Afgantsy

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979.  It was supposed to be a swift operation to install a loyal communist government.  The Soviets were initially successful in gaining control of the cities and major infrastructure but became bogged down and flummoxed fighting against mujahideen guerillas in Afghanistan’s rugged mountains.  The Soviet – Afghan War went on for ten years and cost the Soviet army an estimated 15,000 dead.  After the Soviets withdrew, the government they were backing in Kabul collapsed three years later.  The former British ambassador to Moscow, Rodric Braithwaite, tells the Soviet side of the story in, “Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89”.