User:Im a Socialist! What Are You/Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan جمهورية أفغانستان | |||||||||
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| 1978 - 1992 | |||||||||
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| Capital | Kabul | ||||||||
| Common languages | Pashto | ||||||||
| Religion | State atheism | ||||||||
| Government | Socialist Republic, Single-partycommunist state | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
• Established | 1978 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1992 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | AF | ||||||||
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TheDemocratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA)(Arabic:جمهورية أفغانستان) was a self-declaredsocialist state(but often referred to in the West as a "communist state") in theMiddle Eastestablished by the Afghancommunist party,People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)by then leaderNur Muhammad Tarakiin 1978 in theSaur Revolution.From the start the republic ran into conflict with the localmujahideenswhich started what is known as theAfghan civil war.In 1979 theSoviet Unionentered the country to help the communist government, they left however in 1989 after staying in the country in nine years.
After the Soviet withdrawal, the Republic of Afghanistan continued to deal with attacks from theMujahideen.They received funding and arms from the Soviet Union until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. For several years thegovernment armyhad actually increased their effectiveness past levels ever achieved during the Soviet military presence. But the government was dealt a major blow whenAbdul Rashid Dostum,a leading general, switched allegiances to theMujahideenin 1992 and together they captured the city ofKabul.
History[edit]
The Saur Revolution[edit]
| History ofAfghanistan |
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Theemperor of Afghanistan,ShahMohammed Zahir Shah,was overthrown in 1973 by his cousinMohammed Daoud Khanwho established theDaoud Republic of Afghanistan.The Daoud Republic only lasted for 4 years because of shaking government control in the country. Khan was able to take a military coup thanks to theunderground partycommunist partyPeople's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA).After the coup Khan felt he didn't need the party to consolidate power any longer and ordered a crack down on the party. Because of this the PDPA seized power in amilitary coupin 1978 which is best known as theSaur Revolution.
Reforms and oppression[edit]
After seizing the control of the country the beginning of new reforms started. Such reforms such as nostate religion,declaring asecular stateand women getting the same rights as men. This met with much critizism from theAfghan population,and led to rebelian by religious fanatics in the country. This would eventually lead to theAfghan civil warand theSovietintervention inAfghanistan.[1]
Once in power, the PDPA implemented asocialist agenda.It moved to promotestate atheism.[2]Men were obliged to cut beards, women were banned from wearing theburqa,andmosqueswere placed off limits. It carried out an ambitiousland reform,waiving farmers' debts countrywide and abolishingusury- intended to release the poorer farmers fromdebt peonage.[3]
The newcommunist governmentof Afghanistan moved to prohibittraditional practiceswhich were deemedfeudalby the Government. They bannedbride priceandforced marriageamong others and the minimum age for marriage was raised. The government stressed to marketingeducation in the country.Education was stressed for both men and women and the government sett up antiliteracyprogrammes in the country.[4]
These new reforms were not well-received by the majority of the Afghan population (particularly inrural areas). As many saw it was un-Islamic and was seen as a forced approach towestern culturein Afghan society. This same problem had happened earlier inAfghan historyhad happened earlier in 19 and 20-century. Because of this much resentment with the government's new "western like" programme and the manner in which it was imposed, along with widespreadrepression,provoked the tribal and religious leaders.[4]The urban population in Afghanistan supported themodernizationof the community and country but was against the Soviet occupation of the country.[5]
The Soviet Union was at the start reluctent to invade or give send troops to Afghanistan. TheSoviet governmentat the start of the revolution didn't know enough about the situation in Afghanistan, so their analysis of the situation was done through theMarxist-Leninistdoctrine.At the start the Soviet government never gave much attention to thetraditionaltribalissues in Afghanistan. Because they felt that the tribes would easly fall for the newcommunist ideasin the country. Soviet party ideologuesMikhail SuslovandBoris Ponomarevcalled Afghanistan a "second Mongolia." This led to various attempts to imposenew socialandeconomic reformsonAfghan society.This would eventually lead to forcedland reformsin Afghanistan.[6]
The Soviet Union didn't know much aboutIslamsinfluential role of in Afghanistan, because their were very few experts on Islam or any other religion for that matter in the Soviet Union and theiracademic institutions.Because of this the leadership of the Soviet government was poorly informed about the strength of Islam in the Afghan population. When theSoviet armed forcesinvaded Afghanistan in 1979 the political and military leaders were suprised to find out that they were seen as "Afghanis foreign invaders" and "infidels" by the majority of the Afghan population. Later reports from the Soviet officials their showed growing awairness of the religious factor in the country.[6]
Soviet war in Afghanistan[edit]
The Soviet Union decided to intervene militarily in Afghanistan in order to preserve the communist regime their. Based on information from theKGB,Soviet leaders felt thatpresidentHafizullah Amindestabilized the situation in Afghanistan after the coup against former PresidentNur Muhammad Taraki,the KGB station in Kabul warned that his leadership would lead to "harsh repressions, and as a result, the activation and consolidation of the opposition."[7]
The Soviet Union established a special commission on Afghanistan, of KGBchairmanYuri Andropov,Ponomaryev from theCentral CommitteeandDimitry Ustinov,theMinister of Defense.In late April 1978, they reported that Amin was purging his opponents, including Soviet loyalists; Amin's loyalty toMoscowwas in question; and that he was seeking diplomatic links withPakistanand possibly thecommmunist statePeople's Republic of China.Specific concern were Amin's secret meetings with the US chargé d'affaires J. Bruce Amstutz, which, while never amounting to any agreement between Amin and theUnited States,sowed suspicion in theKremlin.[8]
Information obtained by the KGB from its agents in Kabul provided the last arguments to eliminate Amin; supposedly, two of Amin's guards killed the former president Taraki with a pillow, and Amin was suspected to be aCIAagent.The latter, however, is still disputed: Amin repeatedly demonstrated official friendliness to the Soviet Union. SovietGeneralVasily Zaplatin, a political advisor at that time, claimed that four of President Taraki's ministers were responsible for the destabilization. However, Zaplatin failed to emphasize this enough.[9]
By the mid-1980s, the Afghanresistance movement,assisted by the United States,Pakistan,Saudi Arabia,theUnited Kingdom,PRCand others, contributed toMoscow's high military costs and strained international relations. The US viewed the conflict in Afghanistan as an integralCold Warstruggle, and the CIA provided assistance to anti-Soviet forces through thePakistani intelligence services,in a program calledOperation Cyclone.[10][11]
Soviet withdrawal[edit]
TheSoviet governmentrealized early on that a military solution to the conflict could not work. Because of this they had discussions about troop withdrawal and the search for a political peaceful solution as early as 1980. But they never took any serious steps in that direction until 1988. Early Soviet military reports confirms the difficulties the Soviet army had while fighting on the mountainous terrain, for which the Soviet Army had no training whatsoever. Parallels between theVietnam Warwas frequently referred to by Soviet army officers.[6]
Before the Soviet withdrawal they signed theGeneva Accordswas a formall agreement between theSoviet Unionand its allies and theAfghanistanand their allies. The agreement was sifned on 14 April, 1988 betweenPakistanandAfghanistanwith theUnited Statesand theSoviet Unionserving asguarantors.[12]
The accords consisted of several instruments: a bilateral agreement between the Republic of Afghanistan and theIslamic Republic of Pakistanon the principles of mutual relations, in particular on non-interference and non-intervention; a declaration on international guarantees, signed by theSoviet Unionand theUnited States;a bilateral agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the voluntary return ofAfghan refugees;and an agreement on the interrelationships for the settlement of the situation relating to Afghanistan, signed by Afghanistan and Pakistan and witnessed by the Soviet Union and the United States. They also came to agreement about the Soviet Unions withdrawal, it started on 15 May, 1988 and ended on 15 February, 1989, offically ending theSoviet war in Afghanistan.[12]
The whole time during the Soviet withdrawal over the border troop convoys were coming under attack byAfghan fighters.In all 523 Soviet soldiers were killed during the withdrawal. The total withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed in February, 1989.[13]The last Soviet soldier to leave wasLieutenant GeneralBoris Gromovleader of the Soviet military operations in Afghanistan at the time of the Soviet invasion.[14]
Civil war continues — 1989—1992[edit]
After the Soviet withdrawal, the Republic of Afghanistan continued to deal with attacks from theMujahideen.They received funding and arms from the Soviet Union until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.[15]For several years thegovernment armyhad actually increased their effectiveness past levels ever achieved during the Soviet military presence. But the government was dealt a major blow whenAbdul Rashid Dostum,a leading general, switched allegiances to theMujahideenin 1992 and together they captured the city ofKabul.
Economy[edit]
TheSoviet invasion of Afghanistanand the ensuingcivil wardestroyed much of the country's limitedinfrastructureand disrupted normal patterns ofeconomic activity,and eventually Afghanistan went from a traditional economy to acentrally planned economyup until 2001 when it was replaced by a freemarket economy.Gross domestic producthas fallen substantially since the 1980s due to disruption oftradeandtransportas well as loss of labor and capital. Continuing internal strife severely hampered domestic efforts to rebuild the nation or provide ways for the international community to help.[16]
TheGross National Product (GNP)according to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan wasAfghan Afghani (AFN)154.3 billion in 1981 which was a drop, since in 1978 the GPD was AFN 159.7 billion. ANF fell from AFN 7,370 in 1978 to AFN 6,852 in 1982, based on estimated population of 15 million in GNP per capita.[17]
The most dominant economic activity in the republic wasAgriculture.It provided more than 63% of the total domestic product (GPD) in 1981.Over 50% of the labor force in Afghanistan worked with agriculture. Their biggest agriculture exports werewheat,corn,rice,fruits,nuts,andvegetables.The Afghanindustrycontributed to 21% of the total GDP in 1982 and employed more then 10% of the labor force in the country. As in alle communist countries, the industry wasgovernment-owned.The main export wasnatural gas,textiles,andfood processing.[17]
In total their export was aboutUSD707.7 million in 1982, dobbeling the 1978 figure. Their biggest exports were as following: natural gas,dried fruits,carpetsandrugs,andkarakul sheep skins.The countries import was about USD 695 million in 1982, 50% higher than it was in 1978. The biggest import were as following:machinery,manufactured goods,and refinedpetroleum products.There were also imported muchfood,bothcommercialand aidfinanced.[17]
Politics[edit]
Government[edit]
After the April coup in 1978, thePeople's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)rose to power. There were two divided factions in this party.Khalqruled the party and the country from 1978-79. The first leader wasNur Mohammad Taraki,who was later killed by second and last leader of the Khalq faction,Hafizullah Amin.The other faction,Parchamruled the country from 1979 til its collapse in 1992. The most important part of the political body of the PDPA was thePolitburo,thesecretariatand thecentral committee,in the government it was theCouncil of Ministers,thePresidiumand at last theRevolutionairy Council.[18]
TheGovernmentandpolitical structureof Afghanistan had been copied from theSoviet model.As with allcommunist states,thecommunist partyhad supreme power in thegovernment.Theparty membersgot all the government positions in the country. When the Parcham took governmental power in Afghanistan, the governmental structure was not altered. The biggest change was that the Khalqies was forced of from their governmental positions and replaced by Parchams.[18]
When the Soviet Unionoccupied Afghanistan in 1979they killed Khaq leader Amin and replaced hin withBabrak Karmalthe same year. Karmal's government was more or less apuppet governmentfor the Soviet Union. The Soviets took total control over governmental politics after the invasion until theirwithdrawal in 1989.[18]
Law enforcement[edit]
Administrative divisions[edit]
Foreign relations and military[edit]
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistansforeign affairshad most of its history close ties with theSoviet Union.In total the country wasrecognisedby 8 countries worldwide.[19]The Soviet Union gave the country aid and billions of USD to keep the country going from 1979-1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. The republic had tense relations withPakistan,Iran,People's Republic of China,and theArab World.On the other hand it had generally friendly relations withIndia.TheUnited Nationsannual resolution was pull-out of theSoviet armed forcesin the country. Themujahideenresistance leaders receive weapons and funds fromPakistan,United StatesandUnited Kingdomamong others.[17]While the west didn't have much contact with therepublic,they often had smalldiplomatic missionsin Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation.[20]
Thearmed forcestotal strength in 1985 according to the Afghan government was around 47,000, but its believed to be lower. Thearmyhad around 35-40,000 soldiers,[18]who was mostly conscripts, theair forcehad around 7,000 soldiers. Desertion from the army was common and in 1992 after the fall of the Afghan government the army disindigrated. The Afghan army got most of its equipment from the Soviet Union. The total of Soviet forces active in Afghanistan was estimated from 105,000 to 115,000. The Afghan army cassulties was as high as 50-60,000 and another 50,000 deserted the armed force. The Afghan armies defection rate was about 10,000 per year, the average deserters left the Afghan army after the first five months.[18]There were 60,000combat troops,30,000 to 40,000 support troops, 10,000paratroopersand 5,000air assault troops.[17]Soviet army operations were set inKabul,the Soviet Union controlled all the operations to the Afghan army.[18]
Demographics[edit]
Religion[edit]
One of the few things the differentAfghantribeshave incommonisIslam,while each tribe have a different interpretation to it. There are no otherreligionthat can match Islam in the country, since there are only som scattered minorities in the country. With most of them living inKabuland other major cities. Most of the minorities came to the country astraders.Their are virtually noJewsin Afghanistan by 1985.[21]
In theAfghan civil war between 1978-1992most of the resistance recrutted more soldiers on the basis of theirMuslimidentity. The nameMujahdeeniftranslatedtoenglishis "those waging jihad." Seen by the western worldJihadmeansholy war.All Muslims are obligated to joining Jihad when it happens.[21]
Ethnic groups[edit]
The biggest group in Afghanistan between 1978-1992 was thePushtuns.The Pushtun tribe inGhilzai,the second biggest Pushtun tribe in Afghanistan. They dominated the party politics of thePeople's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)since 1978 to its collapse in 1992. The Pushtun would later dominate party politics to the successor state of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan,Islamic State of Afghanistanwhich collapsed in 1996.[22]The second largest ethnic group in the country is theTajiks.Afghan Tajik during most of their history lived in the Pansjer Valley north of the city ofKabuland in the northeasternprovincesofParwan,Takhar,Badakhshan,BaghlanandSamangan.Tajiks can also be found in their own state ofTajikistan.[23]
Other ethnic groups in Afghanistan are theHazaran,Uzbeks,Turkmens,Arabs,Kirghizs,Wakhis,Farsiwan,Nuristanis,Baluchs,Brahuis,Qizilbashand theJats.[24]
Refugees[edit]
As theAfghan and the Soviet occupation forcesbecame more agressive, refugees from other parts of the country flocked to thecapitol,Kabuland other mayorprovincial cities.While no authentic census was taken, an estimate in the late 1980s, estimated the Kabulpopulationto be around 2 million. 3-4 millionAfghanswere undergovernment authority.Because of this PDPA was able to claim a membership hight of 160,000 thousand, in 1989 after theSoviet withdrawalthe party claimed a membership of 5-10 thousands. While its unclear how many of these members were active in the government andparty politics.The party lured more and more members thanks to foond and fuel supplies which had protected prices.[25]
The refugee problem in therepublicstarted in April, 1978. The first refugees were running from the government, but this would drastically change in the following years. Therefugeenumbers hit a peak in 1981 with over 4 thousand Afghans crossing the border toPakistandaily. In 1989 the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan was 3.2 million and inIran2.2 million. The Afghan population was and is still the biggestethnic groupof refugees in theworld.[26]
References[edit]
- ^Bradsher, Henry S.Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.Durham: Duke Press Policy Studies, 1983. p. 72-73
- ^"The Soviet-Afghan War: Breaking the Hammer & Sickle"(PDF).vfw.org.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help);line feed character in|title=at position 23 (help) - ^John Ishiyama."The Sickle and the Minaret: Communist Successor Parties in Yemen and Afghanistan after the Cold War".The Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA).Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ab"Women in Afghanistan: Pawns in men's power struggles".Amnesty International.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^Isabel Hilton."Personal and Political in Afghanistan".The New York Times.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^abcSvetlana Savranskaya."Volume II: Afghanistan: Lessons from the Last War".The National Security Archive.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^Walker, Martin (1994).The Cold War - A History.Toronto, Canada: Stoddart.
{{cite book}}:Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^Coll, Steven.Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001.New York: Penguin Books, 2004. p. 48.
- ^"ДО ШТУРМА ДВОРЦА АМИНА"(in Russian). zavtra.ru.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"How the CIA created Osama bin Laden".Green Left Weekly.Retrieved2009-03-15.
- ^"1986-1992: CIA and British Recruit and Train Militants Worldwide to Help Fight Afghan War".Cooperative Research History Commons.Retrieved2009-03-15.
- ^ab"United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan".United Nations.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"How Not to End a War".The Washington Post.Retrieved2009-03-13.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"Russia marks Afghanistan retreat".Al Jazeera.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"1988: USSR pledges to leave Afghanistan".BBC News.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"Economy".Afghanistan.com.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^abcde"Afghanistan Country Study".Government Publication Access.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^abcdefJ. Bruce Amstutz."First Five Years of Soviet Occupation".Google Books.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^Afghanistan: Politics, Economics, and Society: Revolution, Resistance, Intervention; page 128
- ^"Afghanistan".US Department of State: Office of the Historian.Retrieved2009-03-16.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ab"Religion".lcweb2.loc.gov.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"Ethnic Groups".lweb2.loc.gov/.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"Tajik".lweb2.loc.gov/.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"A Country Study: Afghanistan".lweb2.loc.gov/.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"Internal Refugees: Flight to the Cities".lcweb2.loc.gov.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^"Refugees and Retatriation".lcweb2.loc.gov.Retrieved2009-03-15.
{{cite web}}:Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links[edit]
- Soviet Air Power: Tactics and Weapons Used in Afghanistanby Lieutenant Colonel Denny R. Nelson
- Library of Congress Country Studyof Afghanistan
- The Cold War international history project- Soviet Documents
- Online Afghan Calendar with Historical dates
- Red Army in Afghanistan