The Soviet war in Afghanistan lasts nine years, from December 1979 to February 1989.
Part of the Cold War, it is fought between Soviet-led Afghan forces against multinational insurgent groups called the Mujahideen, mostly composed of two alliances – the Peshawar Seven and the Tehran Eight.
The Peshawar Seven insurgents receive military training in neighboring Pakistan and China, as well as weapons and billions of dollars from the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.
The Shia groups of the Tehran Eight alliance receive support from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Early in the rule of the PDPA government, the Maoist Afghanistan Liberation Organization also plays a significant role in opposition, but its major force is defeated by late 1979, prior to the Soviet intervention.The decade-long war results in millions of Afghans fleeing their country, mostly to Pakistan and Iran.
Hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians are killed in addition to the rebels in the war.The initial Soviet deployment of the 40th Army in Afghanistan begins on December 24, 1979, under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
The final troop withdrawal starts on May 15, 1988, and ends on February 15, 1989, under the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Due to the interminable nature of the war, the conflict in Afghanistan has sometimes been referred to as the "Soviet Union's Vietnam War" or the "Bear Trap".
