A book exhibition «The Afghan War is a living memory» dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan has been organized in the Hall of World Literature.

The Afghan War is a military conflict between the government forces of Afghanistan, supported by a limited contingent of Soviet troops (OKSVA) and armed formations of the Afghan Mujahideen ("dushmans") on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan "DRA", which lasted from 1979 to 1989. The April events (the Civil Revolution in Afghanistan" of 1978 marked the beginning of a new stage in the development of Soviet-Afghan relations, especially in the military field. In May 1978, an intergovernmental military Agreement was concluded, and in December of the same year, an agreement on friendship, good-neighborliness and cooperation was concluded between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan in Moscow. In 1979, at the repeated requests of the Afghan government, Soviet Army troops were brought into the country. The war had serious consequences, the course of military operations was difficult and bloody. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan began on May 15, 1988, in accordance with the Geneva Agreements on the political settlement of the situation around the DRA concluded on April 14, 1988. The last Soviet troops left Afghanistan on February 15, 1989.

The war in Afghanistan is one of the most tragic pages of the chronicle of the era.It will forever remain in the memory not only of war veterans, but also of all subsequent generations. On this day, the country pays tribute to the internationalist soldiers who took part in the war in Afghanistan in 1979-1989. This is not only a tribute to those who honestly and courageously fulfilled their military and international duty. Kazakhstanis participated in the Afghan military conflict as part of a strong military contingent. The number of servicemen from Kazakhstan sent to perform international duty in Afghanistan in the period from 1979 to 1989 amounted to 22,269 Kazakhstanis. Our soldiers and officers showed loyalty to the Motherland and the oath, showed a high example of courage, perseverance and heroism. Many of them were awarded military orders and medals. Monuments to Kazakhstani soldiers who died in Afghanistan were erected in the cities of Almaty, Atyrau, Karaganda, Temirtau, Akmola region and Karkaraly district (Karaganda region).

The purpose of the exhibition is to educate young people with a sense of patriotism, courage, morality, protection of the Motherland, loyalty, tolerance, respect for veterans of the Afghan war and preserve their feat in the memory of future generations.

The book exhibition from the fund of the National Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan presents materials dedicated to the military events of that time, books about the heroes of the wars – internationalists: N.I. Pikov «The War in Afghanistan» (1991); A.A. Prokhanov «The Afghan War: How it was» (1991); V.Verstakov «Afghan Diary» (1991); A.A.Lyakhovsky «Secrets of the Afghan War» (1991); E.Nikitinko «Afghanistan. From the war of the 80s to the forecast of new wars» (2004); A.I. Barth «On the fallen in Afghanistan» (1996); A.T. Zhantasov «The Second Muslim (Special Forces from Kazakhstan)» (2018); B.Smagul «Kazaktyn «Kara Major»» (2014), «King of Pandshera» (2020) and others.

We invite everyone to visit the exhibition!