The Afghanistan war and the breakdown of the Soviet Union

1999 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAFAEL REUVENY ◽  
ASEEM PRAKASH
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The Press ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Systemic Factors ◽  
Perceptions Of Leaders ◽  
The Military

The breakdown of the Soviet Union surprised most scholars of international relations, comparative politics, and Soviet politics. Existing explanations attribute the breakdown of the Soviet Union to the reformist leadership of Gorbachev, and/or to systemic factors. These explanations do not focus on the key contribution of the war in Afghanistan. This is surprising since many scholars view wars as key causal factors in empire breakdown and regime change. We argue that the war in Afghanistan was a key factor, though not the only cause, in the breakdown of the Soviet Union. The war impacted Soviet politics in four reinforcing ways: (1) Perception effects: it changed the perceptions of leaders about the efficacy of using the military to hold the empire together and to intervene in foreign countries; (2) Military effects: it discredited the Red Army, created cleavage between the party and the military, and demonstrated that the Red Army was not invincible, which emboldened the non Russian republics to push for independence; (3) Legitimacy effects: it provided non-Russians with a common cause to demand independence since they viewed this war as a Russian war fought by non Russians against Afghans; and (4) Participation effects: it created new forms of political participation, started to transform the press/media before glasnost, initiated the first shots of glasnost, and created a significant mass of war veterans (Afghansti) who formed new civil organizations weakening the political hegemony of the communist party.

The Human Rights of Foreign Labor

Worldview ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-9
Author(s):  
Steven Charnovitz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Reagan Administration ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Foreign Labor ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The Press ◽  
Developed World ◽  
New Criteria

Little noticed by the press. United States trade policy is undergoing significant changes aimed at promoting the rights of workers in foreign countries—changes achieved through the use of both a carrot and a stick. The carrot, now being offered to the less-developed world, is dutyfree access to the U.S. market for qualifying products exported by countries that meet certain new criteria on bbor. The stick is a ban on imports made by forced labor— something the Reagan administration is under increasing pressure to invoke against the Soviet Union. While it is too early to gauge the success of such attempts at exercising economic leverage, they may yet become a milestone in the march of human rights.

scholarly journals PATRIOTIC EDUCATION OF S.AMANZOLOV OV DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
А.А. Oskembay ◽  
◽  
F.K. Kabdrakhmanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Educational Work ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Patriotic Education ◽  
The Military

The article provides an assessment of the patriotic education of S. Amanzholov's soldiers during the Great Patriotic War. A comprehensive analysis of S. Amanzholov's activities as a political leader is presented. The article provides new data on the use of heroic deeds of Kazakh batyrs by scientists to raise the military spirit of soldiers. During the Great Patriotic War, patriotism became the most important value in Soviet society. Selfless devotion to their Motherland manifested itself among millions of Soviet citizens and became a source of unprecedented mass heroism. From February 1942 to June 1946 S. Amanzholov was on active military service in the ranks of the Soviet Army. He conducted political and educational work among soldiers of non-Russian nationality, published in the Kazakh language the "Notebook of the Red Army Agitator" and leaflets about the heroes of the Soviet Union.

scholarly journals Aviation in the development and defense of the Arctic during the 1920s: military plans, science, propaganda, and fiction

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Andrei Aleksandrovich Mikhailov ◽  
Anastasiya Aleksandrovna Fisheva
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Special Contribution ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Press ◽  
Ideological Influence ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
Northern Territories ◽  
The Military

This article examines the competition for the Arctic territories between the polar regions that unfolded in the 1920s, which required active development of these lands involving airplanes and airships. At that point, of primary import was the layout of trans-Arctic airways and deployment of flight support facilities in the Arctic territories, with the accompanying use of aviation for ice reconnaissance and rescue expeditions. Special attention is given to the study of the Soviet and international experience in elaboration and implementation of programs on the military and economic development of northern territories. The topic of consistent development of the Arctic involving aviation and aerostatics is reflected not only in scientific and economic programs, but also in state propaganda, publicistic writing and literary works. The novelty of this research consists in the comprehensive approach towards the problems of involving aviation in the Soviet Union during the 1920s for the development of the Arctic, and simultaneously, building the military capacity of the state, and collective perception of the ideas of the development of Arctic territories and aviation. The conclusion is made that the processes of development of polar aviation and division of Arctic territories were the so-called catalyst for each other, which by the early 1930s allowed the Soviet Union to consolidate its position of in the Arctic. The authors’ special contribution lies in examination of various genres of the press as a particular group of sources that had an ideological influence upon public consciousness.

scholarly journals «The anti-soviet trotskist organization»: historiographical notes

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-109
Author(s):  
Mikhail Dmitrievich Tochiony
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Military Organization ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Severe Punishment ◽  
The Military

Since 1956, historians, legal scholars and representatives of other social Sciences and Humanities have been trying to understand what happened to the population of our country in the second half of the 30-ies of XX century. Why did people lose common sense and believe in delusional fabrications of I. V. Stalin about the transformation of millions of Soviet citizens who piously believed in the ideals of Marxism-Leninism, into the malignant saboteurs? Why did most of them demand severe punishment of traitors, when the Soviet Newspapers reported the discovery of an enormous conspiracy in the ranks of the Red army? The article is an attempt to assess the General opinions of the so-called military (anti-Soviet Trotskist military organization), which resulted in the shooting of the prominent Soviet military leaders led by M.N. Tukhachevskiy - I.P. Uborevich, I.E. Yakir, A.I. Cork and thousands of brave, talented Soviet soldiers, committed to the cause of socialism. Thus the armed forces of our country, its defense was dealt a severe blow, which, in the opinion of some researchers predetermined the huge losses of the Soviet Union, especially in the first years of Hitler's aggression. We are especially interested in the following aspect of the military - was it fabricated, and the Red Marshal was its innocent victim, or, on the contrary, was it investigated in complete conformity to the law and the perpetrators got the punishment they deserved? The author has assessed the key issues - both liberal-minded researchers and apologists of Stalinism.

scholarly journals The Siege of Leningrad in Estimates of the Press of the USA

2019 ◽  
pp. 123-129
Author(s):  
Dmitriy Surzhik ◽  
Sergey Buranok ◽  
Yaroslav Levin
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
General Growth ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Press ◽  
American Press ◽  
Red Army ◽  
American Media ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Subject

Introduction. In article the analysis of estimates of the American press of the Siege of Leningrad is given. Methods and materials. The authors used the theoretical concepts developed within modern political and historical science. The paper is based on materials of both democratic and republican editions of the U.S. press. Problematic and chronological approach became the methodological basis of the research. Analysis. It is noted that the image of Leningrad passed several stages of development in the American media. Right at the beginning, the American press was more interested in Leningrad front and fights. However, very quickly the attention is reoriented on the city. The heroism of its defenders and ordinary inhabitants is emphasized that influences growth of positive perception of the Red Army. It is noted that the subject of the Siege of Leningrad developed in line with the general growth of interest in the Great Patriotic War in the American media and society. Results. The authors draw conclusions that consecration of the Siege of Leningrad by the American press positively promoted the general growth of trust of Americans to the Soviet Union. Besides, the subject of the Siege of Leningrad and in general “the fighting Russia” became an important link in work of administration of Roosevelt with media for the purpose of strengthening of the American consciousness and patriotism in wartime.

scholarly journals MILITARY PERSONNEL AND REPRESSION OF THE 1930s

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 10-14
Author(s):  
Maxim V. Evstratov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
First Year ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Internal Policy ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Military ◽  
Further Development

The article examines the issue of carrying out Stalinist repressions against the officers of the late 1930s. Separate problematic plots associated with repressions in relation to the command and control and political composition of the Red Army are highlighted. Mass repressions began in the early 1930s. thanks to falsified charges related to the Viasna case. Based on special research literature, the article reveals the reasons and consequences of the peak of repressions against the military, which fell on the period of the disclosure of the so-called «military conspiracy» in 1937. The background of the conspiracy itself was connected with the fact that around J.V. Stalin there were two large opposing forces, consisting of eminent military men, who had different views on the further development of the army. As a result, the «leader» supported KE Voroshilov’s group, and MN Tukhachevsky’s associates were repressed. The article notes that about 40 thousand people from among the commanders suffered from the repressions of 1937-1938. In 1939, by order of JV Stalin, the mass coverage of repression was suspended, as a result, 11,178 people were reinstated in the army. Any interrelated events inevitably have a cause-and-effect relationship. Many historians, discussing the failures of the Soviet Union in the first year of the Great Patriotic War, come to the conclusion that the professionally formed army, which led to successes during the Civil War, was largely destroyed by the internal policy of the state, which was directly related to the repression of the end 1930s. The massive repressions carried out against the commanding and commanding personnel in the pre-war years inflicted great losses on the Red Army. Events of the 1930s became the main reason for personnel problems in the Red Army, which entailed tragic consequences during the Great Patriotic War.

scholarly journals The historical truth about the Great Patriotic War — the imperative of the spiritual life of Russian society (socio-philosophical analysis)

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-96
Author(s):  
V.V. Ksenofontov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Humanitarian Mission ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Historical Truth ◽  
The Military ◽  
Great Victory

On the basis of the principle of unity of the historical and logical, the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union in the defeat of the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War is comprehensively justified. The role of the material and technical base of the USSR in ensuring the Great Victory is proved. The advantage of the military-strategic operations carried out by the Red Army command in comparison with the operations carried out by the Allies during the war is comprehensively justified. The courage and heroism of the Red Army soldiers at all stages of the Great Patriotic War is described in detail; their humanitarian mission during the period of liberation of European countries from fascism is revealed. Argumentatively, the author reveals the failure of attempts to falsify the historical truth about the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

scholarly journals The headquarters of the Supreme command and its role in the unblocking of Leningrad (1941–1944)

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Sergei Lysenkov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Dialectical Materialism ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Military Command ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Military ◽  
The City

Abstract: The subject of the study is information gleaned from documents of the military command, other materials of the great Patriotic war period, revealing the actions of the Supreme command Headquarters and the military Council of the Leningrad front to unblock Leningrad. The chronological order shows the combat actions of the red army troops who defended the city from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944 under the conditions of a military blockade. The reasons and consequences of unsuccessful attempts to break the blockade are analyzed, indicating the combat losses of our troops. It shows the strategic importance of the battle of Leningrad in securing a fundamental turning point in the war of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany. The article uses the method of dialectical materialism, which allowed the author to explore the events and facts associated with the liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade, in their development, relationship and interdependence. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the author considers the combat actions of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts to unblock Leningrad not in the context of the traditional coverage of the breakthrough of the blockade in 1943. and the complete liberation of the city in 1944, and speaks of four more attempts, the first of which was made immediately after the establishment of the blockade in September 1941. unfortunately, none of them reached the goal set by the Stavka, but each attempt created the necessary conditions for success in operations «Iskra» and «Neva-2».

Hero of the Soviet Union A. V. Sidorov, a military topographer

2021 ◽  
Vol 975 (9) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
E.I. Dolgov ◽  
S.V. Sergeev ◽  
A.V. Nikonov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Soviet People ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Military

Military topographers made a significant contribution to achieving the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. For their professionalism, bravery and courage, many of them were submitted to government awards, orders and medals. At war a topographer performs an important and responsible, though not as heroic and risky job as, for example, a pilot or a tanker. Therefore, until recently, it was believed that there were no military topographers among the servicemen honoured with the highest distinction, the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. However, by now, when the archive documents of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry have been fully opened, it is possible to observe the way of our colleague, Alexander Vasilyevich Sidorov, who was assigned the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union in 1943. A. V. Sidorov started his career in 1930 as a civilian topographer of the Central Asian Geodetic Administration (Tashkent). Since 1932, in the Military Topographic Service of the Red Army

The beginning of the great Patriotic war in the memoirs of military surveyors

2020 ◽  
Vol 955 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-58
Author(s):  
A.V. Nikonov ◽  
T.V. Vashchalova ◽  
E.I. Dolgov ◽  
S.V. Sergeev
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Border Zone ◽  
75Th Anniversary ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Military Units

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic war, the events of it continue to live in people’s memory, and its veterans are still the best examples of patriotism and true serving the Motherland. It seems relevant to take a look at the events of the first days of the war with the eyes of their witnesses. The authors describe the events of June and July 1941, presented in the memoirs of the militaries who served in the Red Army Military topographic service, and performed topographic works in the border zone in a significant separation from their military units and staffs. On the basis of the collected material the authors show the participation of topographic units in the fighting of the first days of the war, provide the data on the losses of the Red Army Military topographic service in the starting period of the war. The article is devoted to the memory of the officers and soldiers, who selflessly did their duty in the beginning of the Great Patriotic war.

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