Russians Left Afghanistan

…20 years ago Russian soldiers stopped fighting of what soon become “the Taliban”.

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Russian Jet Fighters in Afghanistan

These are photos from private archives of Russian SU-25 jet fighters in Afghanistan War at 1980s.

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The War in Afghanistan

Twenty eight years ago Russian army has entered Afghanistan. They stayed there for 9 years and more than 15,000 Russian soldiers were lost dead, much more were wounded or had psychological problems in their civil life later. The troops that were fighting against Russian army at that times were actively supported by Pakistan and Western World as an opposing effort of the Free World against the Evil Empire - USSR.
One of the most notable leaders supporting the rebels against the “Russian oppression” in Afghanistan was a Western supported Osama Bin-Laden. A few years later, when there were nobody to fight against in Afghanistan he found new victims for his fight. Now in the Free Western World that supported him before, with all the tactical skills his people were studied by Western instructors. In Russia there is a proverb, something like “Don’t dig a hole for someone else, as you will fall into it yourself”, some Russian soldiers found that it was true in this occasion, after learning that those guy they fought for years, took over the Afghanistan after they left and started to fight now against his supporters.

These are photos from that time when the Russian army was still there, mainly from private archives.

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Russian Pilot in Afghanistan

In late 70s Russian army entered Afghanistan, thousands soldiers, hundreds tanks and helicopters, etc.

These are photos from Afghanistan of one of the Russian helicopter pilots.

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Afghani War Carpets

There is a war in Afghanistan for more than 20 years already.

It has been started in late 70s when first Soviet troops entered Afghanistan to support the current regime.

Then after the collapse of USSR the war with external enemy has stopped for a while, but inside there were still conflicting groups fighting with each other for the power. Little by little Taliban got the dominating position in the country and just a few years later NATO troops entered the country.

So all the time there was a war, and most of the time all the parties used Soviet, then Russian weapons. It’s scary to see how the war thematics have moved to all spheres of life in Afghanistan even to carpet weaving skills. Previously this Middle-East country, lying on the border with Russia was famous for its hand-made carpets with beautiful Eastern ornaments. These days weavers make carpets with war.

And main war items depicted on the carpets are from Russian origin.

Here are the examples of Russian weapons that can be clearly distinguished on the contemporary Afghani carpets: (more…)

Afghanistan, 1983

What’s going now in Afghanistan is not for the first time.

27 years ago Russian army entered Afghanistan to help the Afghani president protect his power against the Islamic forces terrorizing the country.

Russian army stayed there 9 years and 1 months. It was opposed by troops lead by Usama Bin Laden who was that time officially sponsored by USA, in order to prevent a victory of USSR there and not allowing Soviet Union to establish there another regime supported by communists.

During these 9 years more than 14,000 Russian soldiers were killed, half thousand people were captured by the opposing Afghani forces. Practically all of them were forced to turn into Islam. And more than 50,000 Russian soldiers were wounded there and 10,000 of them continued their life as disabled as a result of the war.

But what can be most interesting is that just a few months after the Soviet troops left Afghanistan the radical Islamic movement took over the country again and was just becoming stronger and stronger until the USA troops came into a play. Now, when USA military presence is not high there it has been heard that only center of the country is being controlled by “democratically chosen president”, all the distant regions are again under the rule of radical Islamists. So probably there is no way on turning this country to Western system of good and bad.

On these photos you can see Russian soldiers together with Afghani ones, and some scenes from everyday life in 1983.

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