# Invasion of Afghanistan (1979)

URL: https://history-russia.com/timeline/1979-invasion-of-afghanistan
Categories: battle

Soviet troops entered Afghanistan on 24-27 December 1979, killed President Hafizullah Amin and installed Babrak Karmal. The war against the mujahideen lasted nine years and cost about 15,000 Soviet lives and far more Afghan ones. The US and others boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The war drained the USSR and damaged its international standing.

## Why it matters
The war drained the USSR and damaged its international standing.

Ruler at the time: [Leonid Brezhnev](https://history-russia.com/rulers/leonid-brezhnev)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Soviet–Afghan War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War)
- [Wikipedia — Era of Stagnation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Era_of_Stagnation)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Invasion of Afghanistan](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Invasion+of+Afghanistan)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Russian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history)