The Soviet Invasion: December 1979

Following Amin's seizure of power, Brezhnev order the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

• Although Amin was a communist, USSR did not trust hi,. The Soviet secret police reported he was an American spy. Unpopular with a large number of Muslims and Brezhnev feared Muslim groups would take control of the country. 
• USSR concerned that Afghan would become an Islamic State and influence nearby Soviet republics. Islamic States are not communist and so they would have no reason to link with Russia. 
• Brezhnev believed that America would tolerate the invasion as it had done in Czechoslovakia, to avoid war. 

Soviet troops killed Amin and his supporters and Karmal was declared President. Yet the invasion was a disaster for both. It lasted 10 years and around 1.5 million died including 15000 Russian soldiers.