Photos of Afghanistan During 1970's & 1980's

About 35 years ago, the Soviet Union took back its last soldiers from Afghanistan. This marked the end of over nine years where the Soviet Union was heavily involved in the country. The Soviet Union went into Afghanistan, its neighbor, in 1979 because it wanted to support the new government in Kabul that liked the Soviet Union. Quickly, about 100,000 Soviet soldiers took over the big cities and main roads. But many people in Afghanistan didn't like this and fought back. The Soviet soldiers fought very hard against the Afghan fighters, known as Mujahideen, and the local people who helped them. They even destroyed whole villages to stop their enemies from hiding there. Countries like Iran, Pakistan, China, and the USA helped the Mujahideen by giving them things they needed to fight. The war was very violent, and around one million ordinary people, 90,000 Mujahideen fighters, 18,000 Afghan soldiers, and 14,500 Soviet soldiers died. After the Soviet Union left, Afghanistan had more fighting, and eventually, the Taliban took control in 1996. Now, as NATO soldiers are also planning to leave Afghanistan, people there are worried about what will happen next. Meanwhile, the whole world is also paying attention to Russia's actions in Ukraine, making it a good time to remember the war between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan that ended 25 years ago.

 

Civilian sitting on a rug

 

Helicopter about to land

 

Smiling Afghanistan civilians

Group of huddled Afghani civilians

Army tanks in Afghanistan

Walking through the snow in winter in Afghan

Army Truck in field

Army planes in hanger

Army soldier with rifle

 

Army soldiers on horses

Soldiers on motorbikes

Soldier carrying gear

 

War fields in Afghanistan