Soviet Union Occupational Disease

As Azerbaijan threatens to turn into another Afghanistan, Gorbachev discovers that the price of suppression may be his cherished reforms

Sometimes the invasion is the easy part. It is what comes after that truly tests the resolve of the conqueror and slowly drains away victory.

Once the decision to intervene in Azerbaijan was made, Soviet army tanks, so often the Kremlin's tool for political repression, thundered through makeshift barricades and swept easily into the center of riotous Baku. Since then, however, nothing has been easy for the occupying force of some 40,000 from the army, Interior Ministry and KGB. They have found it almost impossible to pacify the people of Azerbaijan, who for two years have been inflamed by a bitter...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!