Afghanistan (Dari اغالwork) (Afğānistān), the official name is the Islamic resplelist Afghanistan (Pashtu د اغال الاices جمي جمي جمي جمي جمي جمي جمي جمي جمي جمي جمهوری اس اغاlas) - a state in the middle east, does not go to the sea. One of the poorest countries in the world. Over the past 33 years (since 1978), a civil war has been going on in the country. The name "Afghanistan" is translated into Russian as "country of Afghans". It borders with Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, in the easternmost part of the country. Afghanistan is at the crossroads between East and West and is an ancient center of trade and migration. Its geopolitical location is between South and Central Asia on the one hand and the Middle East on the other, which allows it to play an important role in economic, political and cultural relations between the countries of the region.

The first part of the name is "Afghan", "Afghani" is another name for the Pashtuns - the largest ethnic group in the country. Indeed, the territory of Afghanistan is difficult to access and convenient for the tribes that, for one reason or another, retained their independence from all sorts of conquerors of Central Asia. This is the so-called external name of the people, in contrast to the self-name (an analogue in Russian can be considered the words "German", "Germans", that is, those who do not know how to speak "our way", dumb. All foreign residents were called that. And also the word barbarians in Greek). The last part of the name, the suffix "-stan", goes back to the Indo-European root "*stā-" ("to stand") and in Persian means "place, country". In modern Persian, the suffix "-istan" (Persian ستان‎) is used to form toponyms - geographical names of places of residence of tribes, peoples and various ethnic groups.

The term "Afghans" as a name for a people has been in use since at least the Islamic period. According to a number of scholars, the word "Afghan" appears for the first time in history in 982; then it was understood as the Afghans of various tribes who lived on the western border of the mountains along the Indus River.

The Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited Kabul in 1333, writes: "We traveled around Kabul, formerly a huge city, on the site of which a tribe of Persians who call themselves Afghans now lives."

The current flag was adopted in 2004. The image of the flag is a vertical black-red-green tricolor, in the center of which (in the middle of the red stripe) is the state emblem of Afghanistan. The black color symbolizes the historical past - the struggle against the British colonialists, red - the blood shed for freedom, green - the traditional color of Islam. The proportions of the flag are 7:10.

The coat of arms (national emblem) of Afghanistan has existed since the formation of the state. The image of the coat of arms is a mosque with a minbar, framed with ears of corn. Two flags of Afghanistan are attached to the mosque. Above is the Shahada illuminated by the rays of the sun - the Islamic creed, under which is placed the takbir (the inscription "Allah is great"). Under the mosque is the date 1298, which according to the Islamic calendar corresponds to 1919, when the country gained independence. The emblem is also depicted on the flag of Afghanistan.

Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan (since 1847). The city was founded in ancient times on the right bank of the Kabul River (II century). It occupies the western part of the plain, surrounded by mountains from the north and south. On the left, northern bank of the river, there are aristocratic quarters with residences of the nobility, buildings of government agencies, trading companies, and educational institutions. The streets of the left-bank part of Kabul are wide and cobbled, many buildings are built in European style. There are extensive gardens and parks. Right-bank, old Kabul retains the appearance of a medieval Muslim city with narrow unpaved streets and two-story adobe houses with flat roofs and solid facades. The lower floors of houses are often used as a teahouse or handicraft workshops. In the upper floors and in the inner courtyards, the home life of city dwellers takes place. Almost every one of these courtyards has a fountain or a small pool that supplies the family with water.

The bazaars of Kabul stretch from west to east in a continuous ribbon. In some places they are separated by caravanserais (inns). Industrial enterprises are located mainly on the western outskirts of the right bank. There are few ancient architectural monuments in Kabul. The city was badly damaged by the British military invasion in 1842. On the hills are the remains of the fortress walls (VII-VIII centuries), the garden of Bagi-Babur with the tomb of Babur (XVI century) and the mosque of Shah Jahan (XVII century). The Bala-Khimar fortress of the 5th century was built).

History of Afghanistan

background

17th century BC e. - Indo-Aryan tribes invade the territory of Afghanistan from the north, forming the historical region of Gandhara
6th century BC e. - the territory of Afghanistan is part of the Achaemenid Empire
In the 4th century BC e. the territory of Afghanistan was captured by the troops of Alexander the Great and subsequently became part of the Seleucid state.
Greco-Bactrian kingdom, which was captured by the Yuezhi
I-V century - Kushan kingdom began the spread of Buddhism
V century - Hephthalites settled in Afghanistan
VI - the territory of Afghanistan became part of the Sassanid state later in the state of the Samanids
XI - as part of the state of the Ghaznavids
1148-1206 - Ghurids
In the 14th century, the territory of Afghanistan was part of the Turkic-Mongol Empire of the Timurids. Herat is the second center of this state. The last Timurid and the founder of the Mughal Empire, Babur, defeated by the Golden Horde Sheibanids, founded a new empire in the 16th century with a center in Kabul, from where he made victorious campaigns to India. Soon Babur moves to India, and the territory of Afghanistan is part of the Shiite Iran of the Safavids.
XVIII century - the formation of feudal Afghan khanates.

In 1709, the Pashtun tribes revolted against Iran and formed the Gilzei principality with its capital in Kandahar, which was defeated in 1737 by the Iranian armies of Nadir Shah.

Durranian Empire

After the collapse of Iran in 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani founded the first Afghan state with its capital in Kandahar. At the council of tribal elders (Loya Jirga), he was proclaimed shah. Under his son Timur Shah (1773-1793), the capital of the state was moved to Kabul. The next ruler of Afghanistan was Zeman Shah (1793-1801), who was overthrown by his brother Mahmud.

British colonial expansion

In 1838 Afghanistan underwent British colonial expansion. In 1839 Anglo-Indian troops (12,000 soldiers) took Kandahar, and then Kabul. The Afghan emir evaded the battles and went to the mountains. In 1841, anti-British riots began in Kabul. The following year, the Anglo-Indian army retreated to India, but was killed by Afghan guerrillas. Britain responded with a punitive raid.

First Anglo-Afghan War

The reason for the start of the first Anglo-Afghan war was the business trip in 1837 of Lieutenant Vitkevich as a Russian resident under Dost Mohammed, who seized power in Kabul. He had already fought for a decade with his relative Shuja Shah, based in India and supported by Britain. London regarded Vitkevich's mission as St. Petersburg's intention to gain a foothold in Afghanistan with the prospect of penetrating into India.

Hostilities began in January 1839, when an Anglo-Indian army of 12,000 soldiers, 38,000 servants, and 30,000 camels entered Afghanistan through the Bolan Pass. Initially, Dost Mohammed was able to field 12,000 cavalry, 2,500 infantry, and 45 artillery pieces. guns. On April 25, the Anglo-Indian troops took Kandahar without a fight and marched on Kabul. The Afghans put up the first serious resistance only at Ghazni (140 km southwest of Kabul). The fortress was defended by a select three thousandth garrison under the command of Hyder Khan, but it was taken. On August 7, 1839, the British and Indians took Kabul without a fight. Emir Shuja Shah reigned on the throne there. The former emir Dost Mohammed went to the mountains with 350 fighters.

The war was won fairly easily by the British, Indians and Shuja Shah. However, the Afghan feudal lords reacted coolly, to say the least, to Shuja. A little over two years later, they inspired unrest, and on November 2, 1841, they staged a massacre in Kabul. Among the British killed was Ambassador Burns. The British did not respond immediately, and the Afghans, seeing this as weakness, massacred the British in other parts of Afghanistan as well. On December 30, 1841, the British agreed with the leaders of the Afghan tribes - they promised to let the Anglo-Indian troops into India for a ransom (at the beginning of these week-long negotiations, the Afghans cut off the head of the British truce and carried it through the streets of Kabul).

In early January 1842, the British and Indians set out from Kabul in the direction of Jalalabad, and when they entered the mountains, the Afghans attacked and killed them. Of the 16,000 British and Indians (of whom there were 4,000 fighters), only one person survived - Dr. Brydon, who on January 14 reached Jalalabad, where the Anglo-Indian brigade was stationed. The brigade commander sent a message to Calcutta, and two punitive expeditions were organized - one by division from Quetta to Kandahar and through Jalalabad to Kabul. After 8 months, on September 16, 1842, both divisions took Kabul. From there, punitive detachments were sent to the neighborhood.

Having suppressed the Afghan uprisings, Britain refrained from occupying Afghanistan. She preferred the method of bribery and intrigue, and Dost Mohammed, who again took the throne, made no attempts to rapprochement with Russia and concluded a peace treaty with Britain.

Second Anglo-Afghan War

The status quo persisted for almost 40 years, until the next Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 began. Britain was dissatisfied with the success of the Russian troops in this war - Russian troops were approaching Constantinople. In response to this dissatisfaction in London, Petersburg decided to hold a demonstration in Turkestan in order to influence the London cabinet with the appearance of a threat to India.

The Russian troops stationed in Turkestan were ordered to march in three columns against Charjui, Balkh, and Chitral. A mission headed by General Stoletov was sent to Kabul. On July 17, 1878, the Emir of Afghanistan, Sher Ali Khan, accepted the mission with the greatest honors and, in his words, "gave the key to India into the hands of Russia." General Stoletov promised the emir generous military and material support and advised against letting the British embassy into the country, equipped by the British government after the news of Stoletov's mission.

The emir followed the Russian advice and the second Anglo-Afghan war began. The British entered Afghanistan in November 1878 in three columns - General Brown's Peshawar (16,000 with 48 guns), General Roberts' Kurama (6,000 with 18 guns) and General Stewart's Kandahar (13,000 with 32 guns). The first two columns were aimed at Kabul, the third - Kandahar and Herat. In November-December, the first two columns occupied the Jalalabad and Khosta regions, the third took Kandahar on December 27.

Emir Shir-Ali fled to the north of Afghanistan in Mazar-i-Sharif, where he died. His successor (son) Yaqub Khan renounced resistance and on May 15, 1879 signed a peace, according to which the Afghan government lost the right to conduct any foreign policy except through the mediation of the British government, and all strategic passages between Afghanistan and India were transferred to the latter.

However, in September 1879, Yakub Khan was overthrown by his brother Eyub. And in January 1880, another pretender to the Afghan throne arose - Abdurrahman Khan, Shir-Ali's nephew, who lived from 1870 in Samarkand. He overthrew Eyub, proclaimed himself emir and was recognized by the British in exchange for adherence to the treaty of May 1879. Abdurrahman soon turned his gaze to the north, entering into hostilities against the Russian troops. However, in March 1885 it was defeated by General Komarov in the Kushka region. The Russians had 1,800 fighters and 4 guns, the Afghans - 4,700 and 8 guns. Having lost more than a thousand killed and all the guns, the Afghans fled home. The Russians lost 9 soldiers killed and 45 wounded [source not specified 935 days].

Under Abdur-Rahman (1880-1901), Britain and Russia jointly defined the borders of Afghanistan, which still exist today.

As a result of diplomatic intrigues, the British manage to wrest from Afghanistan the territory of the so-called Pashtunistan (now the North-Western Province of Pakistan).

By 1895, the territory of modern Afghanistan was formed as a result of the conquest of Uzbek, Tajik, Khazar and other lands by Emir Abdur-Rahman. This changes the national composition of Afghanistan, where Pashtuns (Afghans) now make up no more than 50% of the population.

Independent Afghanistan

In 1919 Amanullah Khan declared the independence of Afghanistan from Great Britain. The authorities of Soviet Russia welcomed this act. After another Anglo-Afghan war, Great Britain recognized its independence.

After the second war, the Afghans again did not disturb the British and Indians for almost 40 years, until on February 21, 1919, the third son of the then Emir of Afghanistan, Amanullah, killed his father. Having suppressed the attempt of his uncle Nasrullah Khan to take power and ascending the throne, Amanullah immediately declared jihad - a "holy war" against Britain, mobilized and sent 12,000 regular fighters and 100,000 nomad guerrillas to India.

The fighting began on May 3, 1919 - the Afghans attacked the border post in the Khyber Pass. The British responded by aerial bombardment of Kabul. Then, on May 11, the 1st Indian Infantry Division, supported by the 1st Cavalry Brigade, attacked the Afghan troops in the Khyber Pass and put them to flight. On the same day, British aircraft bombed Jalalabad. As a result, in this direction, the Afghans were completely demoralized and suppressed. However, in the Khost region, large detachments of partisans under the command of General Nadir Shah invaded India on May 23. They occupied the railway station Tal, surrounded two infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron and a battery. But on June 1, in a battle with the infantry brigade of General Dauer, the Afghans suffered a heavy defeat and retreated to Afghanistan (for more details, see the article The Third Anglo-Afghan War).

Amanullah asked for peace. On August 8, 1919, a preliminary (preliminary) peace treaty was signed, giving Afghanistan the right to foreign relations, but leaving in force all the other clauses of the previous treaty of 1879, except for the abolition of the annual British subsidy to Afghanistan in the amount of 60 thousand pounds sterling. Until 1919, this subsidy accounted for about half of Afghanistan's budget revenues.

In October 1919, Amanullah Khan sent his troops to Merv (now Mary, Turkmenistan) and expelled the local Soviet from there. Amanullah also offered military assistance against the Bolsheviks to Ferghana - on the terms of its accession to the Islamic Central Asian Federation, which the Afghan emperor planned to establish. However, nothing came of this idea - the Red troops were successfully advancing in Central Asia, and Amanullah did not dare to fight them and withdrew his troops from Merv.

In 1929, Amanullah Khan was overthrown as a result of an uprising by Bachai Sakao. In the same year, an unsuccessful attempt was made to restore the power of Amanullah Khan with the help of Soviet troops. Bachai Sakao in the same year was overthrown by Nadir Khan, who enlisted the support of the British.

Bachai Sakao is not a name, but a contemptuous nickname, translated into Russian meaning "son of a water carrier." This usurper of the Afghan throne was a Tajik from a poor family. He himself declared himself Padishah Khabibullah.

In 1965, under the influence of communist ideas, journalist Nur Mohammed Taraki founded the pro-Soviet People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which in 1966 split into two factions along ethnic lines: into the predominantly Pashtun "Khalk" ("People"), led by Taraki, and the multinational "Parcham" ("Banner"), led by Babrak Karmal.

Dictatorship of Daoud (1973-1978)

In 1973, a palace coup took place, as a result of which King Zahir Shah was deposed by his cousin Prince Mohammed Daoud, who proclaimed Afghanistan a republic. The republican period of Afghanistan is characterized by instability and confrontation between various groups expressing the interests of various ethnic communities in Afghanistan (Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras). In addition, there are both radical Islamic and pro-communist forces in the country. Both those and others reflect the existing ethnic diversity of the state and the contradictions between different nationalities in their structure and relationships.

June 21, 1975 Islamic radicals revolt. It is headed by prominent figures of Islamic radicalism, who are members of the leadership of organizations such as the Muslim Youth. One of them is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who later became famous.

The uprising in the shortest possible time covers the provinces of Badakhshan, Paktia, Nangarhar, but the government of Daoud manages to suppress it.

At the same time, the pro-communist forces represented by the PDPA are trying to destabilize the situation. At the same time, the PDPA has significant support in the Armed Forces of Afghanistan.

Saur Revolution

On April 27, 1978, a revolution took place in Afghanistan, as a result of which the former president, Mohammed Daoud, was assassinated. Nur Mohammad Taraki becomes head of state and prime minister, Babrak Karmal becomes his deputy, and Hafizullah Amin is appointed first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. The revolution became a prelude to civil war in the country.

Civil War in Afghanistan

November 30, 1987 - The Loya Jirga adopts a new constitution proclaiming a "policy of national reconciliation". Afghanistan is no longer called the "Democratic Republic": the country has been renamed the Republic of Afghanistan. Battles for Jalalabad.
1988, February 8 - at a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the question of the date of the "final withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan" was raised, the date for the start of the withdrawal of Soviet troops was announced - May 15 of this year.
1989, February 4 - the last unit of the Soviet Army left Kabul.
1989, February 14 - all Soviet troops were withdrawn from the territory of Afghanistan; all their property and real estate was transferred to the republic. The last to leave the country on February 15 was the commander of the 40th Army, Lieutenant-General B. Gromov.
1989, late February - in Peshawar, the shura of representatives of the Afghan opposition elected the leader of the Alliance of Seven, Sebgatullah Mojaddedi, as chairman of the so-called "Transitional Government of the Mujahideen". The opposition launched large-scale military operations against the communist regime.
1990 March 6 - Khalqist Defense Minister General Tanaya putsch, who entered into a sharp military confrontation with President Najibullah. Subsequently, he fled to Pakistan, went over to the side of the Taliban.
1991, November 15 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR B. Pankin gave official consent to the termination of military supplies to the government in Kabul from January 1, 1992.
1992, April 27 - Islamic opposition detachments entered Kabul, and on April 28, Sebgatullah Mojaddedi arrived in the capital and, in the presence of foreign diplomats, received power from the hands of the vice-president of the former regime. He became President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan as well as the head of the Jihad Council (a 51-member commission appointed in accordance with the Peshawar Accords). According to the same document, the post of prime minister was taken by Abdul-Rasul Sayyaf. So far, the continuity of power has been demonstrated: a general amnesty and a refusal to persecute functionaries of the former regime have been announced.
1992, May 6 - at the first meeting of the Leadership Council, a decision was made to dissolve the former cabinet of ministers, headed by F. Halekyar. The National Council was dissolved, the Watan party was banned, and its property was confiscated. All laws contrary to Islam were declared null and void. The first decrees of the new government indicated the establishment of an Islamic dictatorship in the country: the university and all entertainment establishments were closed, obligatory prayers were introduced in state institutions, all anti-religious books and alcohol were banned, women were significantly curtailed in their rights. In the same year, Mojaddidi transferred power to the Tajik ethnic group Burhanuddin Rabbani. However, the civil war did not end there. Pashtun (Gulbetdin Hekmatyar), Tajik (Ahmad Shah Masud, Ismail Khan) and Uzbek (Abdul-Rashid Dostum) field commanders continued to fight among themselves.
By the end of 1994, Rabbani's authority as a national leader was so weakened that his government practically ceased to exist. Even the faint semblance of centralized leadership disappeared. The country was still divided along ethnic lines, there was a classic picture of feudal civil strife. There was a complete decentralization of state administration, there were no economic ties. In this situation, a new Islamist radical movement was born among the Pashtuns - the Taliban group under the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar.
September 26, 1996 - The Taliban advance from Sarobi towards Kabul and capture it by night assault. Officially announced that the city was taken without a fight. The former government of Rabbani - Hekmatyar flees and goes into armed opposition. In fact, we are talking about the coming to power of Islamic radical groups, since other anti-government groups by that time are clearly inferior to the radicals in armament, numbers and organization.

Under the Taliban, the media in Afghanistan was severely limited. Radio Afghanistan was renamed "Voice of Sharia" and promoted the values ​​of fundamentalist Islam preached by the Taliban. The Taliban banned television altogether, declaring it a source of moral decay.

September 27, 1996 - The Taliban completely occupied Kabul. Former President Najibullah and his brother Ahmadzai, who were hiding in the building of the UN mission, were captured and publicly hanged in one of the squares of the capital.
1996, September 28 - Iran, India, Russia and the republics of Central Asia condemned the execution of Najibullah. The US administration and UN representatives express regret over what happened, but at the same time declare their readiness to establish relations with the new authorities in Kabul.
1996, September 29 - The Taliban proclaimed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and announced the creation of a Provisional Ruling Council consisting of 6 members, headed by Mullah Omar.
September 30, 1996 - The Taliban offer negotiations to Dostum and move north after the outgoing Massoud.
October 6, 1996 - Massoud successfully repels the Taliban's offensive in the Panjer Valley.
1996, October 9 - meeting and fraternal embrace of Dostum and Rabbani in the vicinity of Mazar-i-Sharif. Almost all the main opponents of the Taliban (Massoud, Dostum, Rabbani and Khalili) entrenched themselves in the north, where they together established their Supreme Council and joined forces for a common fight against the Taliban. The new military force was called the Northern Alliance and formed the virtually independent state of Northern Afghanistan in 1996-2001, which retained the name of the Islamic State of Afghanistan.

After the international invasion

The US leadership used the September 11, 2001 attacks as an excuse to invade Afghanistan. The purpose of the operation was to overthrow the Taliban regime, which harbored the terrorist Osama bin Laden. On October 7, Afghanistan was subjected to massive air and missile strikes, which weakened the forces of the Taliban and contributed to the advancement of the armed opposition of the Northern Alliance, which had settled in the mountains of Badakhshan. On November 9, the forces of the armed opposition entered Mazar-i-Sharif, and on November 13, they entered Kabul, abandoned by the Taliban. On December 7, the last stronghold of the Taliban, the city of Kandahar, fell. The intervention of the international community did not allow the Northern Alliance to take power into their own hands. In December, the Loya Jirga is convened - the council of elders of the Afghan tribes, which is chaired by Pashtun Hamid Karzai (since 2004 - President of Afghanistan). Meanwhile, NATO is occupying Afghanistan. The Taliban are moving to guerrilla warfare.

After the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the level of drug trafficking has increased dramatically. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in 2005, Afghanistan accounts for 87% of the world's supply of heroin (and this share is constantly growing), and many peasant farms are involved in the production of opium. Since 2007, there has been a decrease in drug production.

On December 19, 2005, the first meeting of the parliament in 30 years was held in Afghanistan - the National Assembly of Afghanistan, elected in the course of general elections - 249 deputies of the lower house and 102 senators (elders). His inauguration ceremony was attended by US Vice President Dick Cheney and King Mohammed Zahir Shah, deposed in 1973. Of the 249 deputies of the lower house of parliament, 60% are the so-called "mujahideen", that is, those who fought against the Soviet troops in the 1980s. Warlords became deputies thanks to American military and financial assistance and hostility of the world community to the Taliban.

On April 2, 2011, riots erupted in Kandahar over a rumor that an American pastor had burned the Koran. The action was attended by several thousand citizens, there were clashes with the police. The main target of the protesters was the UN office. Earlier, a similar action took place in another Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. However, tensions between local residents and international forces have also occurred before, when, following an accident, soldiers of the international forces fired at the car in which the child and his father were killed. In total, during the unrest in Kandahar in early April, about 100 people died.

State-political structure

According to the 2004 Constitution, Afghanistan is an Islamic republic with a presidential form of government. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the country, forms the government, is elected (no more than two consecutive terms) for four years by universal secret ballot.

Legislature

Judicial system

In Afghanistan, the judiciary is an independent branch of government. Currently, as part of the implementation of the 2001 Bonn Agreements, Afghanistan has temporarily returned to the 1964 judicial system, which combines traditional Sharia law with elements of European legal systems. Although it does not clearly state the role of Shari'ah, it does state that laws must not conflict with the basic principles of Islam.

Loya Jirga (High Council)

In the structure of the highest bodies of government there is also a traditional body of representative power - the Loya Jirga ("Great Assembly", "Supreme Council"), which includes members of both houses of parliament and chairmen of provincial and district councils.

Law enforcement

Law enforcement agencies are represented by the Afghan National Police, numbering about 90,000 as of 2010.

Due to the ongoing civil war, police functions are carried out by army units. Corruption and illiteracy among employees remain high. Police units are trained by instructors from NATO countries.

Administrative division

Armed forces

The current armed forces of Afghanistan were actually created anew with the help of instructors and NATO. As of January 2010, the strength of the armed forces was 108,000 people. By 2014, the number of military personnel is planned to increase to 260,000 people.

The armed forces are subdivided into the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Air Corps. Organizationally, the ANA consists of corps, subdivided into brigades and battalions. Also, the ANA includes a special forces battalion.

The heavy equipment in service with the ANA is mainly produced by the USSR, inherited from the DRA Armed Forces - BMP-1, BTR-60, BTR-80, T-55, T-62 tanks, as well as the United States - infantry fighting vehicles M- 113 and Humvees.

The air force is represented by the Afghan National Air Corps. The armament consists mainly of Soviet-made helicopters - Mi-8, Mi-17, Mi-24, as well as Czechoslovak training aircraft L-39.

Geography

Relief

The territory of Afghanistan is located in the northeastern part of the Iranian plateau. A significant part of the country is made up of mountains and valleys between them.

In the north of the country is the Bactrian Plain, within which lies a sandy-clay desert, which is a continuation of the Karakum. In the south and east, it is bordered by mountain systems: Paropamiz, consisting of two ranges - Safedhok and Siahkok, as well as the Hindu Kush.

To the south are the Central Afghan mountains and the Ghazni-Kandahar plateau. In the west, along the border with Iran, lie the Naomid plateau and the Sistan depression. The extreme south of the country is occupied by the Gaudi-Zira depression, the clay-gravelly Dashti-Margo desert and the sandy deserts of Garmser and Registan.

To the west of the Hindu Kush is the Hazarajat highlands with a height of 3000-4000 m. On the border with Pakistan is the highest point of the country - Mount Noshak, with a height of 7492 m.

Climate

The climate of Afghanistan is subtropical continental, cold in winter and dry and hot in summer. Average temperatures and precipitation vary with height: in winter from +8 to -20 °C and lower, in summer from +32 to 0 °C. In the deserts, 40-50 mm of precipitation falls annually, on the plateaus - 200-250 mm, on the windward slopes of the Hindu Kush 400-600 mm, in the southeast of Afghanistan, where the monsoons from the Indian Ocean penetrate, about 800 mm. The maximum precipitation occurs in winter and spring. At an altitude of 3,000-5,000 m, the snow cover lasts 6-8 months, above - glaciers.

Geological structure

The territory of Afghanistan is located mainly within the Alpine-Himalayan mobile belt, with the exception of the Bactrian plain, which belongs to the southern margin of the Turan platform.

Rivers and reservoirs

All rivers, with the exception of Kabul, which flows into the Indus, are endorheic. The largest of them are the Amu Darya, which flows along the northern border of the country, the Harirud, which is taken apart for irrigation, and the Helmand, which flows together with the rivers Ferrakh-Rud, Khash-Rud and Harut-Rud into the Sistan depression and forms a group of freshwater lakes Hamun there. The rivers feed mainly on the melt waters of mountain glaciers. The lowland rivers are flooded in spring and dry up in summer. Mountain rivers have significant hydropower potential. In many areas, groundwater is the only source of water supply and irrigation.

Minerals

The bowels of Afghanistan are rich in minerals, but their development is limited due to their location in remote mountainous areas.

There are deposits of coal and precious metals, beryllium ores, sulfur, table salt, marble, lapis lazuli, barite, celestine. There are deposits of oil, natural gas, gypsum. Copper, iron, manganese ores have been explored.

Economy

Afghanistan is an extremely poor country heavily dependent on foreign aid ($2.6 billion in 2009, with a government budget of $3.3 billion).

GDP per capita in 2009 - $ 800 (according to purchasing power parity, 219th place in the world).

78% of employees are in agriculture (31% of GDP), 6% in industry (26% of GDP), 16% in the service sector (43% of GDP). The unemployment rate is 35% (in 2008).

Agricultural products - opium, grain, fruits, nuts; wool, leather.

Industrial products - clothes, soap, shoes, fertilizers, cement; carpets; gas, coal, copper.

Export - $ 0.6 billion (in 2008, excluding illegal exports): opium, fruits and nuts, carpets, wool, astrakhan fur, precious and semi-precious stones.

The main buyers in 2008 are India 23.5%, Pakistan 17.7%, USA 16.5%, Tajikistan 12.8%, Netherlands 6.9%.

Import - 5.3 billion dollars (in 2008): industrial goods, food, textiles, oil and oil products.

The main suppliers in 2008 are Pakistan 36%, USA 9.3%, 7.5%, India 6.9%.

Drug production

At the end of August 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published its annual report on opium poppy production in Afghanistan, which states: “No other country in the world, except China in the mid-19th century, has produced as many drugs as modern Afghanistan. ".

After the invasion of US and NATO troops, drug production increased several times. Today, it is Russia and the EU countries that are the main victims of heroin coming from Afghanistan. It is noted that the rapid growth of drug consumption in Russia in the past ten years has occurred precisely due to drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

According to UNODC, more than 90% of the opium entering the world market is already produced in Afghanistan. The area of ​​opium plantations is 193 thousand hectares. The income of the Afghan "drug lords" in 2007 exceeded 3 billion dollars (which, according to various estimates, ranges from 10% to 15% of Afghanistan's official GDP). Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan now exceeds coca cultivation in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia combined. In 2006, the country produced 6,100 tons of opium, and in 2007, a record harvest of 8,000 tons.

At the same time, in the north and in the center, controlled by the government of Hamid Karzai, only 20% of the Afghan opium poppy is produced, and the rest is produced in the southern provinces on the border with Pakistan - the zone of operations of NATO and Taliban troops. The main center of drug production is Helmand province, a stronghold of the Taliban movement, where the planting area was 103,000 hectares.

Afghanistan is officially under the patronage of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) (to which the US transferred this responsibility after the official end of military operations), but the international forces have not been able to take control of the entire territory of Afghanistan, limiting their real influence mainly to Kabul and the surrounding area .

According to the UN, about 90% of drugs entering Europe are of Afghan origin. ISAF, for its part, verbally says that its troops are conducting a peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan and are ready to help the Afghan government in solving the drug problem, but this is primarily and mainly its own task.

Poppy cultivation is often the only source of income for Afghan farmers.

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation decreased by 22% and 157,000 hectares in 2008, but remains at historically high levels; unfavorable growing conditions in 2008 reduced the amount harvested to 5,500 tons, down 31 percent from 2007; If the entire crop were processed, there would be about 648 tons of pure heroin; The Taliban and other anti-government groups are directly involved in opium production and profit from the opium trade. Opium is a key source of income for the Taliban in Afghanistan. In 2008, the Taliban's drug revenue was $470 million. Pervasive corruption and instability in the state hamper the enforcement of drug control measures; Most of the heroin sold in Europe and East Asia is derived from Afghan opium (2008).

A number of experts believe that during the rule of the Taliban, the production of drugs was banned and suppressed, while after the introduction of US and NATO troops, the production and supply of drugs increased significantly and are controlled by them.

For example, Dosym Satpaev, director of the Kazakh consulting organization Risk Assessment Group, believes that Afghan groups opposed to the Taliban are producing drugs. By supporting them, NATO turns a blind eye to their drug activities.

Also, according to Michael Bernstam, professor at Stanford University, the Taliban "prohibited drugs and severely punished", carrying out repression against drug producers. He accused NATO of "humanitarian treatment" of the drug-producing population.

Population

Population - 28.4 million (July 2009 est.)
Annual growth - 2.6%
Birth rate - 45.5 per 1000 (4th place in the world)
Mortality - 19.2 per 1000 (8th place in the world)
Fertility - 6.5 births per woman (4th in the world)
Infant mortality - 247 per 1000 (1st place in the world; UN data at the end of 2009)
Average life expectancy - 44.6 years (214th in the world)
Urban population - 24%
Literacy - 43% male, 12% female (2000 est.)

Afghanistan is a multinational state. Its population consists of various ethnic groups belonging to various language families - Iranian, Turkic and others.
The most numerous ethnic group are the Pashtuns - their number varies, according to various estimates, from 39.4 to 42% of the population. The second largest group is the Farsivans ("Persian-speaking") - from 27 to 38%. The third group - the Hazaras - from 8 to 10%. The fourth largest ethnic group - Uzbeks - ranges from 6 to 9.2%. Less numerous ethnic groups - aimaks, Turkmens, Balochs - make up 4.3-01%, 1-3% and 0.5-2%, respectively. Other ethnic groups account for 1 to 4%.

culture

Afghanistan has an ancient history, a culture that has survived to this day in the form of various languages ​​and monuments. However, many historical monuments were destroyed during the war. Two famous Buddha statues in Bamiyan Province were destroyed by the Taliban, who viewed them as "idolatrous" and "pagan". Other famous architectural monuments are located in the cities of Kandahar, Ghazni and Balkh. Jam minaret, in the valley of the river Khari, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Mohammed's cloak is kept inside the famous Khalkha Sharif in the city of Kandahar.

Literature

Although the literacy rate is very low, the Persian poetry plays a very important role in Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the main pillars of education in Iran and Afghanistan, to the extent that it has become integrated into the culture. Persian culture still has a great influence on Afghan culture. Closed poetry competitions, known as "musha'era", are quite often held even among ordinary people. Almost every home has one or more collections of poetry, even if they are not often read.

Sport

Buzkashi is the national sport in Afghanistan. The horsemen are divided into two teams, playing in the field, each team is trying to capture and hold the skin of a goat. Although the literacy rate is very low, the classics of Persian poetry play a very important role in Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the main pillars of education in Iran and Afghanistan, to the extent that it has become integrated into the culture. Persian culture still has a great influence on Afghan culture. Closed poetry competitions, known as "musha'era", are quite often held even among ordinary people. Almost every home has one or more collections of poetry, even if they are not often read.

The eastern dialect of Persian is commonly known as "Dari". The name itself comes from "parsi-e derbari" ("court Farsi"). The ancient name "Dari" - one of the original names of the Persian language - was restored in the Afghan Constitution of 1964 and was intended "... to show that the Afghans consider their country the cradle of the language. Thus, the name Farsi, as the language of the Persians, should be strictly avoided.”

Religion

The dominant religion is Islam - it is practiced by over 90% of the population. Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism are also widespread, various autochthonous pagan cults and syncretic beliefs (Yazidis, etc.)

According to the results of the study of the international charitable Christian organization "Open Doors" for 2011, Afghanistan ranks 3rd in the list of countries where the rights of Christians are most often oppressed.

Most of the territory of Afghanistan is occupied by mountains. The ranges of the Hindu Kush stretch from east to west (up to 6729 m), including a belt of eternal snows. In the southern part of the country there is the Ghazni-Kandahar plateau, and on the northern and southwestern outskirts there are desert plains. The vegetation is very diverse, but almost everywhere, even in the monsoon-affected southeast region, drought-resistant species predominate. Date palms, cypresses, olive trees, and citrus trees grow only in the irrigated Jalalabad valley.

The first Afghan state formations emerged in the 16th century. In 1747-1818, the Durranian state existed. In the 19th century, England made several attempts to subjugate Afghanistan (the Anglo-Afghan wars). These attempts ended in failure, but the British achieved control over the foreign policy of Afghanistan. In 1919, the government of Amanullah Khan declared the independence of Afghanistan. In July 1973 Afghanistan was proclaimed a republic. In 1978, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan carried out a coup d'état and proclaimed a course towards building socialism. The country began a civil war. In 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan to help the PDPA hold on to power. Soon after the withdrawal of Soviet troops (1989), the Mujahideen, supporters of the Islamic state, came to power in 1992. However, the civil war did not end there: contradictions between individual Islamic groups led to more and more conflicts. In the mid-1990s, most of the territory of Afghanistan (including Kabul) came under the control of fundamentalists from the Taliban movement. In October 2001, the power of the Taliban, accused of complicity in world terrorism, was overthrown by the US and its allies.

The capital is the ancient city of Kabul (1.4 million people), favorably located at the crossroads of important transport routes. Other major cities are Mazar-i-Sharif, which has long been known as a center for handicraft production and trade with a colorful oriental bazaar; ancient Herat is an oasis and cultural center, where a giant Juma Masjid mosque was erected in the 15th century. Afghanistan is an agrarian country whose economy has always been based on grazing. The war that began in the late 1970s caused enormous damage to the country's economy, significantly destroying the existing agricultural infrastructure and destroying hundreds of libraries, schools, and hospitals.

AFGHANISTAN

(Islamic State of Afghanistan)

General information

Geographical position. Afghanistan is a state in southwest Asia. In the north it borders on Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; in the east, with China, India (the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir) and Pakistan; in the south with Pakistan; in the west with Iran.

Square. The territory of Afghanistan occupies 647,600 sq. km.

Main cities, administrative divisions. The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul. The largest cities: Kabul (700 thousand people), Kandahar (226 thousand people), Herat (178 thousand people). Administrative-territorial division of the country: 29 provinces (vilayats) and 2 districts of central subordination.

Political system

Afghanistan is in a transitional period: since September 1996, power has been in the hands of the Taliban religious group.

Relief. Afghanistan is a mountainous country: about three-quarters of the territory is occupied by mountains and hills. There are several river valleys in the north, desert areas in the south and southwest. The main mountain system of the country is the Hindu Kush, which stretches for 965 km from the Pamirs in the northeast to the border with Iran in the west. The average height of the Hindu Kush is about 4,270 m, some peaks reach a height of 7,620 m. Through several passes, the interior of the country is connected. The lowest pass of the Hindu Kush, Shibar, is located at an altitude of 2,987 m and connects the capital of the state of Kabul with the northern regions of the country. The Khyber Pass on the northeastern border connects Afghanistan with Pakistan.

Geological structure and minerals. The bowels of the country contain rich reserves of natural gas, oil, coal, copper, mica, barite, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, precious and semi-precious stones.

Climate. The country's climate is varied. Kabul, located at an altitude of 1830 meters above sea level, has cold winters and warm summers. Jalalabad (550 m above sea level) has a subtropical climate, while Kandahar (1,070 m above sea level) has a mild climate.

Inland waters. The largest rivers in Afghanistan are the Amu Darya, Kabul, Helmand and Harirud.

Soils and vegetation. Coniferous forests, which occupy about 3% of the territory of Afghanistan, grow at an altitude of 1,830 to 3,660 m, below there are deciduous forests - juniper, ash. Among fruit trees, the most common are apple, pear, peach, and apricot. Date palms grow in the extreme south of the country, and a large number of citrus fruits grow in the region of Kandahar and Jalalabad.

Animal world. Camels, mountain goats, bears, gazelles, wolves, jackals, wild cats and foxes are found in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is also famous for the Afghan Hound. Among domestic animals, astrakhan sheep are the most valuable.

Population and language

The population is about 24.792 million people. The average population density is about 38 people per 1 sq. km. km. Ethnic groups: Pashtuns - 38%, Tajiks - 25%, Khazars - 19%, Uzbeks - 6%. Languages: Pashto, Dari (state), Uzbek, Kyrgyz.

Religion

Sunnis - 84%, Shiites - 15%, Hindus, Jews.

Brief historical outline

The first information about Afghanistan dates back to the 6th century. BC when it was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Around 330 BC e. Afghanistan was

conquered by Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander, the country was under the rule of Greek, Indian, and then Iranian rulers.

In the middle of the 7th century n. e. the country was conquered by the Arabs, whose influence was the strongest and lasted until 1220, when the country was captured by the troops of Genghis Khan. Under the rule of the Mongols, the country was until the XIV century.

In 1747, after another uprising against Iranian rule, the first Afghan state emerged, headed by Emir Ahmad Shah. However, the emirate subsequently fell apart.

At the beginning of the XIX century. after a period of anarchy, Dost Muhammad Khan came to power, taking the title of emir in 1835.

From the middle of the XIX century. Russia and Great Britain fought for influence on the country, in 1907 an agreement was signed between them recognizing the integrity of Afghanistan.

Until 1973, Afghanistan remained a monarchy. In 1973, as a result of a military coup, a republic was proclaimed in the country. In 1978t. As a result of the coup, the Revolutionary Council came to power. At the end of December 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan, which were there until February 15, 1989. However, even after the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the civil war continued. On April 16, 1992, rebel troops captured Kabul.

The country became known as the Islamic State of Afghanistan, power was transferred to the Guiding Vetujihad (transitional council of the Mujahideen). In December 1992 B. Rabbani was elected president of the country and headed the Governing Council. Since the mid 1990s. most of the territory of Afghanistan, after fierce fighting, comes under the control of the Taliban movement, which professes extremely fundamentalist views and enjoys the support of the ruling circles of Pakistan. The Rabbani government has the status of a government in exile.

Brief economic essay

Afghanistan is an agricultural country. 1/3 of cultivated land is irrigated. Cereals (mainly wheat, but also corn, barley, rice), industrial crops (cotton, oilseeds, sugar beet, sugar cane). Vegetable growing, melon growing, fruit growing and viticulture. Extraction of natural gas, oil. Textile, chemical, food industry. Carpet weaving. Export: natural gas, dried fruits, carpets, astrakhan fur.

Monetary unit - afghani.

A Brief Outline of Culture

Art and architecture. Kabul. Kabul Museum with a collection of Buddhist artifacts. Mazar-i-Sharif. Mosque of the 15th century, which houses the tomb of Caliph Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. Herat. Walls of the old city; Great Mosque. Ghazni. Ruins of old Ghazni. Kandahar. Several mosques; Tomb of the first emir of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah.

The official name is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - a state in the Middle East, has no access to the sea. One of the poorest countries in the world. Over the past 30 years (since 1978), a civil war has been going on in the country.

It borders with Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north and China in the easternmost part of the country.

Afghanistan is at the crossroads between East and West and is an ancient center of trade and migration. Its geopolitical location is between South and Central Asia on the one hand and the Middle East on the other, which allows it to play an important role in economic, political and cultural relations between the countries of the region.

Etymology

The name "Afghanistan" is translated into Russian as "country of Afghans".

origin of name

The first part of the name is "Afghan", "Afghani" is another name for the Pashtuns - the largest ethnic group in the country. It is assumed that it may be of Persian origin: "Afghan" means "cry, inarticulate speech." The Pashtun language is incomprehensible to native Persian speakers and the speech of the Afghans seems to them to be an inarticulate cry. In fact, Afgan is a reduced Turkic word Augan - a refugee (Hiding). Indeed, the territory of Afghanistan is difficult to access and convenient for the tribes, which, for one reason or another, retained their independence from all sorts of conquerors of Central Asia. This is the so-called external name of the people, in contrast to the self-name (an analogue in Russian can be considered the words "German", "Germans", that is, those who do not know how to speak "our way", dumb. All foreign residents were called that. And also Greek word for barbarians). The last part of the name, the suffix "-stan", goes back to the Indo-European root "*sta-" ("to stand") and in Persian means "place, country". In modern Persian, the suffix "-istan" is used to form toponyms - geographical names of places of residence of tribes, peoples and various ethnic groups.

The term "Afghans" as a name for a people has been in use since at least the Islamic period. According to a number of scholars, the word "Afghan" appears for the first time in history in 982; then it was understood as the Afghans of various tribes who lived on the western border of the mountains along the Indus River.

The Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited Kabul in 1333, writes:

"We traveled through Kabul, formerly a huge city, on the site of which a tribe of Persians who call themselves Afghans now live."

The Encyclopedia of Iranians says:

“From an ethnological point of view, 'Afghan' is the term used in the Persian language of Afghanistan to refer to the Pashtuns. This term is spreading more and more outside of Afghanistan, as the Pashtun tribal union is by far the most significant in this country, numerically and politically.

In addition, she explains:

Under the name "Avagana", this ethnic group was first mentioned by the Indian astronomer Varaha Mihira at the beginning of the 6th century AD in his work Brihat-samhita.

This information is supported by traditional Pashtun literature, for example, in the writings of the 17th-century poet Khushal Khan Khattak, who wrote in Pashtun:

"The Arabs know this, and the Romans know: Afghans are Pashtuns, Pashtuns are Afghans!"

The term "Afghanistan" was mentioned in his memoirs by Emperor Babur in the 16th century: at that time this word meant the lands south of Kabul, where the Pashtuns mainly live.

Until the 19th century, the name was used only for the traditional lands of the Pashtuns, while the entire state as a whole was known as the Kabul Kingdom. In other parts of the country, independent states existed at certain periods of history, such as the Kingdom of Balkh in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Finally, with the expansion and centralization of power in the country, the Afghan rulers adopted the name "Afghanistan" for the entire kingdom. "Afghanistan" as the name of the entire kingdom was mentioned in 1857 by Friedrich Engels, it became the official name when the country was recognized by the world community in 1919, after gaining full independence from Great Britain, and was approved as such in the Constitution of Afghanistan in 1923.

Geographic data

Relief

The territory of Afghanistan is located mainly within the Alpine-Himalayan mobile belt, with the exception of the Bactrian plain, which belongs to the southern margin of the Turan platform. In the north of the country, within the Bactrian plain, lies a sandy-clay desert, which is a continuation of the Karakum. In the south and east, it is bordered by the Paropamiz and Hindu Kush mountain systems. To the south are the Central Afghan mountains and the Ghazni-Kandahar plateau. In the west, along the border with Iran, lie the Naomid plateau and the Sistan depression. The extreme south of the country is occupied by the Gaudi-Zira depression, the clay-gravelly Dashti-Margo desert and the sandy deserts of Garmser and Registan.

Climate

The climate of Afghanistan is subtropical continental, cold in winter and dry and hot in summer. Average temperatures and precipitation vary with height: in winter from +8 to -20°С and lower, in summer from +32 to 0°С. In the deserts, 40-50 mm of precipitation falls annually, on the plateaus - 200-250 mm, on the windward slopes of the Hindu Kush 400-600 mm, in the southeast of Afghanistan, where monsoons penetrate from the Indian Ocean, about 800 mm. The maximum precipitation occurs in winter and spring. At an altitude of 3000-5000 m, the snow cover lasts 6-8 months, above - glaciers.

Rivers and reservoirs

All rivers, with the exception of Kabul, which flows into the Indus, are endorheic. The largest of them are the Amu Darya, which flows along the northern border of the country, Harirud, which is taken apart for irrigation, and Helmand, which flows together with the Farah-Rud and Harut-Rud rivers into the Sistan depression and forms a group of freshwater lakes Khamun there. The rivers feed mainly on the melt waters of mountain glaciers. The lowland rivers are flooded in spring and dry up in summer. Mountain rivers have significant hydropower potential. In many areas, groundwater is the only source of water supply and irrigation.

History of Afghanistan

For many centuries, Afghanistan was the eastern part of the Persian Empire. Since then it has been part of the Iranian cultural space

Despite the fact that the first unified state in Afghanistan was established in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the land of Afghanistan has an ancient history and various civilizations. Excavations show that people lived on this land at least 50,000 years ago, and that the rural communities of this region were among the first in the world.

Afghanistan is a unique country associated with the Indo-European civilization, interacting with it and often at war, and is also one of the most important early historical regions. For centuries, this country has been home to various tribes, among them Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes such as Bactrians, Pashtuns, etc. In addition, this land was conquered and occupied, including by the empire of Alexander the Great, Indo-Greeks , Turks, Mongols.

In modern and recent history, Great Britain, the USSR, and more recently the United States of America have invaded this land. On the other hand, local tribes also invaded the surrounding regions, Iran, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

It is assumed that Zoroastrianism may have originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 and 800 BC, and that Zoroaster lived and died in Balkh. Ancient Eastern Iranian languages, such as Avestan, were spoken in this region during the heyday of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of the 6th century BC, the Achaemenids had incorporated Afghanistan into their Persian empire. Alexander the Great conquered Afghanistan after 330 BC. After the collapse of the empire of Alexander the Great, Afghanistan was part of the Seleucid state, who controlled the region until 305 BC. Buddhism became the dominant religion in the region.

Greco-Bactrian kingdom at its peak

The region then became part of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. The Indo-Greeks were defeated by the Scythians and forced out of Afghanistan towards the end of the 2nd century BC. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom lasted until 125 BC.

In the 1st century A.D. The Parthian Empire conquered Afghanistan. In the middle to the end of the 2nd century AD. The Kushan Empire, centered in present-day Afghanistan, became a great patron of Buddhist culture. The Kushans were defeated by the Sassanids in the 3rd century. Although various rulers calling themselves Kushans (known as the Sassanids) continued to rule at least part of this region. In the end, the Kushans were defeated by the Huns, whose place, in turn, was taken by the Hephthalites, who created their own state in the region in the first half of the 5th century. The Hephthalites were defeated by the Sasanian king Khosrow I in 557. However, the Hephthalites and the descendants of the Kushans managed to create a small state in Kabulistan, which was subsequently captured by Muslim Arab armies and finally conquered by the Ghaznavid state.

Islamic and Mongolian period

Afghanistan - the eastern part of the Arab Caliphate in 750

The Durrani Empire was founded in Kandahar in 1747 by military commander Ahmad Shah Durrani. It became the first unified Afghan state. However, under his successors, the empire broke up into a number of independent principalities - Peshawar, Kabul, Kandahar and Herat.

Modern history

Due to its strategic position in the center of Eurasia, Afghanistan became the scene of a struggle between the two powerful powers of the time: the British and Russian empires. This fight was called the "Great Game". The British Empire fought a series of wars to control Afghanistan, but was eventually forced to recognize the independence of Afghanistan in 1919.

It has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with the RSFSR in 1919).

Republic of Afghanistan (Dawud Dictatorship)

In 1973, a coup d'état took place in Afghanistan. The monarchy was abolished and the country was proclaimed a republic. This period of history is characterized by extreme political instability. President Mohammed Daoud tried to reform and modernize the country, but he ultimately failed. After another revolution in April 1978, the president, along with members of his family, was executed, and the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) came to power.

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and Civil War

In April 1979, after the Saur (April) revolution, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was proclaimed. Nur Muhammad Taraki became the head of state, and Hafizullah Amin became the chairman of the Revolutionary Council. The government began to carry out radical reforms, in particular, secularization, which caused massive protests in traditional Afghan society. The civil war began in the country. Soon the ruling PDPA party split into two factions - Khalq and Parcham, who entered the struggle for power. Nur Mohammed Taraki was killed, and Hafizullah Amin became the head of state. In the USSR, Amin was considered an unreliable person, capable of reorienting himself to the West at any moment. Therefore, the Soviet leadership decided to eliminate Amin, and send troops into the country to help the communist government deal with the rebels. As a result, the USSR was drawn into a civil war that continues to this day. Soviet troops were withdrawn from the country in 1989.

Taliban rule

After the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, the civil war did not end, but flared up with renewed vigor. In the north of the country, a group of field commanders formed the Northern Alliance. In April 1992, the rebels entered Kabul, and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan ceased to exist. Meanwhile, the Taliban were gaining strength in the south of the country. For the most part, the Taliban were Pashtuns by nationality and declared themselves defenders of the interests of the Pashtun people. Their goal was to build a radical Islamic state in Afghanistan. By 1996, most of the country fell under their control, Mohammed Najibullah was executed, and the Northern Alliance was forced into remote northern border provinces. The rule of the Taliban is characterized by a high level of religious intolerance towards non-Christians (for example, despite the protests of the world community, the Taliban blew up architectural monuments - Buddha statues, which they declared "pagan idols") and medieval cruelty - for example, thieves were cut off hands, women and girls were forbidden to attend schools and be on the street without a male escort, etc. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, international terrorist Osama bin Laden took refuge in Taliban Afghanistan. The United States demanded the immediate extradition of bin Laden, to which the Taliban government refused. After the rejection of the ultimatum, the US launched an invasion of Afghanistan. During Operation Enduring Freedom, by the beginning of 2002, the Taliban regime had fallen.

Republic of Afghanistan

After the fall of the Taliban, the modern Republic of Afghanistan was proclaimed. Hamid Karzai became president in 2002, and a new constitution was adopted in 2004. However, the Civil War continues in the country, but with the participation of the United States and its NATO allies.

On August 20, 2009, the next presidential elections were held. In addition to Hamid Karzai, the main contenders were former finance minister Ashraf Ghani and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. In order to avoid repeated or multiple voting, after participating in the elections, each voter had to dip his finger in a special dye that cannot be washed off during the day. The tip of the finger, painted dark, has become in Afghanistan a kind of symbol of universal suffrage and an emerging civil society. Taliban leaders unsuccessfully called on Afghans to boycott the elections. According to Western media reports, the Taliban, in order to intimidate the population and punish those who participated in them, chopped off the fingers of those whom they found traces of dye on their fingers.

Politics and government

According to the 2004 Constitution, Afghanistan is an Islamic republic with a presidential form of government.

The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the country, forms the government, is elected (no more than two consecutive terms) for four years by universal secret ballot. The current president of Afghanistan is Hamid Karzai, who was elected in the 2004 elections but under foreign occupation.

executive branch

The head of government is the President, who appoints members of the cabinet with the approval of Parliament. The Government is in charge of the budget, bills, regulations, instructions, etc. There are 27 people in the government.

Legislature

The highest legislative body is the Parliament (in Afghanistan it is called the Majles-e Melli, consisting of the upper (Mishranu Jirga) and lower (Wolesi Jirga) houses. The upper house consists of 249 deputies elected by direct universal and secret elections for a four-year term.

Judicial system

In Afghanistan, the judiciary is an independent branch of government. Currently, as part of the implementation of the 2001 Bonn Agreements, Afghanistan has temporarily returned to the 1964 judicial system, which combines traditional Sharia law with elements of European legal systems. Although it does not clearly state the role of Shari'ah, it does state that laws must not conflict with the basic principles of Islam.

loya jirga

In the structure of the highest bodies of government there is also a traditional body of representative power - the Loya Jirga ("Great Assembly", "Supreme Council"), which includes members of both houses of parliament and chairmen of provincial and district councils.

Domestic and foreign policy

Currently, the country is continuing a civil war with the participation of US and NATO troops. In late 2001, the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). These are units within NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai, as well as restoring key infrastructure in the country. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic agreement on partnership between both states and a long-term relationship. At the same time, several billion dollars were provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.

Economy

Afghanistan is an extremely poor country heavily dependent on foreign aid. GDP per capita in 2008 - $ 700 (according to purchasing power parity, 219th place in the world). 80% of employees - in agriculture, in industry and the service sector, 10% each.

Agricultural products - opium, grain, fruits, nuts; wool, leather.

Industrial products - clothing, soap, shoes, fertilizers, cement; carpets; gas, coal, copper.

Export - 0.33 billion dollars (in 2007): opium, fruits and nuts, carpets, wool, astrakhan fur, precious and semi-precious stones.

The main buyers in 2008 are India 21.1%, Pakistan 20.1%, USA 18.8%, Netherlands 7.9%, Tajikistan 6.7%.

Import - 4.85 billion dollars (in 2007): industrial goods, oil and oil products, textiles, food.

The main suppliers in 2008 are Pakistan 35.8%, USA 9.2%, Germany 7.5%, India 4.8%.

Afghanistan and drugs

At the end of August 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published its annual report on opium poppy production in Afghanistan, which states: “No other country in the world, except China in the mid-19th century, has produced as many drugs as modern Afghanistan. ".

According to UNODC, more than 90% of the opium entering the world market is already produced in Afghanistan. The area of ​​opium plantations is 193 thousand hectares. In 2007, the incomes of the Afghan "drug lords" exceeded $3 billion (which, according to various estimates, ranges from 40% to 50% of Afghanistan's official GDP). Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan now exceeds coca cultivation in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia combined.

At the same time, in the north and in the center, controlled by the government of Hamid Karzai, only 20% of the Afghan opium poppy is produced, and the rest is produced in the southern provinces on the border with Pakistan - the zone of operations of NATO and Taliban troops. The main center of drug production is the province of Helmand, where the planting area was 103,000 hectares. .

Afghanistan is officially under the patronage of NATO (to which the US transferred this responsibility after the official end of military operations), but international forces have not been able to take control of the entire territory of Afghanistan, limiting their real influence mainly to Kabul and its environs.

According to the UN, about 90% of drugs entering Europe are of Afghan origin. NATO, for its part, verbally declares that its troops are conducting a peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan and are ready to help the Afghan government in solving the drug problem, but this is first and foremost its own task.

Poppy cultivation is often the only source of income for Afghan farmers. Russian journalist Georgy Zotov quotes one of them: “We have constant drought, bread is dying - in the days of the Taliban, famine happened every now and then. And poppy almost does not need water. In addition, wheat on the market is much cheaper - the maximum that you can earn from a crop per year is only $ 250. And how do you live on it? When Zotov asked if they knew how many people were dying in Russia from drugs, he got the answer: "We don't give a damn - the main thing is that our families do not die of hunger."

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation declined to 22% and 157,000 hectares in 2008 but remains at historically high levels; unfavorable growing conditions in 2008 reduced the amount harvested to 5,500 tons, down 31 percent from 2007; If the entire crop were processed, there would be about 648 tons of pure heroin; The Taliban and other anti-government groups are directly involved in opium production and profit from the opium trade. Opium is a key source of income for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pervasive corruption and instability in the state hamper the enforcement of drug control measures; Most of the heroin sold in Europe and East Asia is derived from Afghan opium (2008).

Demography

Population - 28.4 million (July 2009 estimate).

Annual growth - 2.6%;

Birth rate - 45.5 per 1000 (4th place in the world);

Mortality - 19.2 per 1000 (8th place in the world);

Fertility - 6.5 births per woman (4th in the world);

Infant mortality - 247 per 1000 (1st place in the world; UN data at the end of 2009);

Average life expectancy - 44.6 years (214th in the world);

Urban population - 24%;

Literacy - 43% of men, 12% of women (2000 estimate).

Cities

The only city in Afghanistan with more than one million inhabitants is the capital Kabul. Other major cities of the country are Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kunduz and Ghazni.

Population

Afghanistan is a multinational state. Its population consists of various ethnic groups. Since a systematic census has not been conducted in the country for several decades, there are no accurate data on the number and composition of various ethnic groups. In this regard, many figures are approximate:

Based on the official census from the 1960s to the 1980s, as well as information from mainly scientific sources, the Encyclopedia "Iranica" gives the following list:
39.4% Pashtun
33.7% Tajiks
8.0% Hazaras
8.0% Uzbeks
4.1% Aimaks
3.3% Turkmen
1.6% Balochi
1.9% others

The approximate distribution of ethnic groups based on the CIA World Factbook is as follows:
Pashtuns: 42%
Tajiks: 27%
Hazaras: 9%
Uzbeks: 9%
Aimaks: 4%
Turkmen: 3%
Baloch: 2%
Others: 4%

According to a spokesman for a study titled "Afghanistan Population Survey - Afghanistan 2006", a joint project of the Asian Foundation, in India, the Center for Developing Countries Studies (CSO) and the Afghan Center for Socio-Economic and Research Surveys (ACSOR), the distribution of ethnic groups the following:
40.9% Pashtun
37.1% Tajiks
9.2% Hazaras
9.2% Uzbeks
1.7% Turkmen
0.5% Baloch
0.1% Aimaks
1.3% others

According to another representative of the study, titled "Afghanistan: Where it Matters", the result of a joint effort by the American television channel ABC News, the British BBC, and the German ARD (from 2004 to 2009) released on February 9, 2009, the ethnic composition population of the country (approximately):
41% Pashtun
38% Tajiks
10% Hazaras
6% Uzbeks
2% Turkmen
1% Nuristani
1% Baloch
1% others

culture

Afghanistan has an ancient history, a culture that has survived to this day in the form of various languages ​​and monuments. However, many historical monuments were destroyed during the war. Two famous Buddha statues in Bamiyan Province were destroyed by the Taliban, who viewed them as "idolatrous" and "pagan". Other famous architectural monuments are located in the cities of Kandahar, Ghazni and Balkh. Jam minaret, in the valley of the river Khari, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Muhammad's cloak is kept inside the famous Khalkha Sharif in the city of Kandahar.

Sport

Buzkashi is the national sport in Afghanistan. The riders are divided into two teams, they play in the field, each team tries to capture and hold the skin of a goat. Afghan Shepherds also originated in Afghanistan.

Literature

Although the literacy rate is very low, the Persian poetry plays a very important role in Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the main pillars of education in Iran and Afghanistan, to the extent that it has incorporated culture. Persian culture still has a great influence on Afghan culture. Private poetry competition events known as "musha"era" are quite common even among the common people. Almost every homeowner owns one or more collections of poems of the sort, even if they are not read more often.

An eastern dialect of Persian commonly known as "Dari". The name itself comes from "Parsi-e Darbari", meaning "Farsi from the royal courts". The ancient name Dari - one of the original names of the Persian language - was revived in the Afghan Constitution of 1964 and was intended "for the Afghans that regards their country as the cradle of the language. Thus the name Farsi, the language of Fars, is strictly avoided."

Religion

The dominant religion is Islam - it is practiced by over 90% of the population. Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism are also widespread, various autochthonous pagan cults and syncretic beliefs (Yazidis, etc.)

Form of government islamic republic Area, km 2 647 500 Population, people 32 390 000 Population growth, per year 2,58% average life expectancy 44 Population density, person/km2 43,5 Official language Pashto, Dari Currency Afghani International dialing code +93 Time Zones +4:30

short information

The first written mention of Afghanistan dates back to the 6th century BC. e. It is clear that in fact the history of this country goes deeper for many centuries. Until now, in Afghanistan you can meet the descendants of the Greeks who came there with Alexander the Great. In this ancient country, despite numerous wars, many unique sights have been preserved. In addition, there are excellent conditions for mountaineering and rock climbing. Unfortunately, due to the political situation, Afghanistan remains closed to foreign tourists for the time being.

Geography of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is located at the crossroads of South, Central and West Asia. In the south and east, Afghanistan borders with Pakistan and China (in the east), in the west - with Iran, in the north - with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There is no access to the sea. The total area of ​​this country is 647,500 sq. km., and the total length of the state border is 5,529 km.

Most of Afghanistan is occupied by mountains, but there are valleys, steppes and deserts. The Hindu Kush mountain range stretches from northeast to southwest. The highest point in the country is Mount Noshak, whose height reaches 7,492 meters.

In the north of Afghanistan there is the Amu Darya River. Other large Afghan rivers are Harirud, Helmand, Farahrud and Hashrud.

Capital

The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul, which is now home to about 700 thousand people. According to archeology, an urban settlement on the site of modern Kabul already existed in the 2nd century AD.

Official language of Afghanistan

Afghanistan has two official languages, Pashto and Dari (Farsi), both of which belong to the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.

Religion

Almost all the inhabitants of Afghanistan profess Islam, the vast majority of them are Sunnis, and about 15% are Shiites.

State structure of Afghanistan

According to the current Constitution of 2004, Afghanistan is an Islamic republic in which Islam is the state religion. The head of the country is the President, elected for 5 years.

The bicameral parliament in Afghanistan is called the National Assembly, it consists of two chambers - the House of Elders (102 people) and the House of the People (250 deputies).

To make particularly important decisions (for example, to approve the Constitution), the Council of Elders "Great Assembly" gathers in Afghanistan. The history of the "Great Assemblies" goes back centuries and is lost somewhere in the 15th century.

Climate and weather

Most of Afghanistan is located in the subarctic mountain climate (winter is dry and cold). In the rest of the Afghan territory, the climate is desert and semi-desert. Mountains and valleys on the border with Pakistan are exposed to monsoons from the Indian Ocean in summer. In summer the air temperature reaches +49C, and in winter - -9C. Most of the precipitation falls between October and April. In the mountains, the average annual precipitation is 1,000 mm, and in deserts and semi-deserts - 100 mm.

Rivers and lakes

In the north of Afghanistan, the Amu Darya flows, the tributaries of which are lost in the Hindu Kush. In general, many Afghan rivers are replenished with water flows from the mountains. Other large Afghan rivers are Harirud (flowing from the central part of the country to the west, forming the border with Iran there), Helmand, Farahrud, Kabul and Hashrud. By the way, the Kabul River crosses the border with Pakistan and then flows into the Indus River.

Afghan lakes are small in size. Of these, the Zarkol lakes (borders with Tajikistan), Shiveh in Badakhshan and the salt lake Istadeh-ye Moqor, located south of Ghazni, should be distinguished.

Culture of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is made up of various ethical groups. Therefore, the culture of this country is very diverse.

One of the most important holidays for the Afghans is Navruz, but this is understandable, because. they are mostly Muslims (some experts argue that Navruz is not a Muslim holiday). In general, Afghans celebrate all the main Islamic holidays - Mawlid an Nabi, Eid al-Ada and Eid al-Fitr (we have already mentioned Navruz).

Many Afghan holidays are domestic in nature (they are celebrated in the family circle).

Kitchen

Pashtuns, Tajiks and Uzbeks live in Afghanistan. This means that Afghan cuisine is a fusion of the culinary traditions of these three peoples. In addition, Afghan cuisine is clearly influenced by India. It was from India that spices (saffron, coriander, cardamom and black pepper) came to Afghanistan. Afghans prefer dishes that are neither too spicy nor too hot.

The most popular dishes among Afghans are Qabli Pulao (boiled rice with carrots, raisins and lamb), Kabab (mutton skewers), Qorma (meat with vegetables and fruits), Mantu dumplings, Shorma soup. By the way, Afghans love to eat Qorma with Chalow rice. There are three types of bread in Afghanistan - Naan, Obi Naan and Lavash.

An integral part of the Afghan diet is fresh and dried fruits (grapes, apricots, melons, plums, pomegranates, various berries).

Traditional non-alcoholic drinks - kefir, whey, tea.

Landmarks of Afghanistan

In ancient times, the territory of modern Afghanistan was part of some of the most ancient states in the world. The ancient Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, reached these lands (and conquered them). Unfortunately, due to numerous wars, many Afghan historical and cultural monuments have already been irretrievably lost. However, this country still retains unique sights. The Top 10 most interesting Afghan sights, in our opinion, may include the following:

1. Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque in Kabul
2. Sherpur Mosque in Kabul
3. Fortress of Ghazni
4. Mausoleum of Timur Shah in Kabul
5. Fort in Nuristan
6. Puli Khishti Mosque in Kabul
7. Tomb of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Panjshir
8. Mausoleum of Emir Abdurrahman in Kabul
9. The ruins of the Takhti-Pul mosque in Balkh
10. Palace of Emir Habibullah near Kabul

Cities and resorts

The largest cities in Afghanistan are Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kutsnduz and, of course, the capital is Kabul.

In Afghanistan, there are excellent conditions for mountaineering and rock climbing. In the northeast of the country is Mount Nushak, which is part of the Hindu Kush mountain system. Many climbers dream of conquering this peak, but due to the political situation, this is not yet feasible.

A few years ago, the Afghan authorities opened the Abi-Wakhan mountain route, which runs through the territory of the picturesque gorge of the same name. Once a section of this route was part of the Great Silk Road. However, tourists are not yet in a hurry to come to Afghanistan.

Souvenirs/Shopping

From Afghanistan, foreigners usually bring handicrafts, carpets, Afghan sheepskin coats, national men's clothing, knives, etc.

Office Hours

Banks and shops in Afghanistan are open from Monday to Thursday (some are open on Fridays). Stores in different regions of Afghanistan have their own working hours.

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