St Petersburg International Conference of Afghan Studies

St Petersburg International Conference of Afghan Studies 43 Panel One. Historiography and Sources on Afghanistan... by Najibullah initiated by Moscow in May 1986 as well as reforms carried out by the PDPA in the society were mainly approved. The entry of Soviet troops was justified by the geopolitical interests of the USSR, the need to protect the southern borders, and the desire to maintain Soviet influence in Afghanistan. In the foreign historiography there is a negative attitude towards the Afghan revolution (described as the one “provoked by the USSR” and “prepared byMoscow”) and the entry of Soviet troops (termed as “intervention”, “invasion”, “the murder of Amin”). The reasons for the entry of Soviet troops are believed to be the aggressive intentions of the USSR and its economic interests (the presence of richmineral deposits in northern Afghanistan). Foreign researchers positively evaluated the actions of the Afghan armed opposition, although they noted its fragmentation (“no opposition party is able to lead the state”). While studying the problem of Afghan refugees, the foreign researches claimed the main reasons of these problems to have been the economic crisis and the death of civilians as a result of military operations. Foreign researchers drew parallels betweenAfghanistan and Vietnam arguing that the Soviet leadership was expecting a quick campaign but was drawn into a long-term struggle. In the Russian historiography (1992–2016) we notice the rejection of the dogmatism of Soviet times, which allowed researchers to critically comprehend the actions of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, the influence of the CPSU on the PDPA, the position of the PDPA itself and its activities in the transformation of the Afghan society, implementation of reforms, attitude towards Muslim clergy. In the study of the problem of the military and political presence of the USSR in Afghanistan, three main trends can be identified: 1. Academic works that examine the general political situation in and around Afghanistan, the activities of the PDPA, the influence of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Soviet Government on the developments in the Afghan society, formation of a pro-Soviet political elite in the country, the decision on the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan and their withdrawal from the country, the Geneva negotiations on the settlement in Afghanistan. 2. Works that deal with the actions of Soviet and Afghan troops in Afghanistan, the guerrilla war of armed groups of the Afghan opposition and assistance from foreign countries. 3. Works dealing with the security and intelligence services of Afghanistan, the USSR and the USA. In these publications, former staff members of the Soviet KGB are reviewing the activities of Spetsnaz, military counterintelligence, border guards, the KGB mission and station in Afghanistan as well as with Afghan and American security and intelligence services. Russian and foreign researches made a significant contribution to the study of the recent history of Afghanistan and, especially, to the problems associated with the military and political presence of the USSR in Afghanistan, although there are still a lot of unclarified issues in this area.