9. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on Christmas Eve 1979
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring… except the Soviet Union. The Marxist-Leninist Khalq and Parcham parties had ousted the Afghan president in April 1978, but communism was so unpopular in Afghanistan that just over a year later the mujahideen succeeded in toppling them. Khalq and Parcham turned to the Soviet Union for help, and on Christmas Eve that year they obliged by sending 30, 000 troops across the border into Afghanistan by the cover of darkness. Bloody fighting ensued, and soon the Soviet Union had control of the major cities.
The Soviets stayed for nine years, in which time the mujahideen, backed by foreign support and weapons, waged a brutal guerrilla campaign against the invaders. In turn, captured mujahideen were executed and entire villages and agricultural areas were razed to the ground. When the Soviets finally withdrew in February 1989, over 1 million civilians and almost 125, 000 soldiers from both sides had been killed. From the turmoil after the Afghan-Soviet War emerged the Taliban, installed by neighboring Pakistan, and with them Osama bin Laden. This truly was a black Christmas for the world.