Afghanestan

Contemporary Afghanistan - The Last Sixty Years (1919-1979)We have spoken of the history and historical role of Afghanistan, and of its strategic geopolitical importance in that sensitive area of the world. Now we shall study particularly the history of relations between this country and its great northern neighbour, the Soviet Union, describing the different phases of the relationship, said to be "good neighbourly", which has ended in the invasion of the country by the Red Army in 1979.King Amanullah, proclaiming unilaterally the independence of his country in 1919 without waiting for the reaction of the English, sent out a roving delegation to establish diplomatic relations with the different countries of Asia, Europe, and America. The first stage of that delegation's mission was in Moscow, where it was received in October 1919 with open arms by the leaders of the new regime. It was the first diplomatic delegation to visit Moscow since the bolshevik revolution of 1917. So, Afghanistan was the first country to recognise the new "state of workers and peasants of all the Russia". The new regime in Moscow not only recognised the independence of Afghanistan but even "hastened to offer the young state of Afghanistan her moral and material support in her heroic struggle against the English imperialists". More about Afghanistan/a