Real Time History

Why The Soviet Union Lost In Afghanistan (Documentary)

Get Nebula with 50% off annual subscription with my link: https://go.nebula.tv/realtimehistory Watch our documentary about the Saigon Embassy Raid exclusively on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/videos/realtimehistory-striking-at-the-heart-of-america-the-saigon-embassy-raid-1968   In February 1989, the last Soviet Combat troops leave Afghanistan after almost a decade of war. Despite military superiority, the super power was not able to establish a stable Moscow-friendly regime in the country. Yet, the mujahedeen are also deeply divided and influenced by outside forces such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Osama Bin Laden. » SUPPORT US https://patreon.com/realtimehistory https://nebula.tv/realtimehistory » THANK YOU TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS Mike Gloudemans, George Durrett, Luis Gonzalez, Mike Cumings, Jr., Charles Shananaquet II, Joel Sanchez, shane cawthon, Andrew Thomas Mooney, Chris Rohde, Bruce D, Jim Frame, Glenn Sugden, Lisa Anderson, George Haramundanis, G S, Kempf Mario, jhgBo8jigr hzufjkl, Gayle Elizabeth, Glenn G Webb, Stephen D Nugent PsyD, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Simen Røste, Amy Williams, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, Josh Bruder, Konstantin Bredyuk, Richard L Benkin, Matt, Rob Carle, Murray Godfrey, Jan, Gage Manthey, Theodore Patrick Shannon, Bruce G. Hearns, Stephanie Schindhelm, Paul Wilcox, Brad Durbin, Fogeltje, » SOURCES Alexievich, Svetlana. “Boys in Zinc” Penguin, 2017. Anas, Abdullah and Tam Hussein. “To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan” Hurst & Company, 2019. Braithwaite, Rodric. "Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89" Oxford University Press, 2011. Campbell, David. "Afghanistan 1979-89: Soviet Paratrooper versus Mujahideen Fighter" Osprey, 2017 Coll, Steve. "Ghost Wars: The secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001" Penguin, 2004 Crile, George “Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History” Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003 Dimitrakis, Panagiotis. "The Secret War in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union, China and Anglo-American Intelligence in the Afghan War" L.B. Tauris, 2013. Gall, Sandy. “Afghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud” Haus Publishing, 2021. Grau, Lester. E. (ed.) "The Bear Went Over The Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan" National Defense University Press, 1996. Gorbachev, Mikhail. “Selected Speeches and Articles” Progress Publishers, 1987. Hershberg, James G. (ed.). “CWIHP Bulletin No. 8/9 (Winter 1996): The Cold War in the Third World and the Collapse of Detente in the 1970s” Cold War International History Project, 1996. Jalali, Ali Ahmad. "A military history of Afghanistan: from the Great Game to the Global War on Terror" University Press of Kansas, 2017. Jalali, Ali Ahmad and Lester E. Grau. “The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War” USMC Studies and Analysis Division, 1998. Kaplan, Robert D. “Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan” Knopf Doubleday, 2001. Leake, Elisabeth. "Afghan Crucible: The Soviet Invasion and the Making of Modern Afghanistan" Oxford University Press, 2022 Maley, William. “The Afghanistan Wars – Third Edition” Red Globe Press, 2021. Rashid, Ahmed. “Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (2nd Edition)” Yale University Press, 2010. Urban, Mark. „War in Afghanistan Second Edition” Macmillan, 1990. Tamarov, Vladislav. “Afghanistan – A Russian Soldier’s Story” Ten Speed Press, 1992 Бруня, Александра. "Выживший. История десантника из легендарной 9-й роты" 59.ru, 2 августа 2020 https://59.ru/text/world/2020/08/02/69399712/ »CREDITS Presented by: Jesse Alexander Written by: Jesse Alexander Director: Toni Steller Editing: Toni Steller Motion Design: Toni Steller Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com Research by: Florian Wittig, Sofia Shiorogova, Mohammadreza Karami Fact checking: Florian Wittig Executive Producer: Florian Wittig Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance, and Reuters Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3 Music Library: Epidemic Sound All photos and film in our documentaries are authentic historical footage. We do not use generative AI to create new assets. However, we may use AI tools to upscale or clean up certain assets without distorting or compromising the original image. All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2026