title: Aggression or Desperation: Reevaluating the Soviet Motivations for Invading Afghanistan
abstract: The pervading historical viewpoint of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 has centered on the notion of Soviet expansionism and aggression. Yet recently declassified Soviet documents offer new insights into the motivations for the invasion and necessitate the review of existing historic accounts of the Russo-Afghan War. Utilizing declassified Politburo memos, secret Soviet letters and telegrams, and news reports, this essay sheds light on the heated debate amongst the Soviet intel
journal: Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History