# Canonical recap data for Soviet-Afghan War Begins (1979)
# Source: https://recap.at/1979/soviet-afghan-war
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: soviet-afghan-war
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1979/soviet-afghan-war"
title: Soviet-Afghan War Begins
subtitle: The Soviet invasion ignited a decade-long proxy conflict that drained Moscow's resources, emboldened U.S. Cold War strategy, and destabilised Central Asia for decades.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1979-12-25
datePrecision: day
year: 1979
decade: 1970
country:
name: Afghanistan
slug: afghanistan
summaryShort: The Soviet–Afghan War took place in Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 47-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Communist-led Afghan military fight against the rebelling Afghan mujahideen, aided by Pakistan. While backed by various countries and organizati
summaryLong: The Soviet–Afghan War took place in Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 47-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Communist-led Afghan military fight against the rebelling Afghan mujahideen, aided by Pakistan. While backed by various countries and organizations, the majority of the mujahideen's support came from Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Iran, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, in addition to a large influx of foreign fighters known as the Afghan Arabs. American and British involvement on the side of the mujahideen escalated the Cold War, ending a short period of relaxed Soviet Union–United States relations.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Mortar_attack_on_Shigal_Tarna_garrison%2C_Kunar_Province%2C_87.jpg/1280px-Mortar_attack_on_Shigal_Tarna_garrison%2C_Kunar_Province%2C_87.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Soviet–Afghan War"
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War"
  title: Soviet-Afghan War
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- war
metaDescription: The Soviet–Afghan War took place in Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 47-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Sovie
wikidataQid: Q83085
