VII Международный конкурс научно-исследовательских и творческих работ учащихся
Старт в науке
Афганистан – страна, изнуренная войной
Автор работы награжден дипломом победителя II степени
Полная версия работы доступна во вкладке "Файлы работы" в формате PDF
…To step over the barriers of the past… What is this poem about? It`s about death and truth, I think. At present, it is known that the losses of the Soviet army amounted to about 15,000 soldiers. The exact figures for Afghans killed in the war are unknown. But there were about 2 million of them. Thirty years have passed, but the echo of that war still reacts in the souls and the hearts of people in the modern world. To step over the barriers of the past…But what do we, modern children of 2000s, know about that war? And what do we know about the country which is in the Middle East named Afghanistan?
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, it has no access to the sea. There has been a civil war in the country for the last 34 years. It borders with Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the easternmost part of the country. Afghanistan is at a crossroads between East and West and is an ancient center of trade and migration. Its geopolitical location is between South and Central Asia on the one hand, and the Middle East on the other, which allows it to play an important role in the economic, political and cultural relations between the countries of the region. It is an extremely poor country, dependent on foreign aid.
The history of Afghanistan is overshadowed by many attacks. During 330-323 BC. Afghanistan was at the mercy of Alexander the Great, who conquered him from the Persians. After 323 BC he became part of the Seleucid state, and then belonged to the Mauryan dynasty. This was followed by many other invasions of the country. During 661-750 AD he was at the mercy of the Arabs. During this period Islam was introduced in Afghanistan. After the Arabs came again the Persians, who, in turn, gave way to Ghaznavids. In the nineteenth century, after the Anglo-Indian Wars, most of Afghanistan came under British control. Following the entry of King Ammanulah Khan to the throne in 1919, Afghanistan gained full independence. The history of modern Afghanistan began in 1978, when the Communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan gained control of the country. During this period, the Soviet Union signed a friendship treaty with the ruling extremist party of Afghanistan, and supported its government with arms and ammunition. Control over the regime that prevailed in Afghanistan belonged to the Soviet Union. Gradually, the army regime collapsed. By October 1979, relations between Afghanistan and the USSR had become strained due to the refusal of Hafizullah Amin to listen to the advice of the USSR regarding the governance of the country.
On December 24, 1979, the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan and killed Hafizullah Amina. Meanwhile, as part of the Cold War strategy, the US government pursued hideous tactics of covertly using Pakistani inter-agency intelligence to train anti-government Mujahideen forces recruited among disgruntled Afghan Muslims who were against the communist regime. As a result, the Soviet troops could not establish power over the country because of the resistance of these Afghan independence fighters, mojaheds, or otherwise trained terrorists. The US strategy led to success, and the Soviet government had to withdraw its troops from the country in 1989.
The Taliban history of Afghanistan began after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country. The country was divided because of the struggle of different groups of Mujahideen. This collapse of the state apparatus, as well as frequent bloody battles, led to the establishment of the power of the Taliban. These were the political religious forces that captured Kabul in 1996, and by 2000 the whole of Afghanistan was under their control. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to destroy the al-Qaida terrorist network controlled from Afghanistan and expel the Taliban government. Then, in the 2004 election, held for the first time in the entire political history of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai was elected president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. In the end, this war had a huge impact on the modern country of Afghanistan. In my opinion, if it was not for this war, now everything could be different.
Now I want to say a few words about the political structure of this country. Afghanistan adopted a new constitution on January 16, 2004. According to it, Afghanistan is an Islamic republic. No law should not contradict the norms of Islam. The president, he is the head of the executive branch. Elected on the basis of universal, secret and direct voting for a period of 5 years. Legislative power is vested in the bicameral National Assembly, which consists of the Walesi-Jirga and Meshrano-Jirga.
Afghanistan is a multinational state. Along with the Afghans, the dominant nation of the country, constituting approximately half of its population, there live Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Khazars, Jamshids, Baluchis, Kafirs (Nuristanis) and other peoples inhabiting mainly the northern regions of the country.
The geographical position of Afghanistan and its turbulent history have led to the mixing on this earth of a huge number of different cultures, languages and traditions, which constitute the colorful and often very intricate cultural heritage of this country. It is simply impossible to single out a single system of traditions for the whole country — every nation or tribal group has its own etiquette, history, value system, set of traditions and language; only common Islamic values are common to all.
Afghans usually live in large families headed by an older man of the clan. Marriages are usually between members of the same breeding group, and with the mandatory approval of both families from which the newlyweds come. Both men and women traditionally wear long cotton skirts, baggy pants, special vests and a mandatory headdress. Afghan houses traditionally consist of a series of rooms surrounding a rectangular courtyard, where women work with children and prepare food. Separately allocated male section for receiving guests at home and holding negotiations, and the "female half". Afghan traditions impose many restrictions on the behavior of women. In most tribes, men have the right to decide when a woman can leave the house, when she can appear before the guests or what exactly she is doing at this time. Afghan women traditionally look down when talking to men, and they will expect the same from a foreign woman. Of the rigid local “taboos”, only traditional for many countries of the Islamic world rules should be strictly taken into account: you should not pass in front of a praying person, you should not direct the soles of your feet to others, you should not accept or give anything with your left hand (it is used for personal hygiene) and especially - to take food with her, before washing and after her, you should wash your hands, you should not touch the head of a person, you should not enter the female half of the house and so on. Afghans eat on the floor, on a specially spread oilcloth or Koshma, on which flatbread is laid out and dishes are arranged. And here it is quite acceptable to eat from the general dish, and from individual dishes. Food is taken by hand. Before and after meals, tea is usually served, most often green. So, there are a lot of people in honor and not particularly friendly, but respect each other and senior, especially their mothers.
To sum up, the Afghan war is considered part of the Cold War. In the Western media, it is sometimes called the "Soviet Vietnam" or "Bear Trap", because this war was one of the most important reasons for the fall of the USSR. Both in Russia and in Afghanistan we can see the consequences of that war. In my opinion, that exhausting war prevented Afghanistan and the international relations of both countries from developing, imposing on them the imprint of grief from the loss of loved people.