Putin’s Ukraine War Echoes Brezhnev’s Afghanistan War

When the Soviet leader, Lenord Brezhnev, together with three of his Politburo colleagues, decided to invade Afghanistan in December 1979, they expected a rapid triumph. But the Soviet Union could not extricate itself from the Afghan trap until a decade later. The United States ensured that the Soviet venture would end in failure. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine echoes the Soviet Afghan campaign. The Russian leader anticipated a quick victory, but his Ukrainian campaign has provided a unique opportunity for the US and its NATO allies to degrade Russia’s assertive power.

This talk focuses on an analytical comparison of the Soviet Afghanistan invasion with Russia’s Ukraine adventure and examines whether Putin’s move is heading in the same direction as that of his Soviet predecessor.

About the speaker

Amin Saikal, AM, FASSA, is Adjunct Professor of Social Science, Centre for Muslim States and Societies, at the University of Western Australia. His latest books include Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic (Princeton University Press, 2021); The Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq (I.B. Tauris, 2014); and co-author of Islam Beyond Borders: The Umma in World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

DATE   Thursday, 2 June 2022
TIME    11am – 12.30 pm (AWST)
VENUE
Economics and Commerce Conference Room (3.73), Old Economic Building
The University of Western Australia
(Adjacent to UWA Perth USAsia Centre)

Free entry but RSVP:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/putins-ukraine-war-echoes-brezhnevs-afghanistan-war-tickets-349975505157
Note: The event will be followed by lunch (paid by the participant’s own expense) at UWA Uni Club with the speaker.

For further information about this event
Dr Azim Zahir
Lecturer, School of Social Sciences
The University of Western Australia
E: azim.zahir@uwa.edu.au

Centre for Muslim States and Societies
The University of Western Australia
Building 8, Claremont Campus
Website:https://www.uwa.edu.au/able/research/centre-for-muslim-states-and-societies
Email: cmss-ss@uwa.edu.au