Njengoba kunikezwe lesi sigaba esiphathelene neMpi Yomshoshaphansi, kungani amaSoviet ayeka impi yawo e-Afghanistan?
Context:Ngemva kweMpi Yezwe II, izingxenye zeMpumalanga neYurophu Ephakathi, kuhlanganise neMpumalanga Jalimane nezingxenye ezisempumalanga ye-Austria, zabanjwa iButho Lebomvu ngokusho kweNgqungquthela yasePotsdam. Kwabekwa ohulumeni bamaKhomanisi abancike kwamanye amazwe emazweni aseMpumalanga. Ngemva kokuba izwe laseSoviet Union selibe umbuso wesibili onamandla enuzi emhlabeni, lasungula umfelandawonye weSivumelwano SaseWarsaw, futhi langena empini yokulawula umhlaba wonke, eyaziwa ngokuthi iMpi Yomshoshaphansi, ne-United States ne-NATO. Ngemva kokufa kukaStalin ngo-1953 nenkathi emfushane yokubusa ngokuhlanganyela, umholi omusha uNikita Khrushchev wamlahla uStalin futhi waqala inqubomgomo yokunqanda ukubulawa kukaStalin, wakhulula iziboshwa eziningi zezombusazwe emakamu okufukuzwa kuwo aseGulag. Ukwehliswa okuvamile kwezinqubomgomo ezicindezelayo kamuva kwaziwa ngokuthi iKhrushchev Thaw. Ngesikhathi esifanayo, izingxabano zeMpi Yomshoshaphansi zafinyelela umvuthwandaba wazo lapho laba abaphikisi ababili bexabana ngokuqaliswa kwezibhamu zase-United States i-Jupiter eTurkey nezibhamu zaseSoviet eCuba.  Ngo-1957, iSoviet Union yakhipha isathelayithi yokuqala eyenziwe umuntu emhlabeni, iSputnik 1, ngaleyo ndlela yaqala inkathi ye-Space Age. Umkhumbi-mkhathi waseRussia u-Yuri Gagarin waba umuntu wokuqala ukuzungeza uMhlaba, emkhunjini we-Vostok 1 ngomkhumbi-mkhathi ophethe abantu ngo-Ephreli 12, 1961. Ngemva kokuxoshwa kukaKhrushchev ngo-1964, kwaqala esinye isikhathi sokubusa ngokuhlanganyela, kwaze kwaba yilapho uLeonid Brezhnev eba umholi. Inkathi yeminyaka yawo-1970 nasekuqaleni kwawo-1980 kamuva yabizwa ngokuthi iNkathi Yokuqina. Inguquko yaseKosygin yango-1965 yayihloselwe ukwehliswa kwesikhundla komnotho waseSoviet. Ngo-1979, ngemva kwenguquko eyayiholwa amaKhomanisi e-Afghanistan, amabutho aseSoviet ahlasela izwe, ekugcineni aqala iMpi yaseSoviet-Afghan. NgoMeyi 1988, amaSoviet aqala ukuhoxa e-Afghanistan, ngenxa yokuphikiswa ngamazwe, impi yamavukelambuso eqhubekayo yokulwa namaSoviet, nokuntuleka kokusekelwa yizakhamizi zaseSoviet.  Kusukela ngo-1985 kuqhubeke, umholi wokugcina waseSoviet uMikhail Gorbachev, owafuna ukwenza izinguquko ezivulekile ohlelweni lwaseSoviet, wethula izinqubomgomo ze-glasnost (ukuvuleka) ne-perestroika (ukuhlelwa kabusha) ngomzamo wokuqeda inkathi yokuma komnotho nokwenza uhulumeni ube nentando yeningi. Nokho, lokhu kwaholela ekukhuphukeni kwezinhlangano eziqinile zobuzwe nezizimele ezweni lonke. Ngaphambi kuka-1991, umnotho waseSoviet wawungowesibili ngobukhulu emhlabeni, kodwa phakathi neminyaka yawo yokugcina, wangena enkingeni.  Ngo-1991, isimo somnotho nezombusazwe saqala ukuwohloka njengoba amazwe aseBaltic ekhetha ukuhlukana neSoviet Union. Ngo - March 17, kwaqhutshwa inhlolovo, lapho iningi lezakhamuzi ezazibambe iqhaza lavotela ukushintsha iSoviet Union yaba inhlangano evuselelwe. NgoJuni 1991, uBoris Yeltsin waba ngumongameli wokuqala okhethwe ngokuqondile emlandweni waseRussia lapho ekhethwa njengomongameli weRussian SFSR. Ngo-August 1991, ukuzama ukuvukela umbuso kwamalungu kahulumeni kaGorbachev, okubhekiswe kuGorbachev futhi okuhloswe ngakho ukulondoloza iSoviet Union, kunalokho kwaholela ekupheleni kweQembu LamaKhomanisi laseSoviet Union. Ngo-December 25, 1991, ngemva kokuhlakazwa kweSoviet Union, kanye neRussia yanamuhla, kwavela ezinye izifundazwe eziyishumi nane ezazingemva kweSoviet.
AmaSoviet ahoxa eMpini yaseSoviet-Afghan eyaqala ngoMeyi 1988 ngenxa yokuphikiswa ngamazwe, impi yamavukela-mbuso eqhubekayo, kanye nokuntuleka kokusekelwa yizakhamizi zaseSoviet.