Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/realtimehistory
Christmas 1979. Soviet armor pours across the Afghan border towards Kabul as helicopters secure the mountain passes through the Hindukush mountains. In Moscow, the Politburo has decided to save Afghanistan’s communist government from collapse. Afghan rebels have taken up arms against the unpopular regime and control most of the countryside. But the Red Army leadership doubts it can pacify the country – so why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan?
» SUPPORT US
https://patreon.com/realtimehistory
https://nebula.tv/realtimehistory
» THANK YOU TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS
Charles Shananaquet II, Bruce D, Rose Flaglor, Reed Spilmann, Jim Frame, Erik Ritter, Cardboard, Ken Brownfield, David Garfinkle, Raymond Martin, Konstantin Bredyuk, Lisa Anderson, Brad Durbin, Jeremy K Jones, Murray Godfrey, John Ozment, Stephen Parker, Mavrides, Kristina Colburn, Stefan Jackowski, Cardboard, William Kincade, William Wallace, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Malcolm Swan, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, James Giliberto, Albert B. Knapp MD, Tobias Wildenblanck, Richard L Benkin, Marco Kuhnert, Matt Barnes, Ramon Rijkhoek, Jan, Scott Deederly, gsporie, Kekoa, Bruce D. Hearns, Hans Broberg, Fogeltje
» SOURCES
Braithwaite, Rodric. “Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89” Oxford University Press, 2011.
Coll, Steve. “Ghost Wars: The secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001” Penguin Books, 2004.
Dimitrakis, Panagiotis. “The Secret War in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union, China and Anglo-American Intelligence in the Afghan War” L.B. Tauris, 2013.
Dupree, Louis. “Afghanistan” Princeton University Press, 1980.
Galeotti, Mark. “Storm-333 KGB and Spetsnaz seize Kabul, Soviet Afghan War 1979” Osprey Publishing, 2021.
Grad, Marcela. “Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader” Webster University Press, 2009.
Grau, Lester W. “The Take-Down of Kabul: An Effective Coup de Main” GlobalSecurity.org, 2002 https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2002/MOUTGrau.htm#_ftn1
Jalali, Ali Ahmad. “A military history of Afghanistan: from the Great Game to the Global War on Terror” University Press of Kansas, 2017.
Leake, Elisabeth. “Afghan Crucible: The Soviet Invasion and the Making of Modern Afghanistan” Oxford University Press, 2022.
Penter, Tanja/Meier, Esther (Eds.). “Sovietnam – Die UdSSR in Afghanistan 1979-1989” Ferdinand Schöningh, 2017.
Radchenko, Sergey. “To Run the World: The Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power” Cambridge University Press, 2024.
Misdaq, Nabi. “Afghanistan: Political frailty and external interference” Routledge, 2006
Tomsen, Peter. “The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers” PublicAffairs, 2013.
Bakhtar News Agency, “We took power on the basis of politcal, social honesty: Taraki”, Kabul Times, Vol XVII, No 110 (3 August 1978)
Зубок, В. М. “Неудавшаяся империя: Советский Союз в Холодной войне от Сталина до Горбачева” РОССПЭН, 2011.
Ляховский, Александр. “Трагедия и доблесть Афгана” Искона, 1995
Меримский, В.А. “Загадки афганской войны” Вече, 2006.
Евгений Чернышев, Дневник https://corpus.prozhito.org/notes?date=“1979-01-01”&diaries=[3872]
Христофоров В.С., Гусева Ю.Н. Военная стратегия Советского Союза в Афганистане: просчеты планирования и общественное неприятие // QUAESTIO ROSSICA. 2020. Vol. 8, № 2. С. 382–398.
»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Philipp Appelt
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Research by: Florian Wittig, Sofia Shirogorova
Fact checking: Florian Wittig, Sofia Shirogorova
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster
Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance, and Reuters
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
Music Library: Epidemic Sound
All photos and film in our documentaries are authentic historical footage. We do not use generative AI to create new assets. However, we may use AI tools to upscale or clean up certain assets without distorting or compromising the original image.
All rights reserved – Real Time History GmbH 2025
I hope this won't be on the quiz!
Danke!
I see that my view of the conflict was too simple. I simply thought it was the Soviet Union aiding the Communist Afghan government against the Mujahadeen, I didn't know they invaded and toppled the government in a coup and installed a new leader.
Very good; too short!
The terminology is completely wrong
It was the US and it's blind hate for the Soviets that allowed the Islamists to take over Afghanistan. Look at the problems the US caused. In fact the US involvement in any conflicts have caused a vacuum in political leadership, which precipitates the Islamist and communist takeovers.
This video is dedicated to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan
Ich liebe eure Dokus, Geschichte kommuniziert wie es sein muss!
Russia went in to Afghanistan because the United States government had bought off the Afghan government. They become puppets. of the United States instead of Russia, we was training terrorists in the mujahideen in Afghanistan. That's why Russia went in to regain control..
look at these once great countries, communism does not work. Seems Muslim Brotherhood wins without spending a cent