The Soviet army invaded Afghanistan
in 1979 and stayed there until
1988. This photograph shows
the Soviet army's withdrawal.
Also shown are the Afghans
who fought the Soviets.
A Der Spiegel story about
the Soviet invasion states
that the Soviet Unionis willing
to pursue economic interests
in the region, even if it
ends the invasion. At that
time, Afghanistan's natural
gas reserves were estimated
to be 150 billion cubic metres
– a great incentive,
as do its rich coal, lead,
zinc, silver, gold mines,
and the world's richest lapis
mines.
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