The Afghan Economy During the Soviet War

This book is about the period before the Russian-led Soviet invasion and the consequences and conditions that followed the devastating decade-long war. These consequences from a savage war have been forgotten and ignored since individual and institutional discussions have been about the present US-led war since 2001. Little academic and independent scholarly work has appeared on the Afghan economy since the 1970s. An understanding of what happened in Afghanistan during the first invasion and war is important in its own historical setting and as a background for the prevailing conditions at the present. Chapters 5–10 are about these topic areas, and the appendix summarizes the results of the studies and provides an overall assessment of the harm done to Afghanistan and the Afghan economy by the Russian-led Soviet invasion, occupation, and war.