The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan took place as winners or losers?

On February 15, 1989 - the official day of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. At 10:00 the last soldier, Lieutenant-General of the 40th Army BV Gromov, left the territory of Afghanistan on the border passing over the bridge across the Amu Darya River. Since then, 24 years have passed, but the events of that war have not been erased from the memory of the participants, they are reminded of us in books, films. Everyone remembers the sensational film "9th company", describing the events of that war. In one episode, on the question of what to do after returning home, the serviceman said: "Drink, then drink and drink until I forget all the nightmare that I experienced there." What did the Soviet soldiers have to endure there, in the mountains of Afghanistan, and most importantly, for what?

A protracted 10-year war

The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan marked the end of the war, of which, in fact, we know almost nothing. If we compare it to the First and Second World Wars, then information about the "mountain hikes", which lasted for less than 10 years, was preserved only in the memory of the participants. The silent war began on December 25, 1979, and as a result, the introduction of troops showed the USSR in the international arena as an aggressor.

In particular, the G-7 countries did not understand the decision of the USSR, and only the US was amused by this, since the Cold War between the two strongest states was conducted long ago. On December 29, the Pravda newspaper published an appeal from the Afghan government on third-party assistance to resolve internal conflicts. The Soviet Union helped, but almost immediately realized the "Afghan mistake", and back the road was difficult. In order to implement the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the government took almost 10 years, it was necessary to sacrifice lives to 14,000 soldiers, 53,000 to maim, and to take the lives of 1 million Afghans. It was difficult for Soviet soldiers to wage guerrilla warfare in the mountains, while the Mujahideen knew them as their own five fingers.

The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was one of the main issues that was first raised on February 7, 1980. But the government then considered it necessary to delay the troops, since the situation in Afghanistan, in their opinion, did not stabilize. For the complete liberation of the country, it took 1.5 - 2 years. Soon Leonid Brezhnev decided to withdraw troops, but his initiative was not supported by Yu. V. Andropov, D. F. Ustinov. For a while the solution to this problem was suspended, and the warriors continued to fight and die in the mountains, it is unclear for whose interests. And only in 1985 MS Gorbachev resumed the issue of the withdrawal of troops, a plan was approved, according to which within two years the Soviet troops were to leave the territory of Afghanistan. And only after the UN intervention the papers went into action. Pakistan and Afghanistan signed peace treaties, the United States was forbidden to enter the country's internal affairs, and the USSR was to carry out the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

Soviet soldiers returned with a victory or with defeat?

Many people ask themselves about the outcome of the war. Is it possible to consider the Soviet soldiers as winners? There is no unequivocal answer, but the USSR did not set itself the task of conquering Afghanistan, it had to assist the government in stabilizing the internal situation. The USSR, most likely, lost this war to itself, 14 thousand soldiers and their relatives. Who asked to bring troops into this country, what was waiting for them there? History does not know the more reckless massacre that has sustained such sacrifices. The withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 1989 was the smartest decision in the course of this war, but the sad sludge will forever remain in the hearts of physically and morally crippled participants and their loved ones.