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Saur Revolution: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Background And Precipitating Events —
Saur Revolution.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
On the 17th of April 1978, a prominent member of the Parcham faction named Mir Akbar Khyber was assassinated in Kabul. The government issued a statement claiming Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was responsible for the killing. Nur Muhammad Taraki of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan charged that President Mohammad Daoud Khan ordered the murder instead. This belief spread quickly through the Kabul intelligentsia and fueled deep suspicion toward the ruling administration. Massive protests erupted across the capital on the 19th of April following Khyber's death. Daoud Khan responded by ordering security officials to suppress the demonstrators and arrest PDPA leadership. Hafizullah Amin found himself under house arrest during this crackdown. While confined, Amin secretly coordinated with military officers within the Khalqist faction to launch an uprising. The party had been plotting a coup since at least 1976 according to some leaders. Tensions between Daoud and the Soviet Union had also deteriorated over foreign policy disputes. Daoud sought closer ties with Moscow to control Pashtun lands but grew uneasy when Soviets tried to dictate Afghan decisions.
The Uprising And Palace Assault
Tanks began firing at the Arg presidential palace around noon on the 27th of April 1978. A tank commander who had defected to the Khalq faction earlier turned his vehicle's guns against the seat of power. Fifty armored vehicles from the 4th Tank Brigade entered Kabul under orders from Senior Captain Aslam Watanjar. Simultaneously, Abdul Qadir seized control of the MiG-21-equipped 322nd Air Regiment. Smoke rose near the Ministry of Defense as armed men in uniform guarded Ariana Circle. The first shots rang out near the Ministry of Interior in the Shahr-e Naw section of downtown Kabul. Police confronted an advancing tank column there before fighting spread elsewhere. Sukhoi Su-7 fighter planes flew low later that afternoon and fired rockets at the Arg. An announcement broadcast on Radio Afghanistan declared the Khalq were overthrowing the government by 11:30pm. At approximately 10:30am, tanks moved toward the Afghan Air Force Headquarters under direction from Nazar Mohammad and Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy. They killed 2nd Lieutenant Khan Jan Maqbal during a chaotic engagement at Bagram Airfield. Anthony Hyman recorded deaths of 30 officers during these early hours of violence.
Execution Of The Barakzai Dynasty
President Daoud and his brother Naim were killed early on the 28th of April inside the Arg palace. Imamuddin, an army lieutenant of the 444th Commando Brigade, entered the palace with soldiers to arrest the president. Daoud refused to go with them and fired a pistol at the approaching troops. Soldiers responded by killing both Daoud and Naim immediately. Defense Minister Ghulam Haidar Rasuli, Interior Minister Abdul Qadir Nuristani, and Vice President Sayyid Abdulillah also died in the same building. Women and children from Daoud's family had been brought to the palace for safety earlier that day. One theory suggests Daoud ordered his son Wais to kill his wife, children, and sister before surrendering. The coup marked the end of power for the Barakzai dynasty after 152 years. Other family members were executed alongside the president. Ghulam Haidar Rasuli and other cabinet ministers were arrested and summarily executed in Pul-e-Charkhi prison the following morning. Former Afghan Army officer Mohammad Nabi Azimi claimed Western estimates of casualties were exaggerated and suggested only around 40 people might have died overall during the initial fighting.
Speculated Soviet Involvement
Soviet military advisors in Kabul received information about the coup several hours before it began on the 27th of April. Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Korniyenko stated the Soviet leadership learned of events through Reuters news agency reports. The Soviet news agency TASS used the term military coup rather than popular revolution in its coverage. Political scientist William Maley noted rising tensions with Daoud may have prompted Soviets to refrain from preventing an Afghan communist takeover. State Department analysts told U.S. President Jimmy Carter direct Soviet involvement was unlikely. Lieutenant General Shahnawaz Tanai admitted in a 2021 documentary that the coup occurred without Soviet assistance. General Nabi Azimi made similar claims during his residency in Tashkent in 1997 while attempting to debunk accusations of foreign planning. No convincing evidence supporting Soviet participation in planning or execution has emerged as of 2024. The PDPA's party constitution leaked in 1978 explicitly mentioned Marxism-Leninism as Afghanistan's future direction. Taraki and Karmal had been Soviet agents since the 1950s according to private conversations recorded by Soviet ambassador Alexander Puzanov.
Radical Reforms And Social Upheaval
The new government changed the national flag from traditional black, red, and Islamic green colors to resemble the Soviet Union's red flag in late October 1978. This move provoked outrage among conservative rural populations who viewed it as a sacrilegious affront. The regime prohibited usury without establishing alternative credit systems for peasants relying on traditional lending practices. Agricultural production fell sharply following these abrupt economic changes. Land reform confiscated property in haphazard ways that enraged communities and reduced food output. One journalist described the process as confiscating land in a manner that benefited no one while reducing overall production. Women gained declared equality under the new administration with Anahita Ratebzad writing an editorial on the 28th of May 1978 in New Kabul Times. She stated privileges women must have included equal education, job security, health services, and free time to rear healthy generations. The PDPA went further than the 1964 Constitution which already guaranteed certain freedoms. These reforms struck directly at the socioeconomic tribal structure of rural Afghanistan without preliminary pilots or local consultation.
Red Terror And State Repression
Khalqist chief Taraki advocated implementing a campaign modeled after the Bolshevik Red Terror to impose Marxist policies across Afghanistan. Tens of thousands of people were arrested, tortured, and killed during this period according to scholar Gilles Dorronsoro. Between April 1978 and October 1979, Khalqists murdered more than 50,000 Afghans in their red terror campaign. More than 27,000 people died within Pul-e-Charkhi prison alone during this timeframe. Landowners, religious clerics, Islamists, political dissidents, intellectuals, and former bureaucrats became primary targets. One Afghan citizen was even arrested for possessing a white flag bearing the words Allahu Akbar. The regime labeled most captured citizens as Ikhwanites while others became early members of the mujahideen. Army officers involved in or connected to the Bala Hissar uprising faced arrest or execution. Hafizullah Amin stated Comrade Stalin showed how to build socialism in backward countries when questioned about radical methods. Soviet diplomat Alexander Puzhanov requested Taraki not kill two fighters affiliated with the Parcham faction but received no leniency.
Rise Of Armed Resistance
Anti-government revolts began in Kunar Province in October 1978 following months of violent socialist program imposition. Discontent fomented among tribal leaders, clan heads, Islamists, Maoists, Western-educated teachers, and traditional religious leaders. Several uprisings erupted throughout 1979 leaving most provinces under guerrilla control including that in Herat. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 citing the Brezhnev Doctrine as justification for military intervention. Insurgent groups fought both Soviet troops and the PDPA government for more than nine years until final withdrawal occurred in 1989. Robert D. Kaplan described the Khalqist red terror campaign as the first instance of organized nationwide repression in modern Afghan history. Political scientist Barnett Rubin wrote Khalq used mass arrests, torture, and secret executions on a scale unseen since Abdul Rahman Khan's era. The violence of the state rather than its reforms caused widespread uprisings according to scholar Gilles Dorronsoro. Communists violently imposed policies across villages perpetrating mass rapes of women, killing clerics, looting houses, stealing food supplies, and torturing captives.
Who was assassinated on the 17th of April 1978 to trigger the Saur Revolution?
Mir Akbar Khyber, a prominent member of the Parcham faction, was assassinated in Kabul on the 17th of April 1978. This killing sparked massive protests and led directly to the military coup known as the Saur Revolution.
When did tanks begin firing at the Arg presidential palace during the Saur Revolution?
Tanks began firing at the Arg presidential palace around noon on the 27th of April 1978. The assault involved fifty armored vehicles from the 4th Tank Brigade and resulted in the deaths of President Mohammad Daoud Khan and his brother Naim early on the 28th of April 1978.
Did Soviet Union leaders plan or execute the Saur Revolution in Afghanistan?
No convincing evidence supports Soviet participation in planning or executing the Saur Revolution as of 2024. Lieutenant General Shahnawaz Tanai admitted in 2021 that the coup occurred without Soviet assistance, and General Nabi Azimi made similar claims in 1997.
What changes did the new government make to the national flag after the Saur Revolution?
The new government changed the national flag from traditional black, red, and Islamic green colors to resemble the Soviet Union's red flag in late October 1978. This alteration provoked outrage among conservative rural populations who viewed it as a sacrilegious affront.
How many people died during the Khalqist Red Terror campaign between April 1978 and October 1979?
Khalqists murdered more than 50,000 Afghans between April 1978 and October 1979 during their Red Terror campaign. More than 27,000 people died within Pul-e-Charkhi prison alone during this timeframe according to scholar Gilles Dorronsoro.