Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories: Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War
This book studies the complexities of the Soviet–Afghan War from several points of view, calling attention to the experiences of those involved.
The late-1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan compounded the lack of support among Afghans for their country’s communist regime, which doomed the Soviet military undertaking from the start, and in turn contributed to the downfall of the Soviet system itself. Amid a battlefield of propaganda and disinformation from all sides that attempted to shape perceptions of the war, a clear undercurrent of opposition emerged within the USSR and grew over time, dominating the discourse during Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost (openness) reform in the late 1980s.
In Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories, Jeffery W. Jones conveys a broad picture without the narrative illusion of a seamless story amid the fog of war, analyzing varied accounts relayed by a wide range of sources. He argues that an evolving narrative and discourse on the war in the latter half of the 1980s helped pave the way for the collapse of the USSR as disillusionment with the conflict grew within Soviet society.
1147751997
Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories: Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War
This book studies the complexities of the Soviet–Afghan War from several points of view, calling attention to the experiences of those involved.
The late-1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan compounded the lack of support among Afghans for their country’s communist regime, which doomed the Soviet military undertaking from the start, and in turn contributed to the downfall of the Soviet system itself. Amid a battlefield of propaganda and disinformation from all sides that attempted to shape perceptions of the war, a clear undercurrent of opposition emerged within the USSR and grew over time, dominating the discourse during Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost (openness) reform in the late 1980s.
In Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories, Jeffery W. Jones conveys a broad picture without the narrative illusion of a seamless story amid the fog of war, analyzing varied accounts relayed by a wide range of sources. He argues that an evolving narrative and discourse on the war in the latter half of the 1980s helped pave the way for the collapse of the USSR as disillusionment with the conflict grew within Soviet society.
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Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories: Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War

Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories: Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War

by Jeffrey W Jones
Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories: Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War

Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories: Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War

by Jeffrey W Jones

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Overview

This book studies the complexities of the Soviet–Afghan War from several points of view, calling attention to the experiences of those involved.
The late-1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan compounded the lack of support among Afghans for their country’s communist regime, which doomed the Soviet military undertaking from the start, and in turn contributed to the downfall of the Soviet system itself. Amid a battlefield of propaganda and disinformation from all sides that attempted to shape perceptions of the war, a clear undercurrent of opposition emerged within the USSR and grew over time, dominating the discourse during Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost (openness) reform in the late 1980s.
In Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories, Jeffery W. Jones conveys a broad picture without the narrative illusion of a seamless story amid the fog of war, analyzing varied accounts relayed by a wide range of sources. He argues that an evolving narrative and discourse on the war in the latter half of the 1980s helped pave the way for the collapse of the USSR as disillusionment with the conflict grew within Soviet society.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781487562748
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Publication date: 09/15/2025
Pages: 274
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey W. Jones is a professor of Russian/Soviet and contemporary world history at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Table of Contents

Preface: “Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories”

1. CHAPTER ONE: “Under no circumstances may we lose Afghanistan”: From the “Great Game” to the Soviet–Afghan War

2.CHAPTER TWO: “I brought my truth back in a plastic bag”: Soviet Soldiers in the Soviet–Afghan War

3. CHAPTER THREE: “Our soldiers are dying in vain on foreign soil”: Opposition to the Soviet–Afghan War in the USSR

4. CHAPTER FOUR: “Children are the intended victims of Soviet land mine campaign”: Propaganda in the Soviet–Afghan War

5. CHAPTER FIVE: “Eh, Tolian, we are all ‘Cargo 300’”: Reel War – The Soviet–Afghan War on Screen

Epilogue: “The almond trees were in blossom in Termez”

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