Inside the Soviet Army in Afghanistan

Abstract

This report on the Soviet army in Afghanistan focuses on morale, discipline, motivation, and cohesion. It is based on interviews with former members of the Soviet armed forces in Afghanistan, interviews with Afghan resistance leaders and former officers, and a literature search. The report examines major factors that negatively affect morale and discipline: indoctrination, personnel relations, drugs and alcohol, quality of life, atrocities and looting, and theft and corruption. Such factors have led to infractions ranging from insubordination to fragging. The author finds their operational significance difficult to assess but believes that the relevance of possible systemic vulnerabilities to an East-West conflict should be explored. The report concludes that Soviet war conduct is not motivated by ethical considerations; thus the Soviets can be expected to disregard conventions. Military forces; Foreign. (kt)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA213733

Entities

People

  • Alexander Alexiev

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Armored Personnel Carriers
  • Basic Training
  • Drug Abuse
  • Employment
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Health Services
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Medicine
  • Narcotics
  • New York
  • Personnel Management
  • Societies
  • Surface To Air Missiles
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • Vegetables
  • Vulnerability

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.