History 27/12/19 Why the Soviet government was against the deployment of troops in Afghanistan
In early December, 1979 at a regular meeting of the Politburo it was decided to send to Afghanistan, the special detachment of the GRU. Thus began the notorious Afghan conflict. However, just a few months before, the representatives of the party elite, including Leonid Brezhnev, spoke out against the invasion of the Republic.
Requests the Afghan Secretary General
One of the biggest anti-government riots broke out in Afghanistan on 15 March 1979. According to Alexander Okorokov, author of the encyclopedia “the Secret wars of the USSR”, in Herat, rebels attacked government and party institutions, dealt with members of the PDPA (people’s democratic party of Afghanistan). The situation was complicated by the fact that dissatisfied joined about 5 thousand soldiers of the garrison of the 17th infantry division of the Afghan. They also supplied the rebels with weapons. About this fact in a telephone conversation told Alexei Kosygin, the Secretary-General of the PDPA Nur Muhammad Taraki.
desperately Taraki asked the Soviet government to enter into the country. If you believe Rudolf pihoya, the author of the publication “the Soviet Union: history of power. 1945-1991”, Kosygin suggested that the tharaka try to enlist the support of local residents, in particular representatives of the proletariat. However, according to the Afghan Secretary General, at that time the population was under the rule of the Shiite slogans. And the workers in Herat almost was not: among the 200-250 thousand citizens those were only about 1-2 thousand people. Taraki had assured Kosygin that the Herat’s fall and the rebels will move to Kabul. Therefore, Taraki insisted on the use of Land and Air forces of the USSR.
against All
However, first Moscow such requirements on the part of Taraki reacted at least moderately. However, without attention to the situation in AFganistan party leaders have left. March 19, 1979, held a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, during which they discussed the Afghan issue. As stated in the book “Afghan. Territory war” (compiled by Tatyana Piskunova), Leonid Brezhnev spoke out strongly against the invasion of the Republic. The General Secretary said: “We now ought not to get involved in this war.” Their point of view, Brezhnev argued that such actions “could harm not only us, but first and foremost to them.”
Leonid Ilyich was supported by all, including Yuri Andropov and Andrei Gromyko. Andropov, whose words are quoted in the book of Fedor Razzakov “Life of wonderful times. 1975-1979”, said he carefully thought over and came to the conclusion that “to keep the revolution” in Afghanistan is only possible with “use bayonets”, which is absolutely unacceptable. “We can’t take that risk” – concluded his speech the Chairman of the KGB. Gromyko said that the Soviet Union in the case of the invasion will take on the role of aggressor. “All of the non-aligned countries will be against us,” said Gromyko.
Change of position
Meanwhile, the situation in Afghanistan is complicated. But even after the seizure of power in Kabul, Moscow’s position has not changed for a long time. Taraki is increasingly demanded of the invasion. In the end, the Soviet government made the first assignment. Leonid Mlechin writes in his book “KGB. The Chairman of the state security. Declassified destiny”, 6 December 1979, the Politburo decided (and on the basis of proposals of the same Yuri Andropov and chief of the General staff Ogarkov) to send to Afghanistan, the special detachment of the GRU, but only “to guard the residence of Amin”.
But then events began to move even faster. In the Resolution of the Politburo No. 176/125 from 12 December 1979, the text of which is given in the book by Yuri Mukhin, “the Afghan front is the Soviet Union. Forgotten victory”, already referred to the endorsement of the views and events expressed by Yuri Andropov, Andrei Gromyko and defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov. We are talking about the invasion of Afghanistan. According to Mukhin, this turn was due to the fact that Amin was “commit atrocities against their own people, and show the deceit in foreign policy.” And this affected the interests of state security of the USSR.
Yulia Popova
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