Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
- Created by: Christanina
- Created on: 28-05-17 13:30
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- Soviet involvement in Afghanistan
- Reasons
- Soviets insisted they had been invited there to restore order but USA said it was a straight forward invasion
- USSR worried the Muslim revolution in neighbouring Iran could spread to Afghanistan
- Political situation very unstable in Afghanistan in late 70s
- Afghanistan close to Middle East oil reserves & the USSR wanted to develop their interests in the area
- Events
- USSR struggled to fight the Mujaheddin (Muslim jihadists)
- The Mujaheddin were effective in guerrilla tactics.
- USA secretly sent money, arms & equipment to the Mujahadin via Pakistan
- The War became unwinnable for the USSR
- Gorbachev eventually withdrew troops in 1988 due to cost
- Consequences
- President Carter furious with the Soviet invasion
- Carter pulled USA out of Moscow 1980 Olympics
- USSR retaliated by pulling out of Los Angeles Olympics in 1984
- Carter refused to sign the SALT II treaty which would have further limited the number of nuclear weapons
- Carter also cut trade between USA & USSR e.g. refused to sell food and technological goods
- Ended Detente
- How it weakened the USSR
- USSR locked into a costly and unwinnable war
- Economy became weak as too much spending on the war & the arms race
- Showed up problems in the economy as each new leader followed the same policies
- Inability to win the was was embarrassing for the USSR
- Showed that the USSR was using repression to keep control under the Brezhnev Doctrine
- Reasons
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