Decolonization and the Global Cold War in the 1970s

Aфганистан : война без линии фронта : 1979--1989 : Спасский район / Afganistan : voĭna bez linii fronta : 1979--1989 : Spasskiĭ raĭon (Front cover)

In 1973, the Soviet Union trained Army Officers staged a bloodless coup d'etat to depose the King and set up a republic. However, by 1978, the new Afghan government under General Secretary Taraki began to undertake a violent state programme to uproot feudalism and his government repressed dissidents and executed many tribal leaders and the maulana (muslim clergy). This began a cycle of violence and by 1979, the Soviet Union deployed troops in Afghanistan that resulted in a messy and protracted conflict in Afghanistan.