Ngenxa yesi siqendu seMfazwe ebandayo, kutheni amaSoviet eyeka ukulwa eAfghanistan?
Context:Emva kweMfazwe Yehlabathi II, iinxalenye zeMpuma neMbindi Yurophu, kuquka iMpuma Jamani kunye neendawo ezisempuma yeOstriya zahlalwa yiRed Army ngokutsho kweNgqungquthela yasePotsdam. Oorhulumente bamaKomanisi abaxhomekeke kwamanye amazwe bamiselwa kumazwe aseMpuma. Emva kokuba iSoviet Union iye yaba ligunya lesibini elinamandla enyukliya ehlabathini, yaseka umanyano lweWarsaw Pact, yaza yangena kumlo wokulawula ihlabathi, owaziwa ngokuba yiMfazwe Yomlomo, neUnited States neNATO. Emva kokufa kukaStalin ngowe-1953 kunye nexesha elifutshane lolawulo oluhlangeneyo, inkokeli entsha uNikita Khrushchev wamgxeka uStalin waza waqalisa umgaqo-nkqubo wokukhutshwa kukaStalin, ekhulula amabanjwa amaninzi ezopolitiko kwiinkampu zokusebenza nzima zeGulag. Ukuyekiswa ngokubanzi kweenkqubo zengcinezelo kamva kwabizwa ngokuba yiKhrushchev Thaw. Kwangaxeshanye, iingxwabangxwaba zeMfazwe Yomlomo zafikelela kwincopho yazo xa abachasi babini babegquba ngenxa yokusetyenziswa kweenqwelo - moya zaseUnited States ezibizwa ngokuba yiJupiter eTurkey nezenqwelo - moya zaseSoviet eCuba.  Ngowe-1957, iSoviet Union yadubula isathelayithi yokuqala eyenziweyo ehlabathini, iSputnik 1, ngaloo ndlela iqala iXesha Lendalo. Umkhweli-mkhombe waseRashiya uYuri Gagarin waba ngumntu wokuqala ukujikeleza uMhlaba, enqanaweni ye-Vostok 1 ngomhla we-12 ku-Epreli 1961. Emva kokugxothwa kukaKhrushchev ngowe - 1964, kwaqalisa elinye ixesha lolawulo oluhlangeneyo, de uLeonid Brezhnev waba yinkokeli. Ixesha le-1970s kunye ne-1980s ekuqaleni kamva lachazwa njenge-Era of Stagnation. Uhlaziyo luka-1965 lweKosygin lwalujoliswe ekuphatheni kakubi uqoqosho lwaseSoviet. Ngowe-1979, emva kwenguqulelo eyayikhokelwa ngamaKomanisi eAfghanistan, imikhosi yaseSoviet yahlasela eli lizwe, ekugqibeleni yaqala iMfazwe yaseSoviet-Afghan. NgoMeyi 1988, amaSoviet aqalisa ukurhoxa eAfghanistan, ngenxa yokuchaswa ngamazwe ngamazwe, imfazwe yamagorha eqhubekayo nxamnye namaSoviet, nokungaxhaswa ngabemi baseSoviet.  Ukususela ngowe-1985 ukubheka phambili, inkokeli yokugqibela yaseSoviet uMikhail Gorbachev, owazama ukuphumeza iinguqulelo ezisemthethweni kwinkqubo yaseSoviet, wazisa imigaqo-nkqubo ye-glasnost (ukuvuleka) kunye ne-perestroika (ukulungiswa ngokutsha) kwiinzame zokuphelisa ixesha lokuma kwezoqoqosho nokwenza urhulumente abe yintando yesininzi. Noko ke, oku kwakhokelela ekunyukeni kwemibutho enamandla yobuhlanga neyokwahlukana kwilizwe lonke. Ngaphambi kowe-1991, uqoqosho lwaseSoviet lwalulolwesibini ngobukhulu ehlabathini, kodwa ebudeni beminyaka yalo yokugqibela, lwangena engxakini.  Ngowe-1991, imeko yezoqoqosho nezobupolitika yaqalisa ukuba mandundu njengoko amazwe aseBaltic akhetha ukwahlukana neSoviet Union. NgoMatshi 17, kwaqhutywa intetho yoluntu, apho uninzi lwabemi abathatha inxaxheba bavotela ukuguqula iSoviet Union ibe yifederation ehlaziyiweyo. NgoJuni 1991, uBoris Yeltsin waba ngumongameli wokuqala onyulwe ngokuthe ngqo kwimbali yaseRashiya xa wanyulwa njengomongameli weRussian SFSR. NgoAgasti 1991, ukuzama ukubhukuqa urhulumente kwamalungu karhulumente kaGorbachev, okwakuchasene noGorbachev yaye okujoliswe ekulondolozeni iSoviet Union, kunoko kwakhokelela ekupheleni kweQela lamaKomanisi eSoviet Union. NgoDisemba 25, 1991, emva kokuwa kweSoviet Union, kunye neRashiya yanamhlanje, kwavela amanye amazwe alishumi elinesine aseSoviet.
AmaSoviet arhoxa kwiMfazwe yaseSoviet-Afghanistan eyaqala ngoMeyi 1988 ngenxa yokuchaswa ngamazwe ngamazwe, ukuqhubeka kwemfazwe yokulwa namaSoviet, kunye nokungaxhaswa ngabemi baseSoviet.