Abstract
: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 remains a deeply puzzling event. The action was uncharacteristic of Moscow's Third World policy and extremely self-destructive. Moreover, archival sources reveal that, just nine months earlier, the Politburo was strongly opposed to such an undertaking. Based on archival documents, this article examines what could have caused this sudden, reckless shift in policy, and attention is drawn to a hitherto overlooked factor. Guided by the “resource curse” literature, the possibility that the Soviet leadership may have been radically emboldened in their contemporary external outlook by the extraordinary surge in energy wealth that occurred during 1979 is analyzed.
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