February 15 - Day of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Day of Remembrance of Soldiers-Internationalists

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Russians every year celebrate this date - February 15, the day of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. In 1989, the government of the Soviet Union finally withdrew a limited contingent of troops from the territory of this state. This terrible war, which was silent at first, brought grief and pain to many families.

Almost a decade

The Afghan war for the Soviet people lasted ten years. For our military, it began in 1979, on December 25, when the first soldiers were thrown into Afghanistan. Then the newspapers did not write about it, and the soldiers serving in Afghanistan were forbidden to tell their relatives where they were and what they were doing. And only in 1989, on February 15, did the Soviet troops finally leave the territory of this eastern country. It was a real holiday for our country.

In a terrible and bloody war, a bold point was put. And in the Soviet Union, and later in the Russian Federation and the states - the former republics of the Land of Soviets, they began to celebrate February 15th. Day of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan - notonly an occasion to pay tribute to the memory of those who died in that terrible war. This is also a sign that it is necessary to take care of those who went through a senseless and useless war that lasted almost 3,340 days. Longer than the Great Patriotic War.

Fateful April

The world's progressive community has long called on the Soviet Union to withdraw its military from Afghanistan. All louder such demands began to be heard within the country itself. The negotiations were long and hard. In April 1988, some clarity was achieved. On that day in Switzerland, with the direct participation of representatives of the United Nations, the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan signed the so-called Geneva Accords. They were about finally resolving the unstable situation in Afghanistan.

According to these agreements, the Soviet Union was ordered to withdraw a limited contingent of its troops within 9 months. It was truly a fateful decision.

The withdrawal of troops itself began in May 1988. And the final date for the end of the Afghan war came in 1989. February 15 is the day of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the day when the last Soviet soldier left the territory of this country forever. This is a significant date in the history of our state.

For their part, the United States of America and Pakistan, according to the Geneva agreements, had to stop providing any support to the Mujahideen. True, this condition was violated all the time.

RoleGorbachev

If earlier the Soviet government focused on the use of force to solve the Afghan problem, then after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR, tactics were radically changed. The political vector has changed. Now the policy of national reconciliation has been put at the forefront.

This was the only way to get out of the protracted conflict. Negotiate, convince, don't shoot!

Najibullah Initiatives

At the end of 1987, Mohammad Najibullah became the leader of Afghanistan.

He has worked out a very progressive program for the cessation of hostilities. He offered to start a dialogue and stop shooting, to release militants and those who were opponents of the regime from prisons. He suggested that all parties look for a compromise. But the opposition did not make such concessions, the Mujahideen wanted to fight to the bitter end. Although ordinary fighters strongly supported the option of a truce. They threw down their weapons and happily returned to peaceful work.

It is worth noting that Najibullah's initiatives did not please the United States and other Western countries at all. They were aimed at continuing the fighting. As Colonel General Boris Gromov tells in his memoirs, his units only from July to December 1988 intercepted 417 caravans with weapons. They were sent to the Mujahideen from Pakistan and Iran.

But nevertheless, common sense prevailed, and the decision that Soviet troops should leave Afghanistan for their homeland becamefinal and irrevocable.

Our losses

Since then, every year on February 15 - the Day of Remembrance of the soldiers who died in the Afghan war, is celebrated at the state level in all the republics of the former Soviet Union, whose citizens died in Afghanistan. And the losses in this senseless battle were considerable. Cargo-200 has become familiar to many cities of the Soviet Union. More than 15 thousand of our guys in the prime of their lives died in Afghanistan. At the same time, the Soviet Army suffered the greatest losses. 14,427 people died on the fronts and went missing. Also listed as dead are 576 people who served in the State Security Committee and 28 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. February 15 is the Day of Remembrance for these guys, about those who met their last hour in the distant Afghan land, who did not have time to say goodbye to their mothers and loved ones.

Many military personnel returned from that war with poor he alth. According to official statistics, more than 53,000 people received injuries, concussions and various injuries. They celebrate February 15 every year. The Day of the Internationalist Warrior is an opportunity to meet with fellow soldiers, with those with whom they shared soldier's rations and hid from heavy fire in the gorges, with whom they went on reconnaissance and fought against the "spirits".

Hundreds of thousands of missing Afghans

The inhabitants of Afghanistan also suffered huge losses during this war. There are still no official statistics on this matter. But, as the Afghans themselves say, during the hostilities they died from bullets and shellshundreds of thousands of their compatriots, many missing. But the worst thing is that huge losses among the civilian population happened precisely after our troops left. Today in this country there are about 800 thousand disabled people who were injured during the Afghan war.

Difficulties in care

February 15, Day of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, is celebrated as a public holiday in Russia and other former Soviet republics. Still, for mothers and fathers, there was nothing better than knowing that their son would not be sent to serve in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, in 1989, when the troops were withdrawn, the military leadership experienced great difficulties. On the one hand, the Mujahideen resisted in every possible way. Knowing that February 15 (the day of the withdrawal of Soviet troops) is the final date, they stepped up military operations. They wanted to show the whole world how Soviet soldiers flee, how they leave their wounded and dead. They fired indiscriminately to prove their superiority.

On the other hand, the Kabul leadership was well aware that without the help of the Soviet army, the country would have a very difficult time, and also prevented the withdrawal of troops by certain actions.

Some public figures in the Soviet Union itself reacted ambiguously to the idea of withdrawing troops. They believed that after so many years of war it was impossible to capitulate and leave without victory. It equated to defeat. But only those who never hid from bullets, never lost comrades, could reason like that. As Boris Gromov, commander of the 40th Army in Afghanistan, recalls, no one needed this war. She ishas given our country absolutely nothing but colossal loss of life and great grief.

This date - February 15, Afghanistan Day, has become truly tragic for our country. But at the same time, this February day marked the end of this senseless ten-year war.

Celebration with tears

February 15, Day of the Afghan - solemn and sad, he always passes with tears in his eyes and with pain in his heart. The mothers of those who did not return from the Afghan war are still alive. Standing in the parade are men who were boys in those years and did not understand at all what they were fighting for. Many remained of those who returned from that war not only with crippled souls, but also with inverted destinies.

Our people sacredly honor the feat of those who carried out the state order, risking their lives and he alth. This war is our pain and our tragedy.

Every year, February 15 is a day of remembrance for those who gave their military duty without betraying the oath.