USSR in Civil Wars in the Countries of the Third World in the Second Half of the 1970s (On the Example of Angola and Afghanistan)

Introduction. One of the features of the Cold War was the movement of the rivalry of the superpowers into local armed conflicts and civil wars that took place on the territory of other states, mainly the Third World. The article examines the process of the involvement of the Soviet Union in the second half of the 1970s in the civil wars in Angola and Afghanistan. The policy of the USSR in armed conflicts outside the zone of its military-political influence has often been the subject of scientific research, but it has rarely been subjected to comparative analysis, and the authors make such an attempt, which is the novelty of the study. Methods and materials. The main method of the study is the method of comparative analysis (the actions of the USSR in 1975–1979 during the conflict in Angola and Soviet actions in the same period in Afghanistan are compared); the authors rely on documents, memoirs, and previous scientific works. Analysis. The first part of the article examines the process of the USSR’s involvement in the civil war in Angola, which began there soon after gaining independence, from the diplomatic recognition of the People’s Republic of Angola to the dispatch of Soviet military specialists. The second part of the article is devoted to the development of events in Afghanistan after the April 1978 revolution and Soviet involvement in them. Results. The authors conclude that the line adopted by the Soviet Union in relation to the military confrontation in Angola (financial, military, and other assistance, the dispatch of weapons, and military specialists) was ultimately more successful than the line implemented in relation to the civil war in Afghanistan in the form of direct military intervention by the Soviet army and its participation in the conflict outside the country. Authors contribution. T.V. Rabush described and analyzed the development of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Angola and with Afghanistan. R.A. Solovyev examined the military aspects of Soviet-Angolan and Soviet-Afghan cooperation (supply of weapons, sending military advisers, etc.). The research concept, conclusions, and literary editing of the text were carried out jointly.