Reasons the Cold War ended - USSR defeat in Afghanistan

1. The Cold War
1945-1989
Defeat of the
USSR in
Afghanistan
Reasons the Cold War ended

2. Reasons the Cold War ended
In today’s class I am learning to:
• Describe events during the
Afghanistan War
• Analyse the impact of these
events in bringing about the end
of the Cold War

3. Reasons the Cold War ended
In 1978, a Communist
revolution – known
as the Saur
Revolution – took
place in
Afghanistan.
This new government
introduced a range
of changes and
reforms, including
land redistribution.

4. Reasons the Cold War ended
Some people –
especially conservative
Muslims – were opposed
to this new Afghan
government.
They were angry at
changes that were
introduced, especially
more rights for women
and changes to marriage
customs too.

5. Reasons the Cold War ended
As a result of these
disagreements,
Afghanistan fell into a
civil war.
At Pakistan’s request,
the USA gave support to
Islamic groups. The
Soviet Union worried
that this would see the
end of a Communist
government.

6. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Soviet government
followed the Brezhnev
Doctrine.
This was a policy from
1968 that said the
Soviet Union would
support any Communist
government which was
under threat, including
using military action
if needed.

7. Reasons the Cold War ended
As such, on 24 December
1979, the Soviet Union
invaded Afghanistan.
Around 100,000 troops
were involved.
Officially the USSR
said that they did so
after receiving a
request for help from
the Afghan government.

8. Reasons the Cold War ended
The USA condemned the
invasion; it ended
1970s détente between
the two sides.
It even led to the USA
refusing to take part
in the 1980 Moscow
Olympics. The Soviets
did the same for the
1984 Los Angeles games.

9. Reasons the Cold War ended
The end of détente
undermined the USSR.
One reason for
détente was the
economic need to
trade with the USA.
Losing these business
opportunities hurt
the already
struggling Soviet
economy.

10. Reasons the Cold War ended
However, most Soviet
trade was internal,
or with Communist
countries like China.
This limited the
impact of any decline
in trade with the
USA. In the 1970s and
1980s, only about 1%
of Soviet trade was
with the USA.

11. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Soviets hoped that
the invasion would end
the civil war and allow
them to leave.
Instead they were
forced to stay to give
support to the Afghan
government. The result
would be problems
similar to those faced
by the USA in Vietnam.

12. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Soviets fought
against a rebel group
called the Mujahedeen.
These were Islamic
groups that fought a
guerrilla war against
the Soviets. This
included hit-and-run
attacks in the mountain
areas of the country.

13. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Soviets used
various tactics to try
to win the war.
These used helicopter
attacks and ground
troops to attack and
destroy villages. They
hoped to leave the
rebels with nowhere to
live or hide.

14. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Soviets also used
KHAD (the Afghan secret
police) to try to win
the war.
This group would spy on
the Mujahedeen and try
to spread false rumours
to divide the groups.
They would even bribe
tribal leaders.

15. Reasons the Cold War ended
However the Mujahedeen
fought back, often with
weaponry secretly
provided by the USA and
other countries.
This included the
Stinger missile which
was used to shoot down
Soviet helicopters,
guns and military
training too.

16. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Mujahedeen became
very powerful. It was
estimated that a few
years into the
fighting, there at
least 4000 Mujahedeen
bases in Afghanistan.
They engaged in
activities such as
bombings and damaging
infrastructure.

17. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Soviets found it
impossible to beat the
Mujahedeen, who kept
getting new recruits.
More than 14,000 Soviet
soldiers died in the
Afghan War. In
addition, 451 Soviet
aircraft were
destroyed, including
333 helicopters.

18. Reasons the Cold War ended
The USSR’s failure to
win in Afghanistan
hurt national pride
and ended any belief
that they were an
all-powerful force.
If they could not
beat Afghanistan,
they would find it
impossible to defeat
the USA in a war.

19. Reasons the Cold War ended
The Soviets remained
a military
superpower.
In particular, having
the world’s second
biggest nuclear
arsenal meant they
were not in any
serious danger of
having to fight a war
with the USA.

20. Reasons the Cold War ended
There were numerous
attempts to end the
Afghanistan War.
Various countries –
including Pakistan,
the USSR and USA -
were involved.
Countries in the
region did not want
chaos and more war if
the USSR withdrew.

21. Reasons the Cold War ended
The new leader of the
USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev
wanted out of the
Afghan War.
From May 1988, Soviet
troops started to
withdraw from
Afghanistan. This
process was completed
by February 1989.

22. Reasons the Cold War ended
The costs of the war
increased poverty in
the USSR and Eastern
Europe, leading to
public protests.
The growth of
campaigns on this
issue inspired other
actions which
undermined the USSR.

23. Reasons the Cold War ended
Public protest was
still controlled and
limited in the USSR
and Eastern Bloc.
This meant that mass,
organised campaigns –
like anti-Vietnam War
protests in the USA –
never developed,
limiting its impact.