Why russia is back in afghanistan november 14, 2017 5. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops.
Surprisingly, afghanistan is emerging as another arena in which moscow is pointedly working at odds with washingtons interests. The russian federation and the afghanistan problem since 2001 introduction 5 theses 7 i. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, invasion of afghanistan in late december 1979 by troops from the soviet union. What vladimir putin really wants in the middle east. Subsequently, in april 2017, the commander of the us forces in afghanistan, general john nicholson, accused russia of providing weapons to the taliban fighters. The author of this book was the british ambassador to the ussr and then the russian federation but i highly appreciate his objective approach throughout the book which is about the causes of soviet involvement in afghanistan right up till the withdrawal of the troops and its. On october 19, 2017, russian president vladimir putin delivered an address at the 14th annual valdai club meeting in sochi. Lester grau and michael gresss expert english translation of the general staffs study offers the very. Afghan political factions, leaders, the human rights and. The british became the major power in the indian subcontinent after the treaty of paris 1763 and began to show interest in afghanistan as early as their 1809 treaty with shuja shah durrani. A cnn report in july 2017 claimed russian arms were being transferred to taliban fighters. Maybe more noteworthy are the russian efforts to decide afghanistans fate without the input of afghan president ashraf ghani and the legitimate government in kabul. Pdf russian views of india in the context of afghanistan.
The jockeying includes engaging the taliban and leading a. If you are interested go listen to this mans voice on npr, from ten years. Russias foreign policy has in recent years become more assertive than it had been in the first two decades since independence. Underpinning this greater assertiveness is a growing consensus among russian analysts. The story of the soviet occupation of afghanistan is well known. What makes this account of the sovietafghan conflict both timely and. Soviet interests in afghanistan and implications upon withdrawal 6. It is not easy, so many will avoid this and keep with. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in sovietrussian history, military historians and also to anyone interested in the terrors of war and what it was like to witness it. Afghanistan, indonesia, cambodia and laos constituted an outer ring or secondary area of strategic importance to india.
Soviet interests in afghanistan and implications upon withdrawal, by major khalid nawaz khan, pakistan army, 160 pages. A russian soldiers story by vladislav tamarov a photo diary, with short essays. Trump was wrong about the soviet war in afghanistan. Even though the war in afghanistan was not a major theme of putins. Russian strategic interests in south asia are three dimensional. Some experts believe that the three nations may be planning to stage a syriastyle intervention in afghanistan, and the possibility of a formal alliance between pakistan. It was the threat of the expanding russian empire beginning to push for an advantage in the afghanistan region that placed pressure on british india, in what became known as the great game. In december 2016, moscow hosted a conference with key allies, pakistan and china, on afghanistans affairs without any afghan representatives, a signal that russia does not. Why russia is back in afghanistan the conversation. This study examines and compares the performance of the soviet military in afghanistan and the russian military in chechnya. Asia, the book describes russian relations with india and support for it regarding kashmir issue in united nations. Washington as americas 16year war in afghanistan drags on, russia is resurrecting its own interest in the graveyard of empires. Even though russian policymakers have scathingly criticized the u.
The international community defines afghanistan as the territory within the boundaries demarcated by the british and russian empires, including through the 1879 treaty of gandamak and the 1893 durand line agreement, as ratified in the anglorussian convention of 1907 and the angloafghan agreement treaty of rawalpindi of 1921. Indeed, recent moves by russia now represent a pivot toward. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden from the soviet invasion to september 10, 2001 by steve coll 4. Russias regional activity concerning the afghan question 53 v. It aims to discern continuity or change in methods and doctrine. Although the deescalation of tensions between the united states and russia, which had risen last year due to moscows alleged arms transfers to the taliban, is a positive development, russia.
Third, russias main interest in afghanistan and surrounding region is not geo economics. The value of afgantsy the name given to russian veterans of afghanistan lies in the mainly sympathetic personal anecdotes and the pictures the author paints of the conditions in which. Russian investment even in the economic development of central. In the sovietafghan war the russian general staff takes a close critical look at the soviet militarys disappointing performance in that war in an effort to better understand what happened and why and what lessons should be taken from it. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan. Considered as a soviet backyard in the past, afghanistan sprang to limelight in 1979 following. Russia returns to afghanistan the national interest. Russias afghan policy in the regional and russiawest contexts ifri. The 10year conflict in afghanistan, which devolved into a quagmire that cost 15,000 russian soldiers, is widely viewed as a major contributing factor to the collapse of the soviet union.
I believe is an epic statement to the russian experience in afghanistan. What vladimir putin really wants in the middle east a new book translates russia s fears and hopes for syria, and the wider region, for an american audience. The russian interest in the region continued on through the soviet era, with billions in economic and military aid sent to afghanistan between 1955 and 1978. The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in afghanistan until midfebruary 1989. This article on the russianafghan war is an excerpt from lee edwards and elizabeth edwards spaldings book a brief history of the cold war. Afghanistan, the soviet interests in the region, and the.
Russia and the taliban make amends foreign affairs. Library of congress federal research division country profile. Alexander lyakhovsky wrote that andropov and ustinov told a meeting of select politburo members in brezhnevs study on dec. Introduction in march 2009 president barack obama stated that pakistans border region is the most dangerous place in the world because the majority of international terrorist incidents within the previous year had been either planned in or launched from pakistan. The first official deployment of the soviet army into the kingdom of afghanistan began dec. There is little doubt, moreover, that this rather candid portrayal of the disastrous soviet war in afghanistan will trigger some russian readers, even if that is not the authors intention, to. Soviet interests in afghanistan and implications upon.
The russian footprint in afghanistan pakistanpolitico. Russias strategies in afghanistan and their consequences for nato. Even russia, the groups historical enemy, has recently turned to the group for intelligence sharing against a common foe. Reuters photohost ria novosti for the last decade and a half, russia and the united states have had largely similar aims in afghanistan. The taliban, once a pariah, now finds itself courted by several powerful regional players. The forces of the united states and the western countries should pull out of afghanistan in 2014. I know its different, thats always what youre told. Usrussia reset gets a boost with russian offer of airbase. Great powers such as the united states, china, india, and russia articulate two interests that justify allocating resources to stabilize afghanistan. As the trump administration weighs whether to send more troops to. Such pipelines would serve important us interests in a number of ways. Russia and the usnato operations in afghanistan 42 iv. Map of northern persia and northern afghanistan in 1857 showing khiva, bukhara, and kokand that form modern turkmenistan and uzbekistan the great game was a political and diplomatic confrontation that existed for most of the 19th century between the british empire and the russian empire over afghanistan and neighbouring territories in central and south asia. Short summary of the soviet war in afghanistan synonym.
The flashy young tycoon met soviet ambassador yuri dubinin at a luncheon and, as he recounted in his 1987 book, the art of. Viewing afghanistan as a buffer state against russian expansionism, the british invaded and occupied afghanistan for close to a century before finally being driven out in 1919, with the 3rd afghan war. Putin of russia, right, and president ashraf ghani of afghanistan in 2015. You can also buy the book by clicking on the buttons to the left. Among the many strengths of braithwaites book, four features stand out. The years from 19791988 marked the second period of outside occupation in the countrys last century history. Afghanistans significance for russia in the 21st century.