Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

E90552

The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan was the 1988–1989 military pullout of Soviet forces that ended their decade-long intervention and marked a major turning point in the late Cold War.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Cold War event
historical event
military withdrawal
agreementWith Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
alsoKnownAs Soviet pullout from Afghanistan
Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
cause domestic opposition within the Soviet Union
high Soviet casualties and costs
international pressure on the Soviet Union
military stalemate in the Soviet–Afghan War
characterizedAs major turning point in the late Cold War
commandedBy Boris Gromov
Valentin Varennikov NERFINISHED
conflict Soviet–Afghan War
country Soviet Union
duration about 9 months
endDate 1989-02-15
followedBy Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)
impact contributed to the decline of Soviet influence in the Third World
encouraged anti-Soviet movements in Eastern Europe
left Najibullah government dependent on Soviet aid
set stage for collapse of Najibullah government in 1992
weakened legitimacy of Soviet interventionism abroad
keyDocument Geneva Accords on Afghanistan
lastCrossingPoint Friendship Bridge over the Amu Darya
lastDayCommanderToCross Boris Gromov
lastUnitToLeave 40th Army of the Soviet Armed Forces
legalBasis Geneva Accords (1988)
location Afghanistan
mediatedBy United Nations
militaryObjective orderly and complete pullout of Soviet forces
numberOfTroopsWithdrawn over 100000
opposedBy hardliners in the Soviet military
orderedBy Mikhail Gorbachev
partOf late Cold War
politicalContext glasnost
perestroika
precededBy Soviet–Afghan War
relatedTo Operation Cyclone
Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence involvement in Afghanistan
U.S. support for Afghan mujahideen
result defeat of the Soviet-backed Afghan government’s war effort
end of Soviet military presence in Afghanistan
major blow to Soviet global prestige
shift in regional balance of power in favor of the Afghan mujahideen
startDate 1988-05-15
supportedBy Mikhail Gorbachev’s reformist leadership

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan ("Soviet pullout from Afghanistan")
Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan ("Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan")
alsoKnownAs
Soviet–Afghan War
result

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