The Soviet Union's Risky Venture: The War in Afghanistan

Bob: Terrific

United Kingdom on Dec 26, 2023

Dana: It is a good insight into what is
currently happening in the Ukraine. Worth the read if you are interested in the ongoing proxy war.

Canada on Apr 14, 2022

johnmurphy: You will not find a better account of Russia's suicidal conflict in Afghanistan (1979-89) than The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan by Gregory Feifer. Unlike too many books on modern war, Feifer contributes extensive notes and a full bibliography to accompany his superb account of Russia's "internationalist struggle" to buttress the Afghan Marxist government of President Babrak Karmal, who previously had been the boss of the ruthless KHAD secret police, the Afghan "mini-me" of Russia's KGB. Feifer successfully blends a riveting account of the war with affecting accounts of individual Russians in combat, like the gallant duo Valery Vostrotin, of the 345th Separate Parachute Regiment, and the helicopter pilot Vladimir Kostiuchenko. Gregory Feifer's The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan merits comparison with the very best accounts of men at war, like Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War and the beloved accounts of our Civil War by Bruce Caton and Shelby Foote. Cheers, Professor John F Murphy

United States on Feb 17, 2022

David Freydkin: The Soviet-Afghan War from 1979 to 1989 has gone down in history as one of the more obscure wars. However, the war and its historical significance really does not get the recognition and analysis that it merits. I really believe that if more attention were paid to that war, the mistakes of the NATO war in Afghanistan would not have been repeated.

The Soviet government, led by Premier Leonid Brezhnev during 1979, invaded Afghanistan for various reasons. Firstly, there was an Islamic revolution approximately one month prior in neighboring Iran. Due to the Muslim majorities in Soviet Central Asia and parts of the Caucasus, the Soviet leadership feared that the Islamic revolution would spread to those parts and incite rebellion against their Communist leadership and policies. Secondly, the Communist Afghan government requested Soviet assistance in putting down rebellions. Due to this also being the Cold War, the Soviets figured they would appear weak and unreliable to the developing world if they failed to assist fellow Communists in such countries. Also, access to Afghanistan would be tactically significant to the Soviets as it would allow them to be closer to the Persian...

United States on Oct 17, 2021

David Smith: The perfect level of details for an incredibly complex war. The choice to touch on individual stories of soldiers was really quite essential to get a grasp on life in the USSR military.

United States on Jun 28, 2018

michele petrucci: interessantissimo con tantissime cose mai sapute sulla stampa italiana che tragedia ! facile lettura chissà se lo hanno letto quelli che ci hanno mandato i nostri soldati

Italy on Mar 13, 2017

No bike, no fun: This is a great book about the Soviet War in Afghanistan... if you need information about the last years of the Red Army, you must read it.

Spain on Jan 10, 2017

Arkansaw Traveler: Several of the other reviews are accurate in informing the prospective reader of the book's content, so I will confine my remarks to several additional points. This is not the definitive work, but is almost the first book to come out based on recent Soviet archival material release (& personal inverviews) to give Western readers an appreciation of the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan and the reasons why they went into the country. No doubt other works will appear in the coming years to flesh out the story in a very scholarly fashion, but this one will do for now.

Communist doctrine was a poor fit in Afghanistan due to a missing element -- there was and still is essentially no proletariat (e.g. no workers.) That immediately brings in the question as to how Mao was successful in China (or Stalin in the Soviet Union) for that fact, but neither had to contend with a very strong religious presence which governed the lives of the people. Simply put, Communism was unable to supplant the Islam and Islamic Law. It now remains to be seen if the United States will do any better with its attempt to impose a nationwide secular democracy. The forces against the U.S. are the same as...

United States on Aug 27, 2009

L. Aßmann: Bezieht sich auf das AUDIOBOOK; das Audiobook steht und fällt mit der Stimme. Der Leser verschluckt in seinem Deep Throat English oft ganze Satzendungen. Singsang ist garnicht vorhanden, sodass es schwer fällt sich in die Stimmung der Soldaten zu versetzen.
Rein Inhaltlich muss man sagen, hat der Autor im Großen und Ganzen eigentlich nur die Erlebnisberichte einiger Soldaten wiedergegeben, was aber einen tiefen Einblick vermittelt ( daher 2 Sterne und nicht 1), aber wenn man einen Abriß über den Afghanistan-Einsatz sucht, ist man hier an der falschen Stelle. Chronologisch und Analytisch bietet das Buch garnichts; wir hören nichts über die Strategie der Soviets, was sich im Politbüro alles abgespielt hat ( während des Krieges), wie die russische Öffentlichkeit das Problem wahrgenommen hat; Der Autor verliert sich in Details der afghanischen Provinzmentalität, aus der das Buch nicht herauszukommen scheint. Man muss ja bis CD 5-6 warten, bis das Buch aus dem Geplänkel wie denn der Regierungspalast gestürmt wurde, herauskommt. Zu schwach für eine Thematik, die gerade uns Deutsche moment sehr interessiert.

Germany on Mar 16, 2009