The DRA government was indeed very popular in the urban centers, such as Kabul and Jalalabad. The rural areas were controlled by feudal lords who, with the support of Pakistan and the US, started attacking the cities. I wonder if Russia had never cut off aid and if Dostum was not a traitor, whether the DRA could have survived into the 2000s as a social democracy.
The DRA government was indeed very popular in the urban centers, such as Kabul and Jalalabad. The rural areas were controlled by feudal lords who, with the support of Pakistan and the US, started attacking the cities. I wonder if Russia had never cut off aid and if Dostum was not a traitor, whether the DRA could have survived into the 2000s as a social democracy.