The Afghan War
Military Life
(1979-1991)

 

This section will feature pictures, history, stories, and other facets of Soviet military life during the period between 1979 and 1991. Currently we have very few things here, but more will be added as time permits.

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The Soviet Army of the Afghan War

 

Soviet Military Statistics

The 1980's were difficult times for the Soviet army.  The war in Afghanistan proved to be far more than the Soviet generals had initially expected.

The forces in Europe also faced the challenge of an ever more threatening NATO alliance that seemed ready to start the third world war (it is interesting to note that the NATO forces felt exactly the same about the situation as their Soviet counterparts).

In the cooling off period that began under Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions with the West in Europe, but the war in Afghanistan dragged on.  It was only after ten long years of fighting that the Soviet army would return home and leave Afghanistan to crumble under its local warlords.

Year

Strength of Armed Forces

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

 

The Soviet Sailor

The 433,000 officers and men of the Soviet navy (as of 1979) served at a time of high tension with the West.  While they were safe from the ravages of Afghanistan, they were on constant guard in the Atlantic and Pacific where they faced off with NATO forces on an almost daily basis.

The conscript sailors were required to serve for three years instead of the two required of their army counterparts.  The additional year of service was due to the greater training that Soviet sailors received.  When combined with the fact that they could travel to exotic locations such as India, Cuba, or Ethiopia sea service was not so bad.

The exact breakdown of Soviet Naval forces for 1979 were as follows:  175,000 men served on ships, 59,000 men were attached to Naval Aviation, while only 12,000 men served with their Naval Infantry.  And additional 54,000 were in some stage of training, while 125,000 provided some form of shore support.  The final 8000 were engaged in coastal defense duty.

 

Women in the Military

The role of women in the Soviet military of the time was very minor. Despite Soviet claims of women's equality, they were seen by the military as a supplemental force that could free men up to fight if they were required to do so. As such, the number of women in the military of the time was not more than 10,000.  Below we have the military identification booklet of a woman soldier. The cover of the book is to the right, while the first pages are listed below.

Restrictions and Obligations of Service
According to the Soviet laws of the time, women from age 19 to 40 who have had medical or other special training, can be drafted into the Soviet Armed Forces. They could also volunteer, even though they could be drafted even in times of relative peace. During war, women could be drafted for auxiliary or special service.. Drafting women did not actually occur during this period as their was no major crisis that required it.

Women of this time period enlisted for terms of 2 years. They did not have to undergo the rigid training and strictly regimented lifestyle that their male counterparts did. They were also not subject to the same strict military discipline that the men are. Women are also prohibited from joining any combat arms branch of the military, although exceptions have been made for test pilots (M. Popovich and S. Savitskaya) and those undergoing Cosmonaut training (Colonel-Engineer Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolayeva is one such exception).

Promotions and Advancement
Although women could theoretically attain any rank that their male counterpart could, most women did not have much opportunity for advancement. This was because they received commissions far less often than their male counterparts and were forbidden from attending officers academies and graduate schools. For this reason most of the women of this period were of the enlisted ranks. Those women who choose to make a career out of the military did receive all of the privileges and benefits of career personnel, even though their promotion opportunities were much rarer.

 

Bibliography