The Soviet Union and Muslim Guerrilla Wars, 1920-1981: Lessons for Afghanistan
Abstract
The leaders of the Soviet Union, and through them their clients at the helm of the government in Afghasnistan, possess deep and varied experience in dealing with Muslim guerilla insurgencies. Pre-Soviet involvement dates back to the bloody Caucasian wars of the nineteenth century against the Naqshebandi order, the Andizhan uprisings in the Ferghana Valley in 1896, and the Kazakh revolt of 1916. The Soviets subsequently participated in extended conflicts against the Basmachi movement in Central Asia and Muslim mountaineers in the North Caucasus during the 1920s, the fight against the Muslim national Communists from 1923 to 1936, and two interventions in Muslim countries abroad-- Ghilan in 1920-21 and Azerbaidzhan and Kurdistan in 1945-46. Thus, the Soviet regime is not without a collective 'know-how' concerning the conduct of a successful revolution in a pre-capitalist Muslim country.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA116596
Entities
People
- Alexandre Bennigsen
Organizations
- RAND Corporation