page_title: Soviet–Afghan War
section_title: Soviet personnel strengths and casualties
hierarchical_section_title: Soviet–Afghan War / Impact / Soviet personnel strengths and casualties
caption_attribution_description: English: Soviet Army in Afgan, 1987. Russian Airborne Troops unit. Русский: Ограниченный контингент советских войск в Афганистане. 1987 год, июнь. Разведрота 56-й оДШБр Ограниченного контингента советских войск в Афганистане (ОКСВА) в провинции Вардак на боевом задании в горах (слева лежит снег). Допрос афганца (с бородой; он не был расстрелян, а был отпущен). Описание очевидца бойца Игоря Пешехонова (дословно): "Нас обстреляли с кишлака, мы отразили и пошли туда, взяли дядьку, привели сюда [на место фото] и допросили. А зелёнку в это время обрабатывали, бабая позже отпустили. Оружие сложенное мы вытащили из арыка." На заднем плане по центру, между головами, видна пирамида сложенного крест-накрест трофейного оружия моджахедов: что-то типа старых пистолетов-пулемётов "Томпсон" с отверстиями в стволе. На спине у нашего ближнего бойца автомат АКС.
context_page_description: The Soviet–Afghan War was a conflict wherein insurgent groups as well as smaller Maoist groups, fought a nine-year guerrilla war against the Soviet Army and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government throughout the 1980s, mostly in the Afghan countryside. The mujahideen were variously backed primarily by the United States, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, and the United Kingdom; the conflict was a Cold War-era proxy war. Between 562,000 and 2,000,000 civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran.
  The foundations of the conflict were laid by the Saur Revolution, a 1978 coup wherein Afghanistan's communist party took power, initiating a series of radical modernization and land reforms throughout the country. These reforms were deeply unpopular among the more traditional rural population and established power structures. The repressive nature of the "Democratic Republic", which vigorously suppressed opposition and executed thousands of political prisoners, led to the rise of anti-government armed groups; by April 1979, large parts of the country were in open rebellion.
context_section_description: Between December 25, 1979, and February 15, 1989, a total of 620,000 soldiers served with the forces in Afghanistan (though there were only 80,000–104,000 serving at one time): 525,000 in the Army, 90,000 with border troops and other KGB sub-units, 5,000 in independent formations of MVD Internal Troops, and police forces. A further 21,000 personnel were with the Soviet troop contingent over the same period doing various white collar and blue collar jobs.
  The total irrecoverable personnel losses of the Soviet Armed Forces, frontier, and internal security troops came to 14,453. Soviet Army formations, units, and HQ elements lost 13,833, KGB sub-units lost 572, MVD formations lost 28, and other ministries and departments lost 20 men. During this period 312 servicemen were missing in action or taken prisoner; 119 were later freed, of whom 97 returned to the USSR and 22 went to other countries.
  Of the troops deployed, 53,753 were wounded, injured, or sustained concussion and 415,932 fell sick. A high proportion of casualties were those who fell ill. This was because of local climatic and sanitary conditions, which were such that acute infections spread rapidly among the troops. There were 115,308 cases of infectious hepatitis, 31,080 of typhoid fever, and 140,665 of other diseases. Of the 11,654 who were discharged from the army after being wounded, maimed, or contracting serious diseases, 10,751 men, were left disabled.
  Material losses were as follows:
  451 aircraft (includes 333 helicopters)
  147 tanks
  1,314 IFV/APCs
  433 artillery guns and mortars
  11,369 cargo and fuel tanker trucks.
  In early 1987 a CIA report estimated that, from 1979 to 1986, the Soviet military spent 18 billion rubles on the war in Afghanistan (not counting other costs incurred to the Soviet state such as economic and military aid to the DRA). The CIA noted that this was the equivalent of US$50 billion ($115 billion in 2019 USD). The report credited the relatively low cost to the small size of the Soviet deployment and the fact that the supply lines to Afghanistan were very short (in some cases, easier and cheaper than internal USSR lines). Military aid to the DRA's armed forces totaled 9.124 billion rubles from 1980 to 1989 (peaking at 3.972 billion rubles in 1989). Financial and economic aid were also significant; by 1990, 75% of the Afghan state's income came from Soviet aid.
caption: Spetsnaz troops interrogate a captured mujahideen with an RPG, rounds and AK47 in the background, 1986
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