The Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989) was a decade-long conflict between Soviet-backed Afghan government forces and Islamic guerrilla fighters known as the mujahideen. It became one of the defining proxy wars of the Cold War, devastating Afghanistan and hastening the decline of the Soviet Union.
After a 1978 communist coup, Afghanistan’s new regime, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, faced internal divisions and broad rural rebellion. On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union intervened to protect its faltering ally, assassinated President Hafizullah Amin, and installed Babrak Karmal as head of state. Moscow sought to stabilize Afghanistan and preserve socialist influence on its southern border, invoking the Brezhnev Doctrine.
Roughly 100,000 Soviet troops occupied major cities while mujahideen guerrillas dominated rural areas. The insurgents used ambushes and mountain warfare, supplied by U.S., Saudi, and Pakistani intelligence agencies through Operation Cyclone. Soviet forces relied on heavy air power and scorched-earth tactics, which caused mass civilian casualties and displacement. The 1987 introduction of U.S.-made FIM-92 Stinger missiles crippled Soviet air superiority and shifted the war’s momentum.
The invasion ended détente, leading the United States to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics and increase defense spending. For the USSR, the war drained economic and political resources; leader Mikhail Gorbachev later called it “a bleeding wound.” Under the 1988 Geneva Accords, Soviet troops withdrew by February 1989, leaving behind a weakened Afghan government.
The conflict killed over a million Afghans, displaced millions more, and destroyed infrastructure. It fostered transnational jihadist networks that later included Osama bin Laden and contributed to regional instability. The war’s cost and unpopularity undermined Soviet legitimacy, accelerating the USSR’s collapse in 1991.