Soviet-Afghan war-The real war against terror!

Twin towers destroyed in 2001.

Introduction


We are all aware of the sad events that took place in Mumbai several weeks back. Lots of innocent people died for absolutely no reason. Nowadays, no country is safe from terrorism. Mumbai train blasts, 9/11 attacks in United States, Ahmedabad blasts, Bangalore blasts are all examples of how powerful terrorism has grown. We clearly understand how Religion is used as a weapon to create clashes between the people. But where did all these people come from? Who exactly encouraged them? From where did they get all courage to fight against nations, which have powerful Navy, Air Force and Army? Is the world really moving towards destruction? What actually motivated the terrorists? The result could be traced back to 1979 during the heights of Cold War. All these problems took shape when United States assisted Mujahideen to fight against their bitter enemy USSR. It was during the September 11th attacks that United States realized that it had reaped what it had sown.


Soviets fight against Afghan Mujahideens. How the Hammer and the Sickle broke?

Background

Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) shortly known as the Soviet Union was a socialist state that existed from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. USSR was the biggest country ever to exist on earth covering 11 time zones out of 12 world time zones, occupying almost one-sixth of the world area and one third of Asia. It was 7 times bigger than India and two and a half times bigger than the United States. Now how did such a great superpower collapse? Is Socialism bad?


United States assists Al-Qaeda in the Soviet-Afghan War. Pic shows CIA agents touring Taliban camps. CIA created terror training camps where Talibans were trained.

Life in the Soviet Union

Life in the Soviet Union was safe, secure and healthy provided you don’t go against the state. Most of all women were treated as humans. Soviet Union preferred an atheist attitude though it was officially secular. USSR was the only country to recover quickly after a devastating war to become an industrial superpower within a few years. Soviet Union was the first country to design the world’s first Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile R-7-Semyorka and it was the first nation to launch the first artificial satellite. However, regular life was monitored in the Soviet Union.


Bin Laden assisted by the United States. Pic shows Bin Laden fighting against Soviets with American equipments.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan was under communist rule during the controversial Soviet-Afghan war (1979-1989). Afghanistan had problems within itself when the Mujahideens wanted to capture power. The Afghan government requested the USSR to assist them. The USSR refused to intervene initially as it was a tensed period of relations during the Cold War. However, decisions to invade Afghanistan was taken hastily in a few months.


Mujahideen leaders in White House. President Ronald Reagan promises assistance to Taliban to fight against the USSR, not knowing that his own country would be facing another bloody war.


The War begins…

In the midnight of December 24th, 1979, Soviet tanks and armoured divisions entered into Afghanistan to fight a war to remove the Taliban threat. The whole world was stunned, as it didn’t expect the Soviet Union to enter into a war given the already tensed situation of Cold War with United States. Soviet warplanes MiG’s, Sukhoi’s entered into Afghan Airspace in the early hours of Christmas. The whole world was brought to standstill as it knew it would be witnessing one of the key wars in human history. A superpower was in action against guerilla forces. No one knew that the Soviet Union was actually entering the last phase of its existence. The sad thing was that it disintegrated fighting for socialism. USSR had many reasons to fear. The southern republics of the USSR like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Krgyzistan were Islamic states. If terrorists captured Afghanistan, then there is a problem of “Jihad” or Holy war in all-Soviet republics. Soviet Union may not survice a Jihad.

The Soviet Union collapse was evident in the mid 1970's itself. Instead of restructuring its economy, the Soviet Union shouldn't have gone for war. Even if terrorists have captured Afghanistan, there is a chance of jihad in Islamic republics of USSR. This would again break the USSR into pieces. In the Soviet Union, Russia was considered as a major contributor and other republics were treated as unreliable sometimes. This led to discontent in the minds of other republics. Russian was made a compulsory language. For many people in Uzbek, Tajik, Kazakh it was much more like Russianization.


Soviet Union withdraws officially after a devastating war in Afghanistan.

Soviet soldiers started rebuilding Afghanistan once they entered Afghanistan. They reconstructed houses, schools to promote education. Women were allowed to be without veil and were made to interact with men. Meanwhile, the United States continued to project the USSR as the evil empire and as an aggressor. The CIA offered to assist the guerilla forces to fight against Soviet troops. Stinger Anti-air missiles were secretly distributed to the Taliban to shoot down Soviet-Aircrafts. Ammunitions, walkie-talkies, guns were supplied by the United States to defeat the Soviet Union.


Soviet artillery guns captured by Taliban.


The Soviet Defeat

Soviet Union was considered as an aggressor. The morale of the Soviet troops went down as they were considered as an invader. The war stagnated the economy of the Soviet Union. It was a great loss and embarrassment to the USSR. The mighty Red Army was getting screwed by guerilla warriors. The citizens lost their faith in the Soviet system. There could be only one answer now. Withdrawal! Soviet Union made an embarrassing withdrawal. Few years later, it ceases to exist. On the evening of December 31st, 1991 the Soviet Red Hammer and the Sickle flag was lowered for one last time! The next day tri-color Russian flag was hoisted.

Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the Soviet President ending the most powerful empire in the history of mankind after 70 years of its existence. This was a huge victory for the United States at that time. It was not even 10 years. The same Taliban attacked the United States with the same weapons the United States gave to fight against the Soviets.

Soviet-Afghan War Timeline

Early 1979: The USSR is requested by Afghan Government to enter into war to fight against Taliban.

Mid-1979: Aleksei Kosygin, the then Soviet Premier rules out a possibility of Soviet intervention.

24th December 1979: Soviet Union enters war. The then General Secretary Leonid Breznev orders Soviet tanks to take on Afghanistan. India, longtime ally of the Soviet Union openly supports the Soviet-Afghan war in the International scenario. India was the only democratic country to support the USSR in this war.

25th December 1979: US President Jimmy Carter says, "Soviet invasion is a threat to world peace since the end of World War 2.

1981: Soviet soldiers organize coordinated attacks on terrorist camps. By now, CIA is giving a lot of assistance to terrorists. Signs of Soviet loss are slowly coming out.

1982: Soviet Aircrafts/Bombers bombard mountains and hills to kill terrorists.

1983: United States gives tremendous assistance to Taliban to fight against the USSR.


The President of United States Jimmy Carter and Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq promises Taliban a lot of assistance.

1984: Soviet Union faces huge casualities.

1985: Soviet Union fights alone. The President Gorbachev feels the war is a waste. It’s no using in being with people who are brain washed by stupid ideals. Fighting increases brutally. 1985 was the bloodiest year in Soviet history as it lost more than 1000 soldiers.

1986: Soviet Union is unable to achieve the result it aspired for.

1988: Unrest inside the USSR as citizens themselves feels uncomfortable. Majority of the troops have withdrawn.

1989: Boris Gromov, the Commander General and his regiment was the last regiment to withdraw. Boris Gromov got down from his jeep and walked the Soviet-Afghan border on foot. He was the last ‘Soviet soldier’ to walk out of Afghanistan.


A Soviet soldier looks back at Afghanistan for one last time. He has lost his comrades. Job unfinished! He knew that he was lucky to be fortunate.

1991: On the last day of the year December 31st, 1991, Soviet Union ceases to exist. The Red Flag is lowered and is replaced by the tri-color flag of the Imperial Russia. Russia is declared as the successor of the Soviet Union and all of Soviet nuclear arsenals comes under Russia.

1992-1993: Kabul falls. The Taliban comes to power.

11th September 2001: The same Taliban hits back at United States in the 9/11 attacks destroying the World Trade Center and a part of the Pentagon.


A Mujahideen with Hand Mounted Stinger Anti-Air Missile to shoot Soviet Aircraft.

Soviet Losses:


1. 15,000 Soviet soldiers
2. 333 Helicopters.
3. 147 tanks.
4. 1314 Passenger carriers.
5. 433 artillery guns.
6. 1,138 Communication vehicles.
7. 510 Engineering vehicles
8. 11,369 petrol tanks.


Soviet Spetsnaz soldiers prepare for a mission to eliminate terrorists.

The Spetsnaz Soldiers were quite successful in many missions. But that wasn't enough to win this bloody conflict. How did such a great superpower collapse? It could have easily won the war by sending half of police forces of Moscow. The USSR initiated its own dissolution by entering into Afghan war.


Taliban operating sophisticated radio equipments supplied by the United States(CIA).



Taliban fights Americans with the same Stinger Missile given to them during the Soviet-Afghan war.

-Krishna Kumar.S

Soviet Union-Lost but not forgotten-Part 6

The site after the explosion.


The Nedelin disaster occurred on 24th October 1960 at the Baikonour Cosmodrome during the development of R-16 Soviet ICBM. The prototype of the missile was being prepared for a test when the second stage ignited improperly and led to a blast killing around 100 people. Chief of Artillery Forces Marshall Mitrofan Nedelin was killed in the explosion. The official death toll was 90, but estimates are as high as 200, with 120 being the generally accepted figure. Despite the magnitude of the disaster, news of it was covered up for many years by the Soviet government and did not emerge until the 1990s. After the explosion, news was sent to all relatives of the deceased that they have died in a aircrash. The then General Secretary Nikita Khruschev ordered that the information shouldn’t be spread to the world and this news was made available only after the disintegration of the USSR in 1991.



Rocket exploding at site.

Unlike NASA, the Space Research in the Soviet Union had a lot of competition. There were three designers who competed amongst themselves to design ambitious Soviet space programs. Mikhail Yangel, Sergei Korylev were the popular ones, however Sergei Korylev was considered to be the most successful designer. This particular program was headed by Yangel.


Chief of Artillery Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin.

On 23 October, the R-16 rocket prototype was on the launching pad awaiting final tests before its firing. The rocket was filled with UDMH-Nitric acid which is used in rocketry despite the fact that it was an extremely corrosive and toxic binary fuel that produces poisonous gas when burned. These risks were accounted for in the safety procedures in preparing the rocket for launching, but, late that day, technicians accidentally ruptured the pyrotechnic membranes of the first-stage fuel lines and allowed the fuel in to the combustion chamber. The nitric acid component was so corrosive that it damaged the R-16 rocket. Thus, the rocket team had only a two options. It was to launch the rocket next day or drain the fuel from the rocket and then rebuild the engine and so delay the program several weeks. Morever, Yangel was much eager to complete the program before the 43rd Anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. He wanted to present the successful result to Nikita Khruschev.


R-16 ICBM before the explosion. Photo taken in the Soviet Union.

When the second stage blasted, Nedelin and 125 other rocket personnel were killed, but Yangel survived. He had left the area to smoke a cigarette, where he and the chief technicians discussed possibly abandoning the rocket launching. After inspecting the site, Nikita Khruschev asked Yangel, “But why have you survived?”. In a trembling voice, Yangel replied, “I went away for a smoke. It’s all my fault”. A memorial to the dead was erected near Baikonur and it is still visited by RKA(Russian Space Agency) officials before any manned launch.

-Krishna Kumar.S

Soviet Union-Lost but not forgotten-Part 5

U-2 spy plance wreckage kept at Moscow.

In July 1957, the U.S. established a secret U.S. intelligence facility in Pakistan. It was in Badaber, 16 km from Peshawar. Badaber was an excellent choice because of its proximity to Soviet Union’s Central Asia republics. This enabled monitoring of missile test sites, launch pads and other communications during the tensed cold war periods.


On 9 April 1960, the U-2 spy plane of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) crossed the South national boundary of Soviet Union in the area of Pamir Mountains and flew over four Soviet top secret military locations: the Semipalatinsk Test Site, the Tu-95 air base, the Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) test site of the Soviet Air Defense Forces near Saryshagan, and the Tyuratam missile range. The Soviet Air Defense Forces detected the plane at 04:47hrs when it flew away by more than 250 km from the Soviet national boundary and avoided several attempts of interception using MiG-19 and Su-9 during the flight. After U-2 left the Soviet air space, it was clear that U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had successfully performed an extraordinary intelligence operation. Soviets knew that their anti-aircraft systems weren’t effective. However, next time the Soviets hit back! Perhaps, in the best way possible.


Gary Powers undergoes trial in the Soviet Union.


The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the Cold War on May 1, 1960 when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. At first, the United States government denied the plane's purpose and mission, but later it was forced to admit its role when the Soviet government produced the plane remains, photographs and the surviving pilot Gary Powers. The incident happened before two weeks of the scheduled opening of an East-West summit. The incident was a great embarrassment to the United States and prompted a marked deterioration in its relations with the Soviet Union. Eisenhower refused to apologize and Nikita Khrushchev, the then General Secretary of the USSR, boycotted the East-West summit.

What really happened?

On May 1, 1960, thirteen days before the scheduled opening of an East–West summit conference in Paris, a U.S. Lockheed U-2 spy plane left US base in Badaber on a mission to over fly the Soviet Union to photograph ICBM sites.
The Soviet missile system was not yet up to the mark! Fighter planes like MiG-19’s and Su-9’s were sent to intercept the aircraft. According to the reports, it is believed that the missile fired from a SAM (Surface to Air Missile) hit the spy plane first and it also destroyed a Soviet interceptor plane in the missile salvo. Due to secret policy of the Soviet Union, many such incidents and details still remain a mystery and still unanswered. The pilot Gary Powers was captured by the Soviets.

Four days after Powers disappeared, NASA issued a very detailed press release stating that an aircraft had "gone missing" north of Turkey. The press release speculated that the pilot might have fallen unconscious while the autopilot was still engaged, even falsely claiming that "the pilot reported over the emergency frequency that he was experiencing oxygen difficulties."


Nikita Khruschev inspects the wreckage.

Then the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev said that a "spy plane" had been shot down but intentionally made no reference to the pilot. As a result, the Eisenhower Administration, thinking the pilot had died in the crash, authorized the release of a cover story claiming that the plane was a "weather research aircraft" which had strayed into Soviet airspace. The White House gracefully acknowledged that this might be the same plane, but still proclaimed that "there was absolutely no deliberate attempt to violate Soviet airspace and never has been" and attempted to continue the facade by grounding all U-2 aircraft to check for "oxygen problems."



Newspapers in the 1960's describing the U-2 incident.

On May 7, Khrushchev sprang his trap and announced, ” I must tell you a secret. When I made my first report I deliberately did not say that the pilot was alive and well and now just look how many silly things [the Americans] are said.
Powers was actually still alive; unfortunately his plane was also essentially intact. The Soviets managed to recover the surveillance camera and even developed some of the photographs. Those photographs were taken over the USSR during the espionage mission. Powers’ survival pack, including 7500 rubles, jewels were recovered.


The SA-2 type missile used by the Soviet Union to shoot the aircraft.

The Paris Summit between president Dwight Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev collapsed in large part and the Cold War continued. Khrushchev left the talks on May 16. Powers pleaded guilty and was convicted of espionage. The incident severely compromised Pakistan security and worsened relations between the Soviet Union and Pakistan. Pakistani General Khalid Mahmood Arif while commenting on the incident stated that, "Pakistan felt deceived because the US had kept her in the dark about such clandestine spy operations launched from Pakistan’s territory." As Soviet Union launched satellites and designed missiles, cold war tensions also grew proportionately.

Soviet Union-Lost but not forgotten-Part 4

Nikita Khruschev was the Soviet leader as USSR achieved great milestones.

Soviet Union designed world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. It was known as R7 ‘Semyorka’ or as SS-7 Sapwood (as known in NATO). Using this Sputnik 1 was put on orbit. Sputnik 2 was launched on November 3rd, 1957, which carried a living being, a dog-named ‘Laika’. Laika was actually a street dog found in Moscow. It was selected because Moscow dogs would fare well in adverse conditions, as Moscow itself is very cold. It was a one-way trip. The mission provided scientists with the first data on the behavior of a living organism in the space environment.


Laika was the first dog in space.

Sputnik 3 was an automatic scientific laboratory spacecraft. It was conically shaped and was 3.57 m long and 1.73 m wide at its base. It weighed 1,327 kg. The scientific instrumentation (twelve instruments) provided data on pressure and composition of the upper atmosphere, concentration of charged particles, photons in cosmic rays, heavy nuclei in cosmic rays, magnetic and electrostatic fields, and meteoric particles. The outer radiation belts of the Earth were detected during the flight. Its tape recorder failed, so it could not map the Van Allen radiation belt.


Sputnik 2 which carried Laika.

Sputnik 4 was launched as a test-flight of the Vostok spacecraft that would be used for the first human space flight. This spacecraft, the first of a series of spacecraft used to investigate the means for manned space flight, contained scientific instruments, a television system, and a self-sustaining biological cabin with a dummy of a man. The spacecraft was designed to study the operation of the life support system and the stresses of flight.

Meanwhile, Khruschev continued with other reforms. During Nikita Khrushchev’s rule Soviet Union developed rapidly. Khrushchev was primarily responsible for introducing liberal reforms in agriculture and industry. He established Warsaw pact in response to NATO. Initiated talks and promoted peaceful co-existences. Soviet Union overtook US virtually as a superpower, only during Khrushchev’s era as it created progress in both space research and missile development. After Stalin’s death, there were a lot of differences with the Chinese republic’s, which even lead to Sino-Soviet split, which shocked the world as two communist countries became foes. Differences with People’s Republic of China grew more as Khrushchev refused to help Chinese Nuclear program. More action was yet to come as World moved closer to world war.


Sputnik 3.

The Virgin Lands Campaign was an initiative by Nikita Khrushchev to open up vast tracts of unseeded (virgin) steppe in the northern Kazakh SSR and the Altay region of the Russian SFSR(Soviet Federal Socialist Republics, a part of the Soviet Union), started in 1954. In the first year of the programme, 190,000 km² were ploughed; in 1955, an extra 140,000 km² were ploughed. With all this new land, a vast number of people were brought from all over the Soviet Union. The first harvest on the Virgin Lands, in 1956, was a stunning success. Of the 125 million tonnes of grain produced in the Soviet Union that year, more than half of it came from one eighth of the country. The Soviet Union was producing twice as the West. The scheme was therefore considered to be a huge success, as it enabled the USSR to feed its people. However, in the long run it didn’t help USSR much as the nutrients in the soil were used up and due to lack of proper storage system lots of grain were wasted.

-To be continued

Soviet Union-Lost but not forgottten-Part 3

Sergei Korolyov was the Chief Architect of Soviet space programs. His sudden death in 1966, dampened Soviet dreams to land first on the moon.

The Cold war took a new dimension when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, the Sputnik 1 on October 4th, 1957. For a nation recovering from a devastating war, it was great news. The United States had believed itself to be the world leader in space technology and thus the leader in missile development. The surprise Sputnik launch and the failure of the first two U.S. launch attempts proved otherwise.



A photo of the R-7 ICBM similar to the one used for Sputnik launch.

Has the Soviet education surpassed the rest of the world? What did the “commies” do? The Soviet Union stunned the world by launching Sputnik. This could be due to the fact that education was free in the USSR. It was compulsory and child labor was strictly prohibited. Moreover, women were given equal opportunity. No wonder the first woman to be in space was a Soviet, Valentina Tereshkowa.


Sputnik on the launchpad before launch.


The control system of the Sputnik Rocket was tuned to provide an orbit with the following parameters: perigee height - 223 km, apogee height - 1450 km, orbital period - 101.5 min. The chief constructor of Sputnik 1 was M.S.Khomyakov. The satellite carried two antennas designed by the Antenna Laboratory of OKB-1 led by M.V.Krayushkin. Each antenna was made up of two whip-like parts: 2.4 and 2.9 meters in length and had an almost spherical radiation pattern, so that the satellite beeps were transmitted with equal power in all directions, making reception of the transmitted signal independent of the satellite's rotation. The whip-like pairs of antennas resembled four long "whiskers" pointing to one side, at equal 35 degrees angles with the longitudinal axis of the satellite.




Sputnik 1 launched using R-7 ICBM.

The satellite had one-watt supply and it used zinc-silver batteries. The satellite sent signals at 20.005 and 40.002MHz with pulse duration of 0.3 seconds under normal pressure and temperature conditions. Analysis of the radio signals was used to gather information about the electron density of the ionosphere. Temperature and pressure were encoded in the duration of radio beeps, which additionally indicated that the satellite had not been punctured by a meteorite. If the temperature inside the satellite exceeded 36 °C the fan was turned on and when it fell below 20 °C the dual thermal switch turned off the fan. If the temperature exceeded 50 °C or fell below 0 °C, another control thermal switch was activated, changing the duration of the of radio signal pulses. Sputnik 1 was filled with dry nitrogen, pressurized to 1.3 atmospheres. For the pressure control the satellite had a barometric switch, activated when the pressure inside the satellite fell below 0.35 kg/cm² (approx 0.34 atmospheres), changing the duration of radio signal impulse.


Sputnik 1 Image.

The designers, engineers and technicians who developed the rocket and satellite watched the launch from the range. After the launch they ran to the mobile radio station to listen to signals from the satellite. They waited about 90 minutes to ensure that the satellite had made one orbit and was transmitting, before Korolyov called Khrushchev, the then General Secretary of the Soviet Union.


Newspapers published in USA. Amateur radio operators having short wave receivers received the signals from Sputnik as it orbitted the earth.

As United States continued propaganda projecting the USSR as an evil empire, the Soviets continued to discover new things. The signal received from outer space was heard as “beep-beep”. Amateur radio operators having short wave receiver tuned the sets to 20 Mega hertz cycles to hear the Sputnik’s beep. The Sputnik’s beep was an intercontinental outer space raspberry to a decade of American pretensions that the American way of life was a gilt-edged guarantee of national superiority.

-To be continued.

Soviet Union-Lost but not forgotten-Part 2

US tanks in operation fighting against North Korea.

Although the US and the Soviet Union were allied against the Axis powers during World War II, the two states disagreed sharply both during and after the conflict on many topics, particularly over the shape of the post-war world. The war had either exhausted or eliminated all of the pre-war great powers leaving the US and USSR as clear economic, technological and political superpowers.

Berlin Blockade was the first major International crisis of the Cold War. Soviet Union blocked access to Berlin. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet controlled regions to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving them nominal control over the entire city. However, American airplanes dropped food packets over Berlin in pre-arranged air corridors. This was humiliating to the Soviets and it strained US-Soviet relations. Later the Soviets lifted their blockade.


B-29 bombers of United States bombed Korean cities indiscriminately.

Korean war worsened Soviet-US relations. Korea had been a unified country since the 7th century. Unfortunately for the Koreans, one of the recurring themes in their history involves fending off both China and Japan, occasionally simultaneously. To Japan, a late arriving player in the game of great powers, Korea seemed a natural fit in their sphere of influence. The Japanese declared Korea was their protectorate and expanded their control over local institutions through over Korean opposition. At the close of World War II, forces of both the Soviet Union and the United States occupied the peninsula in accordance with an agreement put forth by the United States government to divide the Korean peninsula. Though the eventual division of Korea was considered at the Potsdam Conference, the wishes of the Korean people to be free of foreign interference were not considered.


B-29 in flight.

North Korea was under communist rule and it invaded South Korea in an attempt to unify Korea. North Korean army struck in the pre-dawn hours of June 25th, 1950. The North claimed Republic of Korea Army (ROK) troops under the “bandit traitor Syngman Rhee" had crossed the border first and that Rhee would be arrested and executed.



MiG-15 used by North Korean during the Korean war.

President Harry S.Truman had made a statement on June 27, 1950 ordering the United States air and sea forces to give the South Korean regime support. The Soviet Union's foreign minister accused the United States of starting armed intervention on behalf of the Republic of Korea before the Security Council was summoned to meet on June 27. The 38th parallel was the border between North and South Korea. North Korea rapidly invaded but it was stopped by Allied troops. Very soon they were chased back b allied troops. Soviet Union supplied ammunitions, aircrafts to fight against the invaders. US were very afraid of the communist expansion and to contain communism US created NATO. A ceasefire was later declared and Korean De-militarized zone was created.




105mm-Howitzer gun in operation. US troops firing at North Korean positions.

Soviet Union created Warsaw Pact in response to NATO treaty. The pact was a Soviet initiative aimed at countering NATO. East Germany, Hungary, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, and the Soviet Union were the founding members. The stage for Cold war was now set as these two great powers got ready to play dangerous games.

Why I like the USSR?

USSR stamp commemorating the launch of the first satellite 'Sputnik'.



This is an interesting question asked by everyone. Why I like the Soviet Union? Born in a religious Brahmin family, leading a comfortable life, may not be a luxurious life with all riches but a good one. Yet, why would I like to support a communist country, which was popularly dubbed as the "Evil Empire" by the American President Ronald Reagan in 1983? I have a long answer for it.



Education was given a lot of importance and priority in the Soviet Union. Education was compulsory.

1. I have no brothers or sisters, so in life I was to consider my friends as brothers and sisters. That gradually erased all caste thoughts. Caste system wasn't there in the USSR. Racism was strictly prohibited. Everyone was considered to be equal. Even study of genetics was considered unlawful and against their theory.


Yuri Gargarin is the first human to travel in space. CCCP in Russian meant USSR.

2. I like women very much. It is not because that I am a man. It's because I don't have a sister. I have had successful moments in life. Sad moments too. I had no one to share my feelings. My opinion of women fluctuated all years, but the respect was still there even as I had numerous difference of opinions with women during my school/college days. Women were considered equal to men in the USSR. In World War 2, Soviet women pilots flew airplanes and fought against Germans. Women scientists assisted Men in all ambitious Soviet programs in space research, missile systems and technology.



Soviet women snipers during Second World War.

3. I hate to see people suffering. There should be no suffering, harassment of any human being in this world. People should have food, water, cloth to live comfortably, if not luxuriously. Both men and women should be given good education and moral values to preserve culture and originality. Sadly, in this world education is now being sold out to the person who is going to give the maximum money. Basic facilities are not available to a human being who is not wealthy.



March 8th, Women's day poster in the USSR asking all women to come out of household works to create a new world.

Poor people couldn't afford for medicines. People being discriminated in terms of color, religion, caste and appearance. A baby is sucking the breasts of its mother not knowing she is dead already. Things were different in the Soviet Union. I am not saying that the Soviet Union was a perfect state. At least, it was a good experiment. Medicine and Education were free to Soviet citizen, with food available at low cost. That's the reason why they developed quickly. After a devastating World War 2, they rebuilt quickly to launch the first artificial satellite, the Sputnik.


His Excellency Nikita Khruschev, General Secretary of the Soviet Union visits Integral Coach Factory(ICF), Perambur. Sergei Nikolai Bulganin, Premier of the Soviet Union is also seen in the picture.

4. USSR had good relations with India. I am an Indian. I should be grateful to the Russians at least for that.


5. I like being self-reliant. This policy has backfired many times in my life. Even at times of difficulty, I resolve to manage things alone, but I have got good friends who always help me. The USSR was a self-reliant state, which designed and invented new things. It fought all its miseries alone. I like this character and hard working nature of this nation.




6. Pornography was prohibited in the USSR. Possessing such content would lead to a spot fine or even imprisonment. Any form of sexual harassment against women was dealt severely. Over here, we don't know what will happen and where? Schoolgirls, college girls are kidnapped and forced into pornography. Whatever, let's be with content with the USSR. Let's be happy that there was a nation, which strived for perfection. Soviet Union was a good experiment that failed due to various reasons.




The Red Army parade.

These 6 points could be my best possible answer. I still disapprove many of Soviet policies like Stalin's dictatorship rule, gulags, prisoner labor camps etc. But if there is something good it needs to be appreciated.

I got a lot of free time, so I thought of pouring all my thoughts on this Diwali day, the day Lord Krishna's consort Satyabama defeated evil demon 'Narakasuran'. So if by any chance anyone reads this article and if you are a girl/women commit yourself to improve your nation in any possible way you think and work hard to preserve Indian culture and originality. Remember that Russian women achieved it. Why can't you?

I have described the USSR without using words like Communism, Capitalism. Infact, I don't know the meaning of communism. I believe in God be it Vishnu, Jesus or Allah, I would be happy if anyone of them exists.

-Krishna Kumar.S

Soviet Union-Lost but not forgotten-Part 1

Portrait of Vladimir Lenin.


Vladimir Lenin was the founder of the Soviet Union also known as the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. Lenin's communist party overthrew Nicholas II of Imperialist Russia and created the USSR. However, USSR wasn't officially established till 1922. The famous Russian revolution took place in November, but it is referred to as October Revolution as the Tsar regime was following the Gregorian calendar. However, 1905 a revolution took place through entire Russia, but it failed. Later, there was a split between the parties resulting in the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. Lenin led Bolsheviks and Julius Martov led Mensheviks. After the Tsarist rule ended, power struggle took place between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. Allied forces assisted the Mensheviks. This later promoted to strained relations between the USSR and USA. This could have also been the initial cause of the Cold War. Russian Civil war devastated the entire economy. USSR was officially established during 1922 and Vladimir Illyich Lenin took over as its first General Secretary.



American troops in Vladivostok. These troops fought against Lenin's men. This led to a distrust amongst the minds of the Russians.

Lenin ruled the Soviet Union till his death in 1925. There was a brief power struggle. Joseph Stalin took over and very soon he seized total control. In the mid 1930's, anyone conspiring against the Soviet state was killed. Senior officers, military commanders, commissars were eliminated. Stalin took brutal and harsh steps to eliminate all enemies. Personally, in one-way I feel what Stalin did was right. However, taking the law in your own hand is right? As on date, I don't know to answer this question. During Stalin's period, regular life was monitored under the strict vigilance of the Red Army.



Bolsheviks march in the Red Square, Moscow.

Meanwhile, Hitler has been eyeing the USSR for his "lebensraum". He wanted more land for his German population. He felt the Slavics, baltics, Russians belonged to an inferior race. Moreover, he viewed the Soviet Union as a weak state. Stalin had other plans. He was determined to spread Communism across Europe. Soviet Union with a communist ideology believed that all people are equal. Nazi Germany with a fascist ideology believed that Germans were a part of a superior race, while the Russians, English, Slavics were an inferior race. With two opposite ideologies, a war was always eminent. Hitler had already opened up a front fighting the British. So he approached the USSR for a neutral pact popularly known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. German Foreign minister Ribbentrop and Soviet foreign minister Molotov signed it.



Field Marshall Georgy Zhukov inspects captured German tank during the German Invasion of USSR.

On June 22nd, 1941 Hitler violated the pact and invaded the USSR in Operation Barborassa. German troops were better trained than the Soviets. German tanks proved to be a real threat. Italians assisted Germans, Romanians while the USSR fought alone. Russian women were brutally raped, mutilated and killed. Soviet Union suffered the most casualties in any fought over in history and lost majority of its population. Hitler hoped to wrap up things before the onset of the Russian winter. Hitler targeted Stalingrad though his Generals suggested that Stalingrad(Volgograd) was not important. Stalingrad had the name of Stalin and capturing it would lower Soviet morale. Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle in human history in which Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany, after which began the German retreat. German troops invaded rapidly but very soon ran out of supplies as the Russians were following scorched earth policy. They destroyed everything so that the Nazi's wouldn't use anything when they invade. Hitler took many wrong decisions despite his Generals giving him better decisions. Siege of Leningrad(now Petro grad) lasted for more than a year. Leningrad was cut off from outside world. Hitler ordered that Leningrad must die of starvation. Russian industries, small arms factory were shifted to Central Asian part of the USSR. Russian winter was too much for the Germans. Their tanks stopped working. But Soviet tanks designed for Russian winter proved to be too good for the Germans. Soviet women, children dug trenches, holes while men headed to the front lines. Unity was their strength. As the Germans retreated, Allied and Soviet leaders met at Yalta, Southern Ukraine(then USSR) to discuss about rebuilding Europe after German defeat. Joseph Stalin, Franklin Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill attended the meeting. Later, the Clement Atlee, Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman met at Potsdam to discuss about rebuilding Europe. On April 30th, 1945 Soviet flag was raised over the Reichstag. Horrible was over! After World War II, East Germany was controlled by the Soviets while the West was under Allied control. Soviet military was spread all over Europe. The Red Army was now feared. Britain and the United States were quite alarmed. This was known as the "Red Scare".


Soviet artillery division in operation during Second World War.


United States after dropping atomic bombs in Japan was regarded as a Super power. On the other hand, due to it's large size and military, Soviet Union was regarded as a major power. This led to a geopolitical tensed environment with each suspecting each other. This led to an arms race and both these nations spent heavily on military equipments.