afghanistanofficers, military cadets and students received scholarships to study in the
ussr, where they were exposed to Communist ideology and propaganda.
Da’ud, though, had a bottom line. When the ussr offered to fund the
whole of the government’s second Five Year Plan, estimated at around $1
billion, he politely declined the offer, for the Afghan government wanted
to remain a non-aligned nation. However, from 1956 onwards Afghanistan
was drawn into the Soviet sphere of influence and the government was
bound to Soviet interests by virtue of its huge debt and the country’s reli-
ance on Soviet expertise and technology. Visually, Afghanistan’s urban
centres underwent a transformation and eventually assumed a decidedly
Soviet and eastern European appearance.
Inevitably, the increased Soviet presence opened the door for the spread
of Marxist–Leninist ideology, particularly among the officer corps, students
and ethnic minorities. Soviet propaganda films and publications aided
the spread of Communism, while in the cities of northern Afghanistan
the population watched television programmes broadcast from Tashkent
in Dari, Uzbeki and Turkmani. The usa and western European countries
continued to assist Afghanistan, but none of them was prepared to match
the level of Soviet funding. As early as the late 1950s Soviet officials believed
that in Afghanistan, at least, they had won the Cold War, as one member
The Salang Tunnel’s northern entrance. When completed this 2.6 km (1.6 mi.) tunnel cut
travel time from Kabul to Mazar-i Sharif to a single day. However, as the tunnel mouths
were built more than 3,000 m (9,842 ft) above sea level, in the winter the approach
roads are often blocked.