The Soviet-Afghan War

In this blog, I will discuss the Soviet-Afghan War and Mikhail Gorbachev’s effect on the War. I will then look into how war has evolved through the development of modern war technologies. Could Russia have won the Soviet-Afghan War with today’s technological advancements?

The Soviet War in Afghanistan

The USSR entered neighboring Afghanistan in 1979, attempting to shore up the newly-established pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. In short order, nearly 100,000 Soviet soldiers took control of major cities and highways. Rebellion was swift and broad, and the Soviets dealt harshly with the Mujahideen rebels and those who supported them, leveling entire villages to deny safe havens to their enemy. Foreign support propped up the diverse group of rebels, pouring in from Iran, Pakistan, China, and the United States. In the brutal nine-year conflict, an estimated one million civilians were killed, as well as 90,000 Mujahideen fighters, 18,000 Afghan troops, and 14,500 Soviet soldiers. (Taylor, 2014)

The Soviet Union’s decision to invade Afghanistan was influenced by former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev’s foreign policy commonly known as the Brezhnev Doctrine and more formally presented in an official document known as “Sovereignty and the International Obligations of Socialist Countries” that was published in 1968 in Pravda, calling on the Soviet Union to intervene in countries where socialist rule was under threat (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018). This caused a resistance in Afghanistan, particularly in the countryside, where Mujahideen opposed such control – they viewed it as the degradation of Islam culture and religion. Mujahideen used guerilla tactics and were later supplied in 1987 with weapons from the United States – at which point then Soviet leader Gorbachev decided upon the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1988. It was the first Soviet military expedition beyond the Eastern bloc since World War II and marked the end of a period of improving relations (known as détente) in the Cold War (History.com Editors, 2009).

The greatest victory is that which requires no battle

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Gorbachev’s Input into the War

The Brezhnev Doctrine was used to justify the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and remained in effect until Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985. Gorbachev enacted a change in politics, withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in 1988, and he later refused to intervene as a wave of democratization swept through Eastern Europe. Gorbachev implemented political settlement in Afghanistan, and agreed to eliminate intermediate- and shorter-range missiles to be followed by other major steps towards disarmament (Daley, 1989). Even today, an aged Gorbachev is conflict averse, speaking to the BBC he mentions that states and nations have sufficient reserves of responsibility, political will and determination to put an end to all regional conflicts within a few years. He fears the prospect of nuclear warfare and another potential Cold War.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWMuULcb0sk

How War has Changed

After the Cold War ended, the world hoped for an era of peace. But things turned out differently. Now, 30 years after the historic fall of the Berlin Wall that shifted power balances, wars are more complex than ever (Deutsche Welle, 2019). The introduction of modern warfare technologies has changed warfare. Armament engineering involves the design of military systems, with military weapons evolving from stone tools, to gunpowder, and to modern technology that includes combat drones and nuclear warfare. A report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute suggests Russia has dramatically increased its military spending on tanks, submarines and stealth planes, almost doubling their spending since 2006 (Van Allen, 2017). More recently, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US has been developing everything from humanoid robots, to bullets that are able to change path before reaching their target (En.wikipedia.org, 2020).

Russian military engineers made three warfare technological breakthroughs in 2019 (Rozin, 2020). The first was the invention of one of the world’s largest military drones called ‘Okhotnik’ which can hurtle towards a target at up to 1,000 km/h.

The Kalashnikov Concern revealed a new UAV system ‘ZALA Lancet’ in 2019, a small suicide drones' platform with bombs aboard that explode when the drone smashes into an enemy target. It is equipped with several targeting systems and also transmits video, which is used to confirm a successful strike. (Rozin, 2020)

And finally, a military technology that focuses on saving rather than taking lives. It’s a search-and-rescue drone called ‘Aurora’ with AI that can independently identify a drowning person in water, urgently sail to them and transform into a life-raft right in front of them. (Rozin, 2020)

Despite these impressive warfare advancements, war itself has the potential to become increasingly worse. Trade wars and resource conflicts have been prevalent in the 21st century, and the highs of the nuclear weapon stockpiles of the Cold War show us that nuclear warfare is never too far away. As Mikhail Gorbachev once said against Reagan’s missile defense programme, “What we need is Star Peace and not Star Wars”.

References:

1. Daley, T. (1989). Afghanistan and Gorbachev's Global Foreign Policy. [online] Rand.org. Available at: https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers-soviet/OPS015.html

2. Deutsche Welle. (2019). How war has changed since 1989 | DW | 08.11.2019. [online] Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/how-war-has-changed-since-1989/a-51136876

3. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Brezhnev Doctrine | Definition, Significance, & Facts. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Brezhnev-Doctrine#ref1254351

4. En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Military technology. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_technology

5. History.com Editors. (2009). Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviet-tanks-roll-into-afghanistan

6. Rozin, I. (2020). TOP 3 Best Russian Military Tech of 2019. [online] Rbth.com. Available at: https://www.rbth.com/science-and-tech/331514-top-3-best-russian-military-tech

7. Sunzi (n.d.). The Art of War.

8. Taylor, A. (2014). The Soviet War in Afghanistan, 1979 - 1989. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/08/the-soviet-war-in-afghanistan-1979-1989/100786/

9. Van Allen, F. (2017). Russia's deadliest new war machines. [online] CNET. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/pictures/russias-deadliest-new-war-machines/