Afghan in photographs and SA fighters. Soviet soldiers - martyrs of Afghanistan (4 photos)

Entering units and divisions Soviet army and their participation in the Afghan civil war between armed opposition groups and the government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA). Civil War began to unfold in Afghanistan as a consequence of the transformations carried out by the pro-communist government of the country, which came to power after the April Revolution of 1978. On December 12, 1979, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, guided by an article on mutual obligations to ensure the territorial integrity of the friendship treaty with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, decided to send troops to Afghanistan . It was assumed that the troops of the 40th Army would provide protection for the country's most important strategic and industrial facilities.

Photographer A. Solomonov. Soviet armored vehicles and Afghan women with children on one of the mountain roads to Jalalabad. Afghanistan. June 12, 1988. RIA Novosti

Four divisions, five separate brigades, four individual regiment, four regiments of military aviation, three helicopter regiments, a pipeline brigade and separate units of the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR. Soviet troops guarded roads, gas fields, power plants, ensured the functioning of airfields, escorted vehicles with military and economic cargo. However, the support of government troops in combat operations against the armed opposition groups further aggravated the situation and led to an escalation of armed resistance to the ruling regime.

Photographer A. Solomonov. Soviet soldiers-internationalists are returning to their homeland. Road through the Salang pass, Afghanistan. May 16, 1988. RIA Novosti

Actions of a limited contingent Soviet troops in Afghanistan can be conditionally divided into four main stages. At the 1st stage (December 1979 - February 1980), troops were brought in, deployed to garrisons and organized the protection of deployment points and various objects.

Photographer A. Solomonov. Soviet soldiers conduct road surveys. Afghanistan. 1980s RIA News

The 2nd stage (March 1980 - April 1985) was characterized by the conduct of active hostilities, including the implementation of large-scale operations using many types and branches of the armed forces together with the government forces of the DRA. At the same time, work was underway to reorganize, strengthen and supply the armed forces of the DRA with everything necessary.

Operator unknown. Afghan Mujahideen fired from a mountain gun on a tank column of a limited contingent of Soviet troops. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

At the 3rd stage (May 1985 - December 1986) there was a transition from active combat operations mainly to reconnaissance and fire support for the actions of government troops. Soviet motorized rifle, airborne and tank formations acted as a reserve and a kind of "props" for the combat stability of the DRA troops. More active role was assigned to special forces units conducting special counterinsurgency combat operations. The provision of assistance in supplying the armed forces of the DRA, assistance to the civilian population did not stop.

Operators G. Gavrilov, S. Gusev. Cargo 200. Sealing a container with the body of a dead Soviet soldier before being sent home. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

During the last, 4th, stage (January 1987 - February 15, 1989) full output Soviet troops.

Operators V. Dobronitsky, I. Filatov. A column of Soviet armored vehicles follows through an Afghan village. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

In total, from December 25, 1979 to February 15, 1989, 620 thousand military personnel served as part of a limited contingent of DRA troops (in the Soviet army - 525.2 thousand soldiers military service and 62.9 thousand officers), in parts of the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR - 95 thousand people. At the same time, 21 thousand people worked as civilian employees in Afghanistan. During their stay in the DRA, the irretrievable human losses of the Soviet armed forces amounted (together with the border and internal troops) to 15,051 people. 417 servicemen went missing and were captured, of which 130 returned to their homeland.

Operator R. Romm. A column of Soviet armored vehicles. Afghanistan. 1988. RGAKFD

Sanitary losses amounted to 469,685 people, including the wounded, shell-shocked, injured - 53,753 people (11.44 percent); ill - 415,932 people (88.56 percent). losses in weapons and military equipment amounted to: aircraft - 118; helicopters - 333; tanks - 147; BMP, BMD, BTR - 1,314; guns and mortars - 433; radio stations, command and staff vehicles - 1,138; engineering vehicles - 510; flatbed cars and fuel trucks - 1,369.

Operator S. Ter-Avanesov. Reconnaissance paratrooper unit. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

During his stay in Afghanistan, the title of Hero Soviet Union was assigned to 86 military personnel. Over 100 thousand people were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.

Photographer A. Solomonov. Checkpoint of a limited contingent of Soviet troops on the protection of the Kabul airfield from the attacks of the Mujahideen. Afghanistan. July 24, 1988. RIA Novosti

Operators G. Gavrilov, S. Gusev. Soviet helicopters in the air. In the foreground is a Mi-24 fire support helicopter, in the background is a Mi-6. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

Photographer A. Solomonov. Mi-24 fire support helicopters at the Kabul airfield. Afghanistan. June 16, 1988. RIA Novosti

Photographer A. Solomonov. Checkpoint of a limited contingent of Soviet troops guarding a mountain road. Afghanistan. May 15, 1988. RIA Novosti

Operators V. Dobronitsky, I. Filatov. Meeting before a combat mission. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

Operators V. Dobronitsky, I. Filatov. Carrying shells to the firing position. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

Photographer A. Solomonov. Artillerymen of the 40th Army suppress enemy firing points in the Pagman area. Suburb of Kabul. Afghanistan. September 1, 1988. RIA Novosti

Operators A. Zaitsev, S. Ulyanov. The withdrawal of a limited contingent of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. A column of Soviet armored vehicles passes over the bridge over the river. Panj. Tajikistan. 1988. RGAKFD

Operator R. Romm. Military parade of Soviet units on the occasion of the return from Afghanistan. Afghanistan. 1988. RGAKFD

Operators E. Akkuratov, M. Levenberg, A. Lomtev, I. Filatov. The withdrawal of a limited contingent of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Commander of the 40th Army, Lieutenant General B.V. Gromov with the last armored personnel carrier on the bridge across the river. Panj. Tajikistan. February 15, 1989. RGAKFD

Operators A. Zaitsev, S. Ulyanov. Soviet border guards at the border post on the border of the USSR and Afghanistan. Termez. Uzbekistan. 1988. RGAKFD

The photographs are taken from the publication: Military Chronicle of Russia in Photographs. 1850s - 2000s: Album. – M.: Golden Bee, 2009.

Afghan war 1979-1989 - a prolonged political and armed confrontation between the parties: the ruling pro-Soviet regime of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) with the military support of the Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces in Afghanistan (OKSVA) - on the one hand, and the Mujahideen ("dushmans"), with a part of the Afghan society sympathizing with them, with political and financial support foreign countries and a number of states Islamic world- with another.
The decision to send troops of the USSR Armed Forces to Afghanistan was made on December 12, 1979 at a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in accordance with the secret resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU No. friendly regime in Afghanistan. The decision was made by a narrow circle of members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (Yu. V. Andropov, D. F. Ustinov, A. A. Gromyko and L. I. Brezhnev).
To achieve these goals, the USSR introduced a group of troops into Afghanistan, and a detachment of special forces from among the emerging special unit KGB "Vympel" killed the incumbent President H. Amin and everyone who was with him in the palace. By decision of Moscow, the protege of the USSR, the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Afghanistan in Prague, B. Karmal, became the new leader of Afghanistan, whose regime received significant and versatile - military, financial and humanitarian - support from the Soviet Union.

background
« Big game»
Afghanistan is located in the very center of Eurasia, which allows it to play an important role in relations between neighboring regions.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, between the Russian and british empires A struggle for control of Afghanistan begins, dubbed the "Great Game" (Eng. The Great game).
Anglo-Afghan Wars
The British tried to establish dominance over Afghanistan by force, sending their troops from neighboring British India in January 1839. Thus began the first Anglo-Afghan war. Initially, success accompanied the British - they managed to overthrow Emir Dost-Mohammed and put Shuja Khan on the throne. The rule of Shuja Khan, however, did not last long and in 1842 he was overthrown. Afghanistan concluded a peace treaty with Britain and retained its independence.
Meanwhile, the Russian Empire continued to actively move south. In the 1860s-1880s, the annexation of Central Asia to Russia.
The British, worried about the rapid advance of Russian troops to the borders of Afghanistan, began the second Anglo-Afghan war in 1878. The stubborn struggle lasted two years and in 1880 the British were forced to leave the country, but at the same time leaving the loyal Emir Abdur-Rahman on the throne and thus maintaining control over the country.
In the 1880s and 1890s, there were modern borders Afghanistan, defined by joint agreements between Russia and Britain.
Independence of Afghanistan
In 1919, Amanullah Khan declared the independence of Afghanistan from Great Britain. The third Anglo-Afghan war began.
The first state to recognize independence was Soviet Russia which provided Afghanistan with significant economic and military assistance.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Afghanistan was a backward agrarian country with a complete lack of industry, an extremely impoverished population, over half of which was illiterate.

Republic of Dauda
In 1973, during the visit of the King of Afghanistan Zahir Shah to Italy, a coup d'état. Power was seized by a relative of Zahir Shah, Mohammed Daoud, who proclaimed the first republic in Afghanistan.
Daoud established an authoritarian dictatorship and attempted reforms, but most of them failed. The first republican period in the history of Afghanistan is characterized by strong political instability, rivalry between pro-communist and Islamist groups. The Islamists raised several uprisings, but they were all crushed by government forces.
Daoud's reign ended with the Saur Revolution in April 1978, as well as the execution of the president and all members of his family.
Saur Revolution
On April 27, 1978, the April (Saur) Revolution began in Afghanistan, as a result of which the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) came to power, proclaiming the country the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).
Attempts by the country's leadership to carry out new reforms that would make it possible to overcome the backlog of Afghanistan ran into resistance from the Islamic opposition. Since 1978, even before the introduction of Soviet troops, a civil war began in Afghanistan.

The course of the war
Making a decision on the introduction of Soviet troops
In March 1979, during a mutiny in the city of Herat, the first request from the Afghan leadership for direct Soviet military intervention followed (there were about 20 such requests in total). But the commission of the Central Committee of the CPSU on Afghanistan, created back in 1978, reported to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU about the evidence negative consequences direct Soviet intervention, and the request was denied.
However, the Herat rebellion forced the strengthening of Soviet troops near the Soviet-Afghan border, and by order of the Minister of Defense D.F. Ustinov, preparations began for a possible landing in Afghanistan by the landing method of the 105th Guards airborne division.
British soldiers in Kandahar, second Anglo-Afghan war
The further development of the situation in Afghanistan - the armed uprisings of the Islamic opposition, mutinies in the army, internal party struggle, and especially the events of September 1979, when the leader of the PDPA N. Taraki was arrested and then killed on the orders of H. Amin, who removed him from power - caused serious concern among the Soviet guides. It warily followed the activities of Amin at the head of Afghanistan, knowing his ambitions and cruelty in the struggle to achieve personal goals. Under H. Amin, terror unfolded in the country not only against the Islamists, but also against members of the PDPA, former supporters Taraki. Repression also affected the army, the main pillar of the PDPA, which led to the fall of its already low morale, caused mass desertion and riots. The Soviet leadership was afraid that further aggravation situation in Afghanistan will lead to the fall of the PDPA regime and the coming to power of forces hostile to the USSR. Moreover, information was received through the KGB about Amin's connections with the CIA in the 1960s and about secret contacts of his emissaries with American officials after the assassination of Taraki.
As a result, it was decided to prepare for the overthrow of Amin and his replacement by a leader more loyal to the USSR. As such, B. Karmal was considered, whose candidacy was supported by the chairman of the KGB, Yu. V. Andropov.
When developing an operation to overthrow Amin, it was decided to use the requests of Amin himself for Soviet military assistance. In total, from September to December 1979, there were 7 such appeals. In early December 1979, the so-called "Muslim battalion" was sent to Bagram - a detachment special purpose GRU - specially formed in the summer of 1979 from Soviet military personnel of Central Asian origin to protect Taraki and perform special tasks in Afghanistan. In early December 1979, USSR Minister of Defense D. F. Ustinov reported narrow circle officials from among the top military leadership that a decision will obviously be made in the near future on the use of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. From December 10, on the personal orders of D. F. Ustinov, the deployment and mobilization of units and formations of the Turkestan and Central Asian military districts was carried out. Boss General Staff N. Ogarkov, however, was against the introduction of troops.
The decision to send troops was made at a meeting of the Politburo on December 12, 1979.
To the position in "A".
1. Approve the considerations and measures set out in vols. Andropov Yu. V., Ustinov D. F., Gromyko A. A. Allow them to make adjustments of an unprincipled nature during the implementation of these measures. Questions that require the decision of the Central Committee must be submitted to the Politburo in a timely manner. The implementation of all these measures is to be assigned to TT. Andropova Yu. V., Ustinova D. F., Gromyko A. A.
2. Instruct TT. Yu.V.
According to V. I. Varennikov, in 1979 the only member of the Politburo who did not support the decision to send Soviet troops to Afghanistan was A. N. Kosygin, and from that moment A. N. Kosygin had a complete break with Brezhnev and his entourage .
Mohammed Daoud
On December 13, 1979, the Operational Group of the Ministry of Defense for Afghanistan was formed, headed by the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army S. F. Akhromeev, which began work in the Turkestan Military District on December 14. On December 14, 1979, a battalion of the 345th Guards Separate Airborne Regiment was sent to Bagram to reinforce the battalion of the 111th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 105th Guards Airborne Division, which had been guarding the Soviet military in Bagram since July 7, 1979. transport aircraft and helicopters.
At the same time, B. Karmal and several of his supporters were secretly brought to Afghanistan on December 14, 1979 and were in Bagram among Soviet military personnel. On December 16, 1979, an attempt was made to assassinate Amin, but he survived, and B. Karmal was urgently returned to the USSR. On December 20, 1979, a “Muslim battalion” was transferred from Bagram to Kabul, which entered the guard brigade of Amin’s palace, which greatly facilitated the preparations for the planned assault on this palace. For this operation, in mid-December, 2 special groups of the KGB also arrived in Afghanistan.
Until December 25, 1979, in the Turkestan military district, the field department of the 40th combined arms army, 2 motorized rifle divisions, an army artillery brigade, an anti-aircraft missile brigade, an air assault brigade, units of a combat and logistic support, and in the Central Asian Military District - two motorized rifle regiments, a mixed air corps command, 2 fighter-bomber air regiments, 1 fighter air regiment, 2 helicopter regiments, parts of aviation technical and airfield support. Three more divisions were mobilized as a reserve in both districts. More than 50,000 people from the Central Asian republics and Kazakhstan were called up to complete the units, about 8,000 cars and other equipment were transferred from the national economy. It was the biggest mobilization deployment Soviet Army since 1945. In addition, the 103rd Guards Airborne Division from Belarus was also prepared for the transfer to Afghanistan, which was transferred to airfields in the Turkestan military district on December 14.
By the evening of December 23, 1979, it was reported that the troops were ready to enter Afghanistan. On December 24, D. F. Ustinov signed Directive No. 312/12/001, which stated:
“A decision has been made to bring in some contingents of Soviet troops stationed in southern regions our country, to the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in order to provide assistance to the friendly Afghan people, as well as the creation favorable conditions to prevent possible anti-Afghan actions on the part of neighboring states.”
The directive did not provide for the participation of Soviet troops in hostilities on the territory of Afghanistan, and the procedure for using weapons even for self-defense was not determined. True, already on December 27, D. F. Ustinov issued an order to suppress the resistance of the rebels in cases of attack. It was assumed that the Soviet troops would become garrisons and guard important industrial and other facilities, thereby freeing up units Afghan army for active operations against opposition groups, as well as against possible outside interference. The border with Afghanistan was ordered to be crossed at 15:00 Moscow time (17:00 Kabul time) on December 27, 1979. But on the morning of December 25, on the hover pontoon bridge The 4th battalion of the 56th Guards Airborne Assault Brigade crossed the border river Amu Darya, which was tasked with capturing the high mountain pass Salang on the Termez-Kabul road in order to ensure the unhindered passage of Soviet troops.
The streets of Kabul the day after the revolution, April 28, 1978
In Kabul, units of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division completed the landing method by noon on December 27 and took control of the airport, blocking Afghan aviation and air defense batteries. Other units of this division concentrated in the designated areas of Kabul, where they received the tasks of blocking the main government institutions, Afghan military units and headquarters, others important objects in the city and its environs. After a clash with Afghan military personnel, the 357th Guards established control over the Bagram airfield parachute regiment 103rd Division and 345th Guards Airborne Regiment. They also provided protection for B. Karmal, who was again taken to Afghanistan with a group of close supporters on December 23.
Storming of Amin's Palace
On the evening of December 27, Soviet special forces stormed Amin's palace, during the assault Amin was killed. Government offices in Kabul were captured by Soviet paratroopers.
On the night of December 27-28, B. Karmal arrived in Kabul from Bagram and radio Kabul broadcast the appeal of this new ruler to the Afghan people, in which the "second stage of the revolution" was proclaimed.

Main events
The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, December 1979.
1979
In July 1979, a battalion from the 111th Airborne Regiment (111pdp) of the 105th Airborne Division (105th Airborne Division) arrived in Bagram, and the 103rd Airborne Division also arrived in Kabul, in fact, after regular reorganization in 1979 year - a separate battalion 345opdp. These were the first military units and units of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan.
From December 9 to 12, the first "Muslim battalion" arrived in Afghanistan - 154ooSpN 15obrSpN.
On December 14, another separate battalion 345opdp arrived in Bagram.
On December 25, columns of the 40th Army (40A) of the Turkestan Military District cross the Afghan border on a pontoon bridge across the Amu Darya River. H. Amin expressed gratitude to the Soviet leadership and ordered the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the DRA to assist the troops being brought in.
On the evening of December 27, Operation Storm took place - the assault on Amin's palace.
1980
Mujahideen of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan, 1987.
January 10-11 - an attempt at an anti-government rebellion by artillery regiments of the 20th Afghan division in Kabul. During the battle, about 100 rebels were killed; Soviet troops lost two killed and two more were wounded. At the same time, a directive from the Minister of Defense D. Ustinov appeared on the planning and start of hostilities - raids against rebel groups in northern regions Afghanistan adjacent to Soviet border, by the forces of a no less reinforced battalion and the use of army firepower, including the Air Force, to suppress resistance.
February 23 - tragedy in the tunnel at the Salang pass. During the passage of the tunnel by units of 186msp and 2zrbr in the complete absence of commandant service due to an accident, a traffic jam formed in the middle of the tunnel. As a result, 16 Soviet servicemen of the 2zrbr suffocated. No data are available for suffocated Afghans.
February-March - the first major operation to suppress an armed rebellion in the mountain infantry regiment in Asmara, Kunar province of the OKSV units against the Mujahideen - Kunar offensive. On February 28-29, units of the 317th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division in the Asmara region entered into heavy bloody battles, due to blocking by dushmans in the Asmara Gorge of the 3rd paratrooper battalion. 33 people were killed, 40 people were injured, one soldier was missing.
April - U.S. Congress authorizes "direct and open aid» Afghan opposition in the amount of $15,000,000.
- the first military operation in Panjshir.
Opposition forces in Afghanistan, according to the CIA, in September 1985.
May 11 - the death of the 1st motorized rifle company 66th brigade (Jalalabad) near the village of Khara, Kunar province.
June 19 - decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the withdrawal of some tank, missile and anti-aircraft missile units from Afghanistan.
August 3 - battle near the village of Shaest. In the Mashkhad Gorge - the Kishim region near the city of Faizabad, the 783rd separate reconnaissance battalion 201st MSD, 48 servicemen were killed, 49 were wounded. It was one of the bloodiest episodes in the history of the Afghan war.
August 12 - the arrival of the special forces of the KGB of the USSR "Karpaty" in the country.
September 23 - Lieutenant General Boris Tkach is appointed Commander of the 40th Army.
1981
September - fighting in the Lurkoh mountain range in Farah province; the death of Major General Khakhalov.
October 29 - the introduction of the second "Muslim battalion" (177ooSpN) under the command of Major Kerimbaev ("Kara Major").
December - the defeat of the base point of the opposition in the Darzab region (Jawzjan province).
1982
An Afghan Mujahideen with a Strela-2 man-portable anti-aircraft missile system, August 26, 1988.
April 5 - during military operation in western Afghanistan, Soviet troops mistakenly invaded Iranian territory. Iranian combat aircraft destroyed two Soviet helicopters.
In May-June, the fifth Panjshir operation was carried out, during which a mass landing in Afghanistan was carried out for the first time: only during the first three days more than 4,000 airborne personnel were parachuted. In total, about 12,000 military personnel of various branches of the armed forces took part in this confrontation. The operation took place simultaneously for all 120 km into the depths of the gorge. As a result of this operation, Panjshir was taken.
November 3 - tragedy at the Salang pass. More than 176 people died as a result of a traffic jam outside the tunnel.
November 15 - meeting of Y. Andropov and Zia ul-Haq in Moscow. The General Secretary had a private conversation with the Pakistani President, during which he informed him of "the new flexible policy of the Soviet side and the understanding of the need for a speedy resolution of the crisis." The meeting also discussed the expediency of the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan and the prospects for the participation of the Soviet Union in the war. In exchange for the withdrawal of troops, Pakistan was required to refuse assistance to the rebels.
1983
Taj Beck Palace in Kabul in 1987, headquarters of OKSVA, former residence of Amin.
January 2 - in Mazar-i-Sharif, the Mujahideen kidnapped a group of Soviet "civilian specialists" numbering 16 people.
February 2 - Hostages kidnapped in Mazar-i-Sharif and located in the village of Vakhshak in northern Afghanistan were released, but six of them died.
March 28 - meeting of the UN delegation headed by Perez de Cuellar and D. Cordoves with Yu. Andropov. Andropov thanks the UN for "understanding the problem" and assures the mediators that he is ready to take "certain steps", but doubts that Pakistan and the US will support the UN proposal regarding their non-intervention in the conflict.
April - an operation to defeat opposition groups in the Nijrab Gorge, Kapisa province. Soviet units lost 14 people killed and 63 wounded.
May 19 - soviet ambassador in Pakistan, V. Smirnov officially confirmed the desire of the USSR and Afghanistan "to set a date for the withdrawal of the contingent of Soviet troops."
July - offensive of the Mujahideen on Khost. An attempt to blockade the city was unsuccessful.
August - the hard work of D. Cordoves' mission to prepare agreements on a peaceful settlement of the Afghan problem is almost completed: an 8-month program for the withdrawal of troops from the country has been developed, but after Andropov's illness, the issue of the conflict was removed from the agenda of Politburo meetings. Now it was only about "dialogue with the UN".
Winter - hostilities intensified in the Sarobi region and the Jalalabad valley (the reports most often mention the province of Laghman). For the first time, armed opposition groups remain in Afghanistan for the entire winter period. The creation of fortified areas and resistance bases directly in the country began.
1984
Kunar Province, 1987.
January 16 - the Mujahideen shot down a Su-25 aircraft from the Strela-2M MANPADS. This is the first time successful application MANPADS in Afghanistan.
April 30 - in the Khazar Gorge, during a large-scale military operation in the Panjshir Gorge, the 1st Battalion of the 682nd Motorized Rifle Regiment was ambushed and suffered heavy losses.
October 27 - Mujahideen shoot down an Il-76 transport aircraft from the Strela MANPADS over Kabul.
1985
April 21 - The death of the Maravar company.
April 26 - Soviet and Afghan POWs revolt in the Badaber prison in Pakistan.
May 25 - Kunar operation. Battle near the village of Konyak, Pechdara Gorge, Kunar province, 4th company of the 149th Guards. Motor Rifle Regiment. Once in the ring surrounded by the Mujahideen and Pakistani mercenaries - "Black Storks" guardsmen of the 4th company and the forces of the 2nd battalion attached to it lost 23 dead and 28 wounded.
June - army operation in Panjshir.
Summer is a new course of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU for a political solution to the "Afghan problem".
October 16-17 - Shutulskaya tragedy (20 dead, several dozen wounded)
The main task of the 40th Army is to cover southern borders USSR, for which new motorized rifle units are involved. The creation of stronghold fortified areas in hard-to-reach areas of the country began.
On November 22, 1985, while performing a task, an outpost of the Motor-Maneuverable Group (MMG) of the Panfilov Border Detachment of the Eastern border district KGB of the USSR. In the battle near the village of Afrij in the Zardev Gorge of the province of Badakhshan, 19 border guards were killed. These were the largest losses of border guards in one battle in the Afghan war of 1979-1989.
1986
Warriors of the air assault brigade stationed in Gardez.
February - at the XXVII Congress of the CPSU, M. Gorbachev makes a statement about the beginning of the development of a plan for a phased withdrawal of troops.
April 4-20 - an operation to defeat the Javar base: a major defeat for the Mujahideen. Failed attempts detachments of Ismail Khan to break through the "security zone" around Herat.
May 4 - at the XVIII Plenum of the Central Committee of the PDPA, instead of B. Karmal, M. Najibullah, who previously headed the Afghan counterintelligence KHAD, was elected to the post of Secretary General. The plenum proclaimed the policy of solving the problems of Afghanistan by political means.
June 16 - Military operation "Maneuver" - Takhar province. A long battle on Mount Yafsaj of the 783rd ORB of the 201st MSD - Jarav Gorge, in which 18 scouts died, 22 were wounded. This was the second tragedy of the Kunduz Intelligence Battalion.
July 28 - M. Gorbachev publicly announced the imminent withdrawal of six regiments of the 40th Army from Afghanistan (about 7,000 people). The withdrawal date will be rescheduled at a later date. In Moscow, there are disputes about whether to withdraw troops completely.
August - Massoud defeated the base of government troops in Farkhar, Takhar province.
August 18-26 - Military operation "Trap" under the command of General of the Army V. I. Varennikov. The assault on the Kokari-Sharshari fortified area in the province of Herat.
Autumn - Major Belov's reconnaissance group from 173ooSpN 22obrSpN captures the first batch of Stinger MANPADS in the amount of three pieces in the Kandahar region.
October 15-31 - tank, motorized rifle, anti-aircraft regiments were withdrawn from Shindand, motorized rifle and anti-aircraft regiments were withdrawn from Kunduz, and anti-aircraft regiments were withdrawn from Kabul.
November 13 - At a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Mikhail Gorbachev noted: “We have been fighting in Afghanistan for six years. If we don’t change approaches, then we will fight for another 20-30 years.” Chief of the General Staff Marshal Akhromeev said: “There is not a single military task that would be set, but not solved, but there is no result.<…>We control Kabul and the provincial centers, but we cannot establish power in the occupied territory. We have lost the fight for the Afghan people." At the same meeting, the task was set to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan within two years.
December - Extraordinary plenum of the Central Committee of the PDPA proclaims a course towards politics national reconciliation and stands for the speedy end of the fratricidal war.
1987
Mi-8MT in the sky and on the ground (1987).
January 2 - an operational group of the USSR Ministry of Defense headed by the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, General of the Army V. I. Varennikov, was sent to Kabul.
February - Operation "Strike" in the province of Kunduz.
February-March - Operation Flurry in Kandahar province.
March 8 - shelling by Mujahideen of the city of Panj, Tajik SSR.
March - Operation "Thunderstorm" in the province of Ghazni.
March 29, 1986 - during the fighting of the 15th brigade, when the Jalalabad battalion, with the support of the Asadabad battalion, defeated a large Mujahideen base in Karer.
- Operation "Circle" in the provinces of Kabul and Logar.
April 9 - Mujahideen attacked the Soviet frontier post. When repelling an attack, 2 Soviet servicemen are killed, 20 Mujahideen are destroyed.
April 12 - the defeat of the base of the rebels Milov in the province of Nangarhar.
May - operation "Volley" in the provinces of Logar, Paktia, Kabul.
- Operation "South-87" in the province of Kandahar.
Spring - Soviet troops begin to use the Barrier system to cover the eastern and southeastern sections of the state border.
November 23 - the beginning of Operation Highway to deblock the city of Khost.
1988
Soviet group SPN is preparing to go on a mission, in Afghanistan, 1988.
January 7-8 - battle at height 3234.
April 14 - With the mediation of the UN in Switzerland, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan and Pakistan signed the Geneva Agreements on a political settlement of the situation around the situation in the DRA. The USSR and the USA became the guarantors of the agreements. The Soviet Union undertook to withdraw its contingent within 9 months, starting on May 15; The US and Pakistan, for their part, had to stop supporting the Mujahideen.
June 24 - Opposition detachments captured the center of the province of Wardak - the city of Maidanshehr. In September 1988, Soviet troops near Maidanshehr carried out an operation to destroy the Khurkabul base area.
August 10 - Mujahideen took Kunduz
1989
January 23-26 - operation "Typhoon", Kunduz province. The last military operation of the SA in Afghanistan.
February 4 - The last unit of the Soviet Army left Kabul.
February 15 - Soviet troops are completely withdrawn from Afghanistan. The withdrawal of the troops of the 40th Army was led by the last commander of the Limited Military Contingent, Lieutenant General B.V. Gromov, who, according to official version, the last to cross the border river Amu Darya (Termez). He declared: "There was not a single Soviet soldier left behind me." This statement was not true, since both Soviet military personnel who were captured by the Mujahideen and border guard units remained in Afghanistan, covering the withdrawal of troops and returning to the territory of the USSR only in the afternoon of February 15. The border troops of the KGB of the USSR performed the tasks of protecting the Soviet-Afghan border by separate units on the territory of Afghanistan until April 1989.

results
Colonel General Gromov, the last commander of the 40th Army (led the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan), in his book "Limited Contingent" expressed this opinion regarding the victory or defeat of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan:
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I am deeply convinced that there is no basis for asserting that the 40th Army was defeated, nor that we won a military victory in Afghanistan. At the end of 1979, Soviet troops entered the country without hindrance, completed their tasks, unlike the Americans in Vietnam, and returned to their homeland in an organized manner. If we consider armed opposition detachments as the main enemy of the Limited Contingent, then the difference between us lies in the fact that the 40th Army did what it considered necessary, and the dushmans only what they could.
The 40th Army had several main tasks. First of all, we had to assist the government of Afghanistan in resolving the internal political situation. Basically, this assistance consisted in the fight against armed opposition groups. In addition, the presence of a significant military contingent in Afghanistan was supposed to prevent aggression from outside. These tasks were fully completed by the personnel of the 40th Army.
Before the Limited Contingent, no one has ever set the task of winning a military victory in Afghanistan. All the combat operations that the 40th Army had to conduct from 1980 until almost the last days of our stay in the country were either preemptive or retaliatory. Together with government troops, we carried out military operations only to exclude attacks on our garrisons, airfields, motorcades and communications that were used to transport goods.
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Indeed, before the start of the withdrawal of OKSVA in May 1988, the Mujahideen never managed to hold a single major operation and failed to take one big city. At the same time, Gromov's opinion that the 40th Army was not tasked with military victory, is inconsistent with the estimates of some other authors. In particular, Major General Yevgeny Nikitenko, who in 1985-1987 was the deputy head of the operations department of the headquarters of the 40th army, believes that throughout the war the USSR pursued the same goals - to suppress the resistance of the armed opposition and strengthen the power of the Afghan government. Despite all efforts, the number of opposition formations only grew from year to year, and in 1986 (at the peak of the Soviet military presence), the Mujahideen controlled more than 70% of the territory of Afghanistan. According to Colonel General Viktor Merimsky, former deputy. head of the Operational Group of the USSR Ministry of Defense in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, the leadership of Afghanistan actually lost the fight against the rebels for its people, could not stabilize the situation in the country, although it had 300,000 military units (army, police, state security).
Sign "Warrior-internationalist of the USSR"
After the outbreak of the Afghan war, several countries declared a boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow.
Humanitarian consequences
The result of hostilities from 1978 to 1992 was the flow of refugees to Iran and Pakistan, a considerable percentage of whom remain there to this day. Sharbat Gula's photograph, featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985 under the title "Afghan Girl", has become a symbol of the Afghan conflict and the problem of refugees around the world.
The bitterness of the belligerents reached extreme limits. It is known that the Mujahideen subjected prisoners to torture, among which such as the "red tulip" is widely known. Weapons were used so widely that many of the villages in literally words were built from rockets left over from the withdrawal of the Soviet army, residents used rockets to build houses, as ceilings, window and door beams, however, statements by the US administration about the use of the 40th Army chemical weapons, voiced in March 1982, were never documented.
Side losses
The exact number of Afghans killed in the war is unknown. The most common figure is 1 million dead; available estimates range from 670,000 civilians to 2 million in total. According to Harvard professor M. Kramer, American researcher Afghan war: “During the nine years of the war, more than 2.5 million Afghans were killed or maimed (mostly civilians), several million more found themselves in the ranks of refugees, many of whom fled the country.” Apparently, there is no exact division of victims into government army soldiers, Mujahideen and civilians.

After the end of the war in the USSR, the figures of the dead Soviet soldiers were published, broken down by years.
1979
86 people
1980
1484 people
1981
1298 people
1982
1948 people
1983
1446 people
1984
2343 people
1985
1868 people
1986
1333 people
1987
1215 people
1988
759 people
1989
53 people
Total - 13 833 people. These data first appeared in the Pravda newspaper in August 1989. In the future, the final figure increased slightly, presumably due to those who died from the consequences of injuries and illnesses after their dismissal from the armed forces. As of January 1, 1999, irretrievable losses in the Afghan war (killed, died from wounds, diseases and in accidents, missing) were estimated as follows:
Soviet Army - 14,427
KGB - 576
Ministry of Internal Affairs - 28
Total - 15,031 people. Sanitary losses - almost 54 thousand wounded, shell-shocked, injured; 416 thousand cases.
According to professor Military Medical Academy Petersburg, Vladimir Sidelnikov, the final figures do not include servicemen who died from wounds and diseases in hospitals on the territory of the USSR.
In a study of the Afghan war, conducted by officers of the General Staff under the direction of prof. Valentina Runova, gives an estimate of 26,000 dead, including those killed in action, those who died of wounds and disease, and those who died in accidents. The breakdown by year is as follows:

We continue the series of publications about the war in Afghanistan.

Corporal of the Airborne Forces Sergey Boyarkinefreitor of the Airborne Forces Sergey Boyarkin
(317 RAP, Kabul, 1979-81)

For the entire time of service in Afghanistan (almost a year and a half) since December 1979. I have heard so many stories about how our paratroopers killed the civilian population just like that, that they simply cannot be counted, and I have never heard that our soldiers saved one of the Afghans - among the soldiers, such an act would be regarded as aiding the enemies.

Even during the December coup in Kabul, which lasted all night on December 27, 1979, some paratroopers shot at unarmed people who were seen on the streets - then, without a shadow of regret, they cheerfully recalled this as funny cases.

Two months after the introduction of troops - February 29, 1980. - The first military operation began in the province of Kunar. The main striking force was the paratroopers of our regiment - 300 soldiers who parachuted from helicopters on a high mountain plateau and went down to restore order. As I was told by the participants of that operation, order was put in the following way: food stocks were destroyed in the villages, all livestock was killed; usually, before entering the house, they threw a grenade there, then they shot with a fan in all directions - only after that they looked who was there; all men and even teenagers were immediately shot on the spot. The operation lasted almost two weeks, no one counted how many people were killed then.

What our paratroopers did for the first two years in remote areas of Afghanistan was complete arbitrariness. Since the summer of 1980 the 3rd battalion of our regiment was sent to the province of Kandahar to patrol the territory. Fearing no one, they calmly traveled along the roads and the desert of Kandahar and could, without any clarification, kill any person they met on their way.

He was killed just like that, with a machine gun burst, without leaving the BMDshek armor.
Kandahar, summer 1981

A photograph of the murdered Afghan, which was taken from his belongings.

Here is the most ordinary story told to me by an eyewitness. Summer 1981 province of Kandahar. Photo - a dead Afghan and his donkey lie on the ground. The Afghan went his own way and led the donkey. Of the weapons, the Afghan had only a stick, with which he drove the donkey. A column of our paratroopers was driving along this road. He was killed just like that, with a machine gun burst, without leaving the BMDshek armor.

The column stopped. One paratrooper came up and cut off the ears of the dead Afghan - in memory of his military exploits. Then a mine was planted under the Afghan's corpse to kill anyone else who found this body. Only this time the idea did not work - when the column started off, someone could not resist and finally fired a burst at the corpse from a machine gun - a mine exploded and tore the Afghan's body to pieces.

The caravans they met were searched, and if they found weapons (and the Afghans almost always had old rifles and guns), then they killed all the people who were in the caravan, and even animals. And when the travelers did not have any weapons, then, sometimes, they used the right practiced trick - during the search, they quietly pulled out a cartridge from their pocket, and, pretending that this cartridge was found in the pocket or in the things of an Afghan, they presented it to the Afghan as evidence his guilt.

These photos are taken from the dead Afghans. They were killed because their caravan met with a column of our paratroopers.
Kandahar summer 1981

Now it was possible to mock: after listening to a person warmly justifying himself, convincing that the cartridge was not his, they began to beat him, then watched him beg on his knees for mercy, but he was again beaten and then shot. Then they killed the rest of the people who were in the caravan.
In addition to patrolling the territory, the paratroopers often ambushed enemies on the roads and paths. These "caravan hunters" never found out anything - not even the presence of weapons among travelers - they simply suddenly fired from cover at everyone who passed in that place, sparing no one, even women and children.

I remember one paratrooper, a participant in hostilities, admired:

I would never have thought that this is possible! We kill everyone in a row - and for this they only praise us and hang awards!

Here is the documentary evidence. Wall newspaper with information about the military operations of the 3rd battalion, carried out in the summer of 1981. in Kandahar province.

It can be seen here that the number of recorded dead Afghans is three times the number of captured weapons: 2 machine guns, 2 grenade launchers and 43 rifles were seized, and 137 people were killed.

The mystery of the Kabul rebellion

Two months after the introduction of troops into Afghanistan, on February 22-23, 1980, Kabul was shaken by a major anti-government rebellion. Everyone who was then in Kabul remembered those days well: the streets were filled with crowds of protesters, they shouted, rioted, there was shooting all over the city. This rebellion was not prepared by any opposition forces or foreign intelligence services, it began completely unexpectedly for everyone: both for the Soviet military stationed in Kabul and for the Afghan leadership. Here is how Colonel General Viktor Merimsky recalls those events in his memoirs:

"... All the central streets of the city were filled with excited people. The number of demonstrators reached 400 thousand people ... There was confusion in the Afghan government. Marshal S. L. Sokolov, General of the Army S. F. Akhromeev and I left our residence for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, where we met with the Minister of Defense of Afghanistan M. Rafi. He could not answer our question about what is happening in the capital ... "

The reason that served as an impetus for such a stormy protest of the townspeople has not been clarified. Only after 28 years did I manage to find out the whole background of those events. As it turned out, the rebellion was provoked by the reckless trick of our paratrooper officers.

senior lieutenant Alexander Vovk
Alexander Vovk

The first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuri Nozdryakov (right).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980

It all started with the fact that on February 22, 1980, in Kabul, in broad daylight, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Vovk, a senior instructor in the Komsomol of the political department of the 103rd Airborne Division, was killed.

The story of Vovk's death was told to me by the first commandant of Kabul, Major Yuriy Nozdryakov. This happened near the "Green Market", where Vovk arrived in an UAZ vehicle together with the air defense chief of the 103rd Airborne Division, Colonel Yuri Dvugroshev. They did not fulfill any task, but, most likely, they simply wanted to buy something in the market. They were in the car when suddenly one shot was fired - the bullet hit Vovk. Dvugroshev and the soldier-driver did not even understand where they were shooting from, and quickly left this place. However, Vovk's wound turned out to be fatal, and he died almost immediately.

Deputy commander of the 357th regiment, Major Vitaly Zababurin (in the middle).
Afghanistan, Kabul, 1980

And then something happened that shook the whole city. Upon learning of the death of their comrade, a group of officers and ensigns of the 357th Airborne Regiment, led by the regiment's deputy commander, Major Vitaly Zababurin, got into armored personnel carriers and went to the scene to dismantle local residents. But, having arrived at the scene, they did not bother to search for the culprit, but on hot head decided to just punish everyone who was there. Moving along the street, they began to smash and crush everything in their path: they threw grenades at houses, fired from machine guns and machine guns on armored personnel carriers. Under hot hand officers hit dozens of innocent people.
The massacre ended, but the news of the bloody pogrom quickly spread throughout the city. The streets of Kabul began to flood thousands of indignant citizens, riots began. At that time, I was on the territory of the government residence, behind the high stone wall of the Palace of the Peoples. I will never forget that wild howl of the crowd, inspiring fear, from which the blood ran cold. The feeling was the worst...

The rebellion was crushed within two days. Hundreds of Kabul residents were killed. However, the real instigators of those riots, who massacred innocent people, remained in the shadows.

Three thousand civilians in one punitive operation

At the end of December 1980 two sergeants from the 3rd battalion of our regiment came to our guardhouse (it was in the Palace of the Peoples, in Kabul). By that time, the 3rd battalion had been standing near Kandahar for half a year and was constantly participating in combat operations. Everyone who was then in the guardroom, including myself, listened attentively to their stories about how they fought. It was from them that I first learned about this major military operation, and heard this figure - about 3,000 Afghans killed in one day.

In addition, this information was confirmed by Viktor Marochkin, who served as a driver in the 70th brigade stationed near Kandahar (this is where the 3rd battalion of our 317th airborne regiment was included). He said that the entire 70th brigade took part in that combat operation in full force. The operation went as follows.

In the second half of December 1980, a large settlement (presumably Tarinkot) was surrounded by a semicircle. It stayed that way for about three days. By this time, artillery and Grad multiple rocket launchers had been brought up.
On December 20, the operation began: a blow from the "Grad" and artillery was struck at the settlement. After the first volleys, the kishlak plunged into a continuous cloud of dust. shelling locality continued almost continuously. Residents, in order to escape from the explosions of shells, ran from the village into the field. But there they began to shoot from machine guns, BMD guns, four "Shilka" (self-propelled units with four combined heavy machine guns) fired non-stop, almost all the soldiers fired from their machine guns, killing everyone: including women and children.

After shelling, the brigade entered the village and killed the rest of the inhabitants there. When the military operation ended, the whole earth around was strewn with the corpses of people. They counted about 3000 (three thousand) corpses.

Combat operation in the village, carried out with the participation of the 3rd battalion of our regiment.
Kandahar, summer 1981

The entry of units and subunits of the Soviet army and their participation in the civil war in Afghanistan between the armed opposition and the government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA). The civil war began to unfold in Afghanistan as a consequence of the transformations carried out by the pro-communist government of the country, which came to power after the April Revolution of 1978. On December 12, 1979, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, guided by an article on mutual obligations to ensure the territorial integrity of the friendship treaty with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, decided to send troops to Afghanistan. It was assumed that the troops of the 40th Army would provide protection for the country's most important strategic and industrial facilities.

Photographer A. Solomonov. Soviet armored vehicles and afghan women with children on one of the mountain roads to Jalalabad. Afghanistan. June 12, 1988. RIA Novosti

Four divisions, five separate brigades, four separate regiments, four combat aviation regiments, three helicopter regiments, a pipeline brigade and separate units of the KGB and the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs were introduced into Afghanistan along with support and maintenance units. Soviet troops guarded roads, gas fields, power plants, ensured the functioning of airfields, escorted vehicles with military and economic cargo. However, the support of government troops in combat operations against the armed opposition groups further aggravated the situation and led to an escalation of armed resistance to the ruling regime.

Photographer A. Solomonov. Soviet soldiers-internationalists are returning to their homeland. Road through the Salang pass, Afghanistan. May 16, 1988. RIA Novosti

The actions of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan can be conditionally divided into four main stages. At the 1st stage (December 1979 - February 1980), troops were brought in, deployed to garrisons and organized the protection of deployment points and various objects.

Photographer A. Solomonov. Soviet soldiers conduct engineering reconnaissance of roads. Afghanistan. 1980s RIA News

Operator unknown. Afghan Mujahideen fired from a mountain gun on a tank column of a limited contingent of Soviet troops. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

At the 3rd stage (May 1985 - December 1986) there was a transition from active combat operations mainly to reconnaissance and fire support for the actions of government troops. Soviet motorized rifle, airborne and tank formations acted as a reserve and a kind of "props" for the combat stability of the DRA troops. A more active role was assigned to special forces units conducting special counterinsurgency combat operations. The provision of assistance in supplying the armed forces of the DRA, assistance to the civilian population did not stop.

Operators G. Gavrilov, S. Gusev. Cargo 200. Sealing a container with the body of a dead Soviet soldier before being sent home. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

During the last, 4th, stage (January 1987 - February 15, 1989), a complete withdrawal of Soviet troops was carried out.

Operators V. Dobronitsky, I. Filatov. A column of Soviet armored vehicles follows through an Afghan village. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

In total, from December 25, 1979 to February 15, 1989, 620 thousand military personnel served as part of a limited contingent of DRA troops (in the Soviet army - 525.2 thousand conscripts and 62.9 thousand officers), in parts of the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR - 95 thousand people . At the same time, 21 thousand people worked as civilian employees in Afghanistan. During their stay in the DRA, the irretrievable human losses of the Soviet armed forces amounted (together with the border and internal troops) to 15,051 people. 417 servicemen went missing and were captured, of which 130 returned to their homeland.

Operator R. Romm. A column of Soviet armored vehicles. Afghanistan. 1988. RGAKFD

Sanitary losses amounted to 469,685 people, including the wounded, shell-shocked, injured - 53,753 people (11.44 percent); sick - 415,932 people (88.56 percent). Losses in weapons and military equipment amounted to: aircraft - 118; helicopters - 333; tanks - 147; BMP, BMD, BTR - 1,314; guns and mortars - 433; radio stations, command and staff vehicles - 1,138; engineering vehicles - 510; flatbed cars and fuel trucks - 1,369.

Operator S. Ter-Avanesov. Reconnaissance paratrooper unit. Afghanistan. 1980s RGAKFD

During their stay in Afghanistan, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 86 servicemen. Over 100 thousand people were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.