Historicity: 2 February, 2022
Your daily dose of curated historic curiosity.
2 February, 1989 - 33 years ago today, in Aghanistan
After fighting a bloody, 10-year war in Afghanistan, the last column of Soviet armored vehicles left the capitol city Kabul. It marked the begining of the final phase of withdrawal facilitated by the Geneva Accords, signed the year prior.
Two weeks later on 15 Feb., Colonel-General Boris Gromov was the last Soviet soldier to leave the country as he walked across the Friendship Bridge into Uzbekistan, then a member state of the USSR.
The Afghan war had all but bankrupted the Soviets.
They'd suffered 15,000 dead and a further 35,000 wounded, lost 600 helicopters & fixed-wing aircraft, and over 2,000 ground vehicles. Political will to continue the war was over. The Soviets had learned the same lesson every other empire that has invaded Afghanistan learns: the rugged mountain country simply cannot be occupied for long by any foreign army.
Alexander. Genghis Khan. The British Empire. The Soviet Union. NATO. Odds say sometime in the next 30 years a new great power will ignore history's lesson and again invade. I heard a guy in the betting parlor mention China…
Curiosity Corner:
Why did the Soviets invade in 1979?
What happened to 40 trucks worth of antiquities and artifacts that disappeared under Boris Gromov's direction?
Who were the mujahideen?
What one weapon turned the tables for the mujahideen against the deadly Soviet Hind helicopter?
What role did the U.S. and other nations play in the war?
Get curious:
What happened when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan on WarHistory.
The Soviets looted Afghan treasures on Wall Street Journal.
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviets to 9/11, from the Woodrow Wilson Center on YouTube.
The Soviets in Afghanistan on AlphaHistory.
The Mujahideen in Afghanistan on ThoughtCo
A historical timeline of Afghanistan on PBS.
What else makes 2 February special in the world?
Today is Groundhog Day in the U.S., the American version of Candlemas, which is the Celtic-origin Festival of Lights incorporated in different ways across much of the Catholic world.
In Mexico it is the Dia de la Candaleria and marks the end of Christmas.
Some Aztec descendants bring corn to the church to be blessed on this day, corresponding to the day on their ancestors' calendar when corn would be blessed by the god Tlaloc.1
Famous births on 2 February, under the sign of Aquarius
1st American President George Washington (1732-1799),
singer Shakira (1977-),
bounty hunter Duane “Dog" Chapman (1953-),
actress Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009),
poet & author James Joyce (1882-1941),
Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark (1882-1944),
the 11th President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye (1952-),
and controversial author Ayn Rand (1905-1982).
“We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality."
- Ayn Rand
Calendars for this day
Today is the 33rd day of the year on the Gregorian calendar. 332 days remaining.
It is 13.0.9.4.10 on the Mayan long count calendar.
It is day 6 - Dog, in the 13 day cycle of the Snake, in the year of the Rabbit on the Aztec calendar.
It is 1 Adar I, 5782 on the Jewish calendar.
The history, myths, and legends surrounding corn and it’s relationship with Meso-American cultures is absolutely fascinating. Showmoon has a very cool deep dive here.