Gov’t Declares Public Holiday on Occasion of Soviet Defeat

On the occasion of Soviet defeat and withdrawal from Afghanistan, today, February 15, a nationwide holiday in Kabul and provinces was declared by Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

All government institutions are closed in Kabul and provinces on this day.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to shore up the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul and maintained more than 100,000 troops in the country.

The then Soviet strong Red Army finally withdrew from Afghanistan after nine years of occupation on 15 February, 1989.