The document summarizes the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan between 1988 and 1989 under Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership. Key points include: 1. The withdrawal of Soviet combat forces began on May 15, 1988 and ended on February 15, 1989, overseen by Colonel-General Boris Gromov. 2. Gorbachev attempted to consolidate power for Afghanistan's communist government to stabilize the country and save face during withdrawal. 3. Improving US-Soviet relations and the futility of propping up Kabul's government led the Soviet Union to fully withdraw.

1. Zummer Javed
181940022
BS-International Relations
Musa Mukhtar Cheema
181590003
BS-Political Science

3. ❏ Understanding that the Soviet Union's troublesome economic and international
situation was complicated by its involvement in the Afghan War, Gorbachev "had
decided to seek a withdrawal from Afghanistan
❏ He later strengthened his support base at the top level of Soviet government
further by expanding the Politburo with his allies.
❏ Gorbachev was forced to satisfy the hawkish military-industrial complex, military
leadership, and intelligence agencies .
❏ Abroad, Gorbachev aimed to retain prestige in the eyes of third-world allies. He,
like Soviet leaders before him, considered only a dignified withdrawal to be
acceptable.
❏ Three objectives were viewed by Gorbachev as conditions needed for withdrawal:
internal stability, limited foreign intervention, and international recognition of the
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan's Communist government.
❏ Gorbachev's decision to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a
presidency for the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that
eventually destabilized Communist control and contributed to the collapse of the
Soviet Union.

4. Causes of withdrawal
Some of the causes of the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan leading to the Afghanistan
regime's eventual defeat include
● The Soviet Army of 1980 was trained and equipped for large scale, conventional warfare in
Central Europe against a similar opponent, i.e. it used armored and motor-rifle formations.
● The large Red Army formations weren't mobile enough to engage small groups of Muj fighters
that easily merged back into the terrain.
● The biggest shortcoming here was the fact that once the Russians did engage the enemy in
force, they failed to hold the ground by withdrawing once their operation was completed.
● The killing of civilians further alienated the population from the Soviets, with bad long-term
effects.
● The Soviets didn't have enough men to fight a counter-insurgency war (COIN), and their
troops were not motivated. The peak number of Soviet troops during the war was 115,000.
● Intelligence gathering, essential for successful COIN, was inadequate. The Soviets over-relied
on less-than-accurate aerial recon and radio intercepts rather than their recon infantry and
special forces. Although their special forces and recon infantry units performed very well in
combat against the Mujahideen.

5. 1. The final and complete withdrawal of Soviet combatant forces from Afghanistan began on 15
May 1988 and ended on 15 February 1989 under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris
Gromov.
2. Under the leadership of Gorbachev, the Soviet Union attempted to consolidate the PDPA's hold
over power in the country, first in a genuine effort to stabilize the country, and then as a measure
to save face while withdrawing troops.
3. The diplomatic relationship between the USSR and the United States improved at the same time
as it became clear to the Soviet Union that this policy of consolidating power around Najibullah's
government in Kabul would not produce sufficient results to maintain the power of the PDPA in
the long run.
4. The Geneva Accords, signed by representatives of the USSR, the US, the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan and the Republic of Afghanistan (thus renamed in 1987) on 14 April 1988, provided a
framework for the departure of Soviet forces, and established a multilateral understanding
between the signatories regarding the future of international involvement in Afghanistan.
5. The military withdrawal commenced soon after, with all Soviet forces leaving Afghanistan by 15
February 1989.

14. ● For the Soviet Union, the intervention proved extraordinarily costly in a number of
ways. While the Soviets never released official casualty figures for the war in
Afghanistan, U.S. intelligence sources estimated that as many as 15,000 Russian troops
died in Afghanistan, and the economic cost to the already struggling.
● Soviet economy ran into billions of dollars.
● The intervention also strained relations between the Soviet Union and the United
States nearly to the breaking point.
● President Jimmy Carter harshly criticized the Russian action, stalled talks on arms
limitations, issued economic sanctions, and even ordered a boycott of the 1980
Olympics held in Moscow.

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