Talk:Military occupations by the Soviet Union/Archive 4

List Article
It is claimed this article listing Soviet Occupations contains original research. I can't find any, can someone indicate where it exists? --Nug (talk) 18:53, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * By combining several topics together you are doing original research. We need to have at least one mainstream source that describes the article's subject as whole. Thus, we do have sources that explain us what the WWII was. By adding a source telling specifically about, e.g. the Dieppe raid we are not doing original research because we have a source about the WWII in general, and about Dieppe raid as a part of this war. However, if we have, for example the source about Soviet occupation of East Germany in 1945 and, for example the source about Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, we cannot combine them together in the same article if no sources exist that draw more than a trivial connection between those events. Any attempt to combine these two events imply some commonality between them (for example, as Vecrumba suggested, "unique Russian dynamics"). If you are not able to identify such sources, then the only way to combine those event together is the list/dab. Moreover, since the "List of smb bad deeds" type list articles are clearly against our WP:NPOV, the only neutral solution seems to be just a dab page, as the "Japanese occupation" page. Note, in the latter case, we have much more serious reason to speak about commonality between those events, because most of them were military occupations by Imperial Japan during the WWII.
 * Again, you either provide mainstream sources to demonstrate more than a trivial linkage between these events ("Soviet occupations" are not merely "Occupations by the Soviet Union") or we convert the article into the dab page.
 * In addition, I simply do not see why should we write about the events each of which have their own article. That leads to POV-forking, and the Afghanistan section is a pure example of such a fork.--Paul Siebert (talk) 22:32, 25 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Where in WP:LIST is the requirement for at least one mainstream source that describes the article's subject as whole or that a description of each linked article is prohibited? By your artificial criteria all lists would be "original research" and be collections of "POV forks". --Nug (talk) 08:36, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Firstly, a typical list article differs in its form from the Soviet occupations article. Thus, the Afghan section should look like


 * Occupation of Afghanistan may refer to the war in Afghanistan.


 * In addition, the lede of the List of vegetable oils article contains a definition of this term: "The term "vegetable oil" can be narrowly defined as referring only to substances that are liquid at room temperature, or broadly defined without regard to a substance's state of matter at a given temperature. "


 * In other words, we do have a definition of the term here, and the definition is not trivial, so there is no doubts that such a category does exist. --Paul Siebert (talk) 12:54, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Where in WP:LIST does it mandate that list items have to be bullet-pointed. Lists can be structured as sub-sections such as List of Star Wars starfighters. The only requirement is that each item to be included on the list is adequately referenced, and that the lead section clearly describe the inclusion criteria, in this case:
 * "Soviet occupations were military occupations by the Soviet Union from the prelude to the aftermath of World War II  and subsequent Cold War."
 * As it stands this article fulfils the requirements of WP:LIST. --Nug (talk) 15:58, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Please, show that such a topic exists in literature (not as a part of the History of the USSR, but as a separate topic).
 * Otherwise, the article should start with a short lede followed by single line items for each event. The example for Afghanistan is shown above.--Paul Siebert (talk) 16:21, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Did you not read what I just wrote, This is not a topic, it is a list, where is it mandated that each item has to be a single line? Did I not give you an example of an alternative list style List of Star Wars starfighters, which is cited in WP:LIST as an example. --Nug (talk) 16:29, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, I did. And did you read my post? I wrote that for the article to be preserved in this previous form you need to provide source. In contrast, no such sources probably are needed for the article in a WP:SETINDEX form, although I probably need to discuss that at NOR and NPOV pages. The example provided by you is not relevant, because we have a primary source here, the film itself, which defines a strict set of items.
 * BTW, upon reading MOS I realised the disambiguation page is also a good option in this case, as well as in the case of Japanese occupation, because dab should be used for the terms that refer to more than one topic covered by Wikipedia articles, e.g., "mercury" (metal) and "mercury" (planet). As you can see from this "Soviet occupations" have multiple meanings, one of them is "Soviet professions". --Paul Siebert (talk) 18:13, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Please point to a policy or guideline that states the span of a the list must be covered by a single source, per WP:SALAT: "The potential for creating lists is infinite. The number of possible lists is limited only by our collective imagination." Also the form of a list, whether it is like List of Star Wars starfighters or like List of vegetable oils, is purely a matter of style and both are permissible, the style chosen is not dependant upon a whether there is some single source covering the span or not, you are just making this up. There are no entries in Japanese occupation that refer to "japanese profession", so a dab page is not necessary, and it would be simple enough to put a template "For Japanese professions see List of Japanese professions" at the top. In any case your contention that there are muliple meanings is irrelevant since the lead provides clear and unambiguous criteria for inclusion: military occupations by the Soviet Union from the prelude to the aftermath of World War II and subsequent Cold War. --Nug (talk) 20:44, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "Japanese occupation" is a dab page, because it refers to at least two totally different types of events: occupation of Japan and occupation by Japan.
 * Regarding your other arguments, if you want a list article, let's (i) rename it to the "List of ..." and (ii) rewrite accordingly. Currently, it is not a list article.--Paul Siebert (talk) 21:16, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes it is a list article. No rewrite is necessary, since this article complies with the accepted form of List of Star Wars starfighters. --Nug (talk) 21:33, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
 * What are the criteria that distinguish a list from a full article, in your opinion?--Paul Siebert (talk) 21:54, 26 June 2012 (UTC)


 * This page has every right to exist. The only real question is how much information should be provided about every item and in the introduction. This is merely a matter of readability and convenience for the reader. There is nothing wrong with providing even several paragraphs about each item, as long as information is readable, concise and interesting. Good luck with improvements here! My very best wishes (talk) 14:13, 29 June 2012 (UTC)
 * If we provide several paragraphs about each item, it will be a full article, no matter how we call it. You cannot declare the article to be a list, and to write whatever prose you want. In any events, NPOV and NOR criteria must be met.--Paul Siebert (talk) 15:04, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Soviet occupations
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Soviet occupations's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "Hayashi": From Soviet–Japanese War (1945): Hayashi, S. (1955). Vol. XIII - Study of Strategic and Tactical peculiarities of Far Eastern Russia and Soviet Far East Forces. Japanese Special Studies on Manchuria. Tokyo, Military History Section, Headquarters, Army Forces Far East, US Army. From Soviet invasion of Manchuria: Hayashi, S. (1955). Vol. XIII - Study of Strategic and Tactical peculiarities of Far Eastern Russia and Soviet Far East Forces. Japanese Special Studies on Manchuria. Tokyo, Military History Section, Headquarters, Army Forces Far East, US Army. 

Reference named "Drea": From Soviet–Japanese War (1945): Drea, E J. (1984). Missing Intentions : Japanese Intelligence and the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria, 1945. Military Affairs 48(2): 66-73. From Soviet invasion of Manchuria: Drea, E J. (1984). Missing Intentions : Japanese Intelligence and the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria, 1945. Military Affairs 48(2): 66-73. 

Reference named "Glantz": From Soviet–Japanese War (1945): LTC David M. Glantz, "August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria". Leavenworth Papers No. 7, Combat Studies Institute, February 1983, Fort Leavenworth Kansas. From World War II: </li> <li>From Siege of Budapest: Glantz, David M., and Jonathan House. When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1995. ISBN 0-7006-0899-0) p. 298</li> <li>From Warsaw Uprising: David M. Glantz (2001). The Soviet-German War 1941–1945: Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay Retrieved on 20 February 2009</li> <li>From Soviet invasion of Manchuria: LTC David M. Glantz, "August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria". Leavenworth Papers No. 7, Combat Studies Institute, February 1983, Fort Leavenworth Kansas.</li> </ul>

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 15:17, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

No Nazi-Soviet co-operation before 1941?
Paul Siebert reverted this edit contending there was no co-operation between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany before 1941. While there is some debate whether that co-operation constituted an alliance, there was co-operation none the less. For example the German–Soviet Credit Agreement (1939), German–Soviet Commercial Agreement (1940) and the German–Soviet Border and Commercial Agreement of 1941 helped Germany evade the Allies' economic blockage, with up to 70% of imports into Germany coming from the Soviet Union. As I recall Soviet freight trains shipping British blockage busting raw materials were arriving even on the day of the German invasion! --Nug (talk) 20:47, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Of course, some cooperation took place. However, that is, by and large, irrelevant to that case. Annexation of the Baltic states and Bessarabia, and Winter war were not a part of cooperation. Moreover, the article itself says the opposite. Reverted to more neutral wording. --Paul Siebert (talk) 20:52, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't think your title "Before the attack of the USSR by the European Axis powers" is neutral at all, it obsfuscates the any co-operation existed and there is no denying the fact that the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact facilitated these Soviet occupations, even if Germany may have expressed some disquiet after the fact. --Nug (talk) 20:59, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * This is the article about occupation of some territories by the USSR, not about its foreign relations. Therefore, I would see your rationale for mentioning cooperation. What is really important is the fact that MRP (a colloquial name) was a non-aggression treaty, therefore, your change is an improvement. I'll think if that can be improved further.--Paul Siebert (talk) 21:07, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

should section title be "Soviet-Axis war", "Soviet-Nazi war" or "Soviet-German Alliance war"?
I can accept that the war was not only against Nazis but not that the war was against the Axis alliance as such - the USSR id not declare war against Japan until two days after the Hiroshima bomb. One editor, however, points out ''Manchuria belongs to this section. In addition, the USSR fought against Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Finland)''.

Russia had land claims on Outer Mongolia before the war, and thus this was partially an irredentist claim more than fighting Japan. (Russia lost Outer Mongolia in 1912 and essentially regained "Mongolia" in 1924) The Manchurian border war was that - a border war, ended when the Soviets signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact with Germany. The claim that somehow Finland and Norway were German allies or Axis allies is problematic - I found no source saying the Soviet occupations thereof were due to fighting the Axis. Or Germany.

As a result, I suggest "German Alliance" is the least POV term possible here. Collect (talk) 12:09, 12 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Axis is usually used as synonym for that even though the traditional clear cut division does not really work with WWII. - Wanderer602 (talk) 14:01, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * If a word does not accurately represent the topic, then it is the wrong word. And I am still unsure why Finland is part of the Axis per one editor. Cheers. Collect (talk) 16:23, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Finland was not the Axis member, but it was not a German ally either (just a co-belligerent). That the USSR attacked Japan only at the very end of WWII does not make Manchurian offensive not a part of WWII. --Paul Siebert (talk) 16:50, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Issue comes with certain words have more than one definition. In the strict sense being an ally would require there to be an strict formal alliance between the participants, in this sense Finland was not allied with Axis. However in less strict sense 'being an ally' can be expanded to included various other kinds of associations, and in this sense Finland on the other hand was allied with Axis. As for being part of Axis, it seems to come down with separation between Axis versus Allies. Since Finland was associated with Axis and fought against member of the Allies it is therefore valid grounds for some to state that it was part of the Axis. But again if we go by strict definitions it was not either ally nor part of Axis. - Wanderer602 (talk) 17:16, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Correct. Anyway, since I changed the title, and there is no mention of Axis there, there is no sense to continue this discussion any more.--Paul Siebert (talk) 17:35, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Um -- your position is that since you insist on your wording that therefore there is no need to discuss the word used? What an interesting concept, Paul!  The fact is that "Axis" s misleading, that the USSR was not at war with Japan from the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact onwards, and that the Manchurian border conflict is not generally considered "part of WW II" -- as the Soviets made peace with Japan at that time, and did not engage in any acts against Japan until after the Hiroshima bomb.   And IIRC, the Soviets invaded Finland -- so finding Finland to be acting as part of the Axis is absurd utterly.   Cheers. Collect (talk) 17:48, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * The above post contains many factual errors.
 * "The fact is that "Axis" s misleading, that the USSR was not at war with Japan from the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact onwards" Wrong. Formally, the USSR and Japan were not at war in 1939. However, a cease fire agreement between Japan and the USSR was signed almost a month after MRP.
 * "the Manchurian border conflict is not generally considered "part of WW II"" As well as the war in China before 1939. BTW, not Manchurian, but Mongolian. You really see no difference?
 * "and did not engage in any acts against Japan until after the Hiroshima bomb." And does in make Manchurian offensive not a part of the war against the Axis? America also joined the war late, after the first major defeat of the Axis forced at Moscow, so what?
 * "finding Finland to be acting as part of the Axis is absurd utterly" Probably, however, Britain declared war on Finland exactly for that reason.
 * And, finally, does anybody questions the fact that since 1941 the USSR was one of three major Allies? If not, then what is the problem with the current title?--Paul Siebert (talk) 20:17, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

Wow -- your correction is that it took a whole month for the USSR and Japan to make peace. Sorry -- that is almost a meaningless distinction. Next - the term "Manchuria" is generally considered to include Mongolia in many texts - so again a correction which is not a correction. The Mongolian SSR (aka "Outer Mongolia") was under Soviet hegemony from 1924 on. It was the border between Mongolia and Manchuria which was the causum belli - as you ought to be well aware. The US was at war with Japan from 8 Dec 1942 on -- or for a number of years before the Hiroshima bomb (which I seem to recall was developed by the US). Yet you can say with a straight face that "America also entered the war late"? Sorry -- I do not buy the idea that spending several years at war is the same as entering a war 2 days after the A-bomb! And again you seem to think that because the USSR invaded Finland and occupied Finnish territory that Finland was "one of the bad guys" in WW II. Even Soviet revisionists do not make that claim! Seriously -- the claims and "corrections" made in the post above are WP:FRINGE at best. Cheers. Collect (talk) 20:50, 12 October 2012 (UTC)
 * One month is a really long term. For example, Germany destroyed Poland in less then one month. More important, and you totally missed that that the ceasefire agreement had no relation to MRP.
 * Re ""Manchuria" is generally considered to include Mongolia in many texts" Really?!!
 * Re "The Mongolian SSR (aka "Outer Mongolia") was under Soviet hegemony from 1924 on." And? Khalkhin Gol is in Mongolia, not Manchuria.
 * Re "Yet you can say with a straight face that "America also entered the war late"? " Of course. The US entered the war after the most decisive WWII battle had already been lost by Germany. America just nominally participated in the European theatre until 1943, when the second most decisive battle was lost by the Axis.
 * Re "Sorry -- I do not buy the idea that spending several years at war is the same as entering a war 2 days after the A-bomb! " Do you buy the idea that, had Kwantung army been deployed to, e.g., Burma, it could dramatically tip the balance in south Asia to the Axis side. Why hadn't Japan done that? And, by the way, many scholars agree that Japanese surrender was triggered by the invasion, not by the A-bomb.
 * Re "And again you seem to think that because the USSR invaded Finland and occupied Finnish territory that Finland was "one of the bad guys" in WW II. " Of course no. Finland joined the war against the USSR in 1941. It was German co-belligerent, and that fact is well known for everybody but you.--Paul Siebert (talk) 21:05, 12 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Wow -- "One month is a really long time  ? the M-R pact specifically mentioned Japan, thus it is clear one of the purposes of the pact was to end the Soviet-Japan war.  April 1941 was when the Soviet-Japan border treaty was signed - defining the Mongolia-Manchukuo border (I suppose someone could argue that "Manchuria" was not mentioned, but all the history books I found use the term "Manchuria"  and when two nations claim the same territory, for some really strange reason, both country names are generally used.)   The US for some really strange reason dopes not consider Pearl Harbor a "minor" act, nor does it consider the spending of large numbers of American lives over a long period "minor", nor does it consider the funds spent on the Allies, including vast sums for the Soviets, "minor" while I consider the loss of Soviet lives after Hiroshima fighting in Manchukuo to be quite "minor" in comparison.  In fact, the texts all affirm that the primary Soviet goal was a Pacific seaport -- on Manchuria.  Now you iterate that Finland "was a German co-belligerent" but amazingly enough - that is a "FRINGE" view now.  The Soviets started the "Winter War" and so accusing the Finns of starting it is absurd, even by Soviet historians.   In fact, the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations for its invasion and occupation of Finland.  So much for your "co-belligerent" claim -- though the Soviets succeeded in taking much of Finland after WW II, and huge "reparations", on the flimsy basis that Finland got aid from Germany after the M-R pact was abrogated.  Unless you believe that the Finns got aid from Germany and atacked the Soviets in the first place, that argument fails utterly.    among many others indicates the complexity of what happened when Finland was under Soviet occupation.  BTW, 1939 is before'' 1941, Paul.  Cheers.  Now I think we have discussed your misapprehensions sufficiently on this article talk page. Collect (talk) 12:25, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Re "the M-R pact specifically mentioned Japan" Where? Did you read this document?
 * Re "April 1941 was when the Soviet-Japan..." See no connection to the issue we are discussing.
 * Re "The US for some really strange reason dopes not consider Pearl Harbor a "minor" act" It was important ... politically. However, taking into account huge scale of hostilities in the Eastern Front, it is hardly be called a major. By the way, Churchill advised Stalin to abstain from joining the war against Japan if that could have a negative impact on the most important theatre - the Eastern front.
 * Re "while I consider the loss of Soviet lives after Hiroshima fighting in Manchukuo to be quite "minor" in comparison." In comparison to what? To American losses at Iwo Jima? In addition, not Soviet losses matter, but Japanese. Try to read at least something.
 * Re "In fact, the texts all affirm that the primary Soviet goal was a Pacific seaport -- on Manchuria." Irrespective to the correctness of this fact, what relation does it have to this dispute?
 * Re "''
 * Re "Now you iterate that Finland "was a German co-belligerent" but amazingly enough - that is a "FRINGE" view now." Really? Taking into account your previous factual mistakes, this one is fully understandable.
 * Re "The Soviets started the "Winter War" and so accusing the Finns of starting it is absurd..." Of course, but that has no relation to your previous thesis.
 * Re "In fact, the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations for its invasion and occupation of Finland." Correct, but I see no connection with the Finnish co-belligerence issue.
 * Re "So much for your "co-belligerent" claim -- though the Soviets succeeded in taking much of Finland after WW II, and huge "reparations", on the flimsy basis that Finland got aid from Germany after the M-R pact was abrogated." It is not my claim, most historians agree that Finland was Nazi co-belligerent in 1941-44.
 * Re "Unless you believe that the Finns got aid from Germany and atacked the Soviets in the first place...". Winter war ended with Moscow Peace Treaty, which was ratified by both sides. Continuation war was a separate conflict, and Finland was a German co-belligerent during it.
 * Finally, since I do not understand the connection between all of that and the article's content, I suggest you to stop that per WP:FORUM.--Paul Siebert (talk) 14:45, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

Afghanistan
One thing that's interesting about Afghanistan is that its Soviet-backed government lasted until 1992 although the Soviet troops withdrew in 1989, such that it actually outlived the Soviet Union itself. So, at what point did the government stop being an occupation regime by becoming a sovereign ally: when the last Soviet soldier left in 1989, or did it acquire sovereignty at some point ahead of the Soviet withdrawal? How interesting that at some point the Soviet Union was inconspicuously transformed from occupier to friendly ally of the same country. That's very different from, say, the occupation of France by Germany in WWWII. I'm not railing against the term occupation (some writers do refer to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan), but I'm genuinely curious about the phenomenon. Is "regime change" (like Grenada in 1983 or Panama in 1989, but here restricted to 1979) a better term? Zloyvolsheb (talk) 17:22, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * In my opinion, this article should be in accordance with the main article. It does not call the period from 1979 to 1989 "Soviet occupation". In actuality, the Soviets did not install a new government, they supported one of two opposing parties. I agree that "occupation" is a frequently used term, however, it is not the major one. --Paul Siebert (talk) 20:20, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * "Occupation" may be applicable to December 1979 on the grounds that Soviet forces killed then-ruler Amin, but it's unclear to what point that would extend. The Soviet personnel were in Afghanistan before the December 1979 regime change because they had been invited there previously; the Afghan government after Amin also maintained that the Soviet troops were welcome, and it was especially they, and not the Soviets, who wanted the Soviet troops to stay under Gorbachev. "Occupation" in this context may only mean that the Soviet presence was unpopular with many Afghans, though the government it reinforced was popular enough to stay in power for several years after 1989. Zloyvolsheb (talk) 20:48, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Exactly. We can speak about Soviet intervention, and about Soviet military presence. Military presence alone does not constitute occupation. Interestingly, David M. Edelstein (Occupational Hazards: Why Military Occupations Succeed or Fail. International Security, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Summer, 2004), pp. 49-91) does not include Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in to his list of XX century occupations, whereas NATO occupation is there.--Paul Siebert (talk) 20:54, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Since when did Edelstein's paper become a definitive list of occupations? Can you present a source that discusses whether or not the Soviet presence in Afghanistan was an occupation? There is significant literature that discusses "Soviet occupied Afghanistan" here and here. --Nug (talk) 21:54, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * That Edelstein is a reliable source, I expect you to treat it with respect. If you have some alternative list of occupations, feel free to present it.
 * Re gscholar, "Afghan civil war" gives more results.--Paul Siebert (talk) 22:13, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Since there has been almost continuous civil war in Afghanistan since the collapse of the Soviet Union, your gScholar is worthless. You did not answer the question, on what basis do you conclude that Edelstein's paper gives a definitive list of occupations? --Nug (talk) 22:29, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * PS should present a source that actually disputes the notion that there was an "occupation", rather than engaging in original research. Otherwise, it would seem that most reliable sources use the term.TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 22:33, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Incorrect. I do not have to prove the opposite. In contrast, Nug has to prove that "Soviet occupation" is a mainstream term used by scholars to describe the period of Afghan history from 1979 to 1989. Taking into account that both Soviet war in Afghanistan and Cold war articles use different terminology (and those articles have much less issues than this one), I assume "occupation" is not a mainstream term. Regarding the date of the start of the Afghanistan civil was, what about that:
 * "Afghanistan’s case is unique because at first it was the socialist revolution of 1978 that started the civil war."
 * "The active involvement of the Soviet military forces in suppressing the Afghan resistance in order to stabilize the Marxist regime further strengthened the opposition forces."(Nasreen Ghufran. THE TALIBAN AND THE CIVIL WAR ENTANGLEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN. Asian Survey, Vol. 41, No. 3 (May/June 2001), pp. 462-487)
 * --Paul Siebert (talk) 22:51, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

Sources: Seekins writes: A "strategic" school of thought, often drawing on the determinism of early twentieth-century geopolitics, depicts the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan as the inevitable march of a "heartland" power to the sea.

''wage a jihad against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. ''

workers who remained in Afghanistan throughout the years of Soviet occupation

AP extensive collection of photographs, videos and audiotapes in an exhibition covering the last years of the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan and the collapse of the communist regime in 1992

Highbeam in fact gives a count of 3,763 matching articles which seems sufficient.

Questia only finds 901 articles and books from such non-RS publishers as Praeger, Rutgers, Routledge, Syracuse, Harvard,  and the UN. In fact the UN itself states ''Soviet occupation: More than two centuries of virtually unbroken Abdali rule in Kabul ended in 1978. ... The 1980s were a decade of Soviet occupation, the 1990s of civil war19''

All using the term "Soviet occupation" with "Afghanistan." I would suggest this is sufficient to show this is so far from being "fringe" that it appears essentially unanimous in finding the Soviet presence in Afhanistan to have been an "occupation." Cheers. Collect (talk) 23:52, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
 * The articles telling about the same subject must be consistent. This article describes the events in Afghanistan differently from what Soviet war in Afghanistan and Cold war say, so, to avoid POV fork you must convince the community to change those two articles accordingly.
 * Regarding gscholar, since you yourself rejected this type of arguments from me, I am not sure you have a moral right to resort to such arguments in discussion with me. Moreover, the sources that tangentially mention this issue, such as the article about Afghan Opium economy, are hardly relevant. I provided the source that says that Afghan civil war started before Soviet intervention, and that the USSR militarily supported one party in this conflict. This view was published in respectable journal and by no means is fringe.--Paul Siebert (talk) 00:15, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * When did Collect "reject this type of argument" from you?TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 00:48, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * You are right. Collect did not reject this argument explicitly. However, he was a participant of the discussion where I put forward the arguments of this type. Ironically, whereas those arguments didn't force him to reconsider his position regarding the Baltic states, he seems to believe gscholar can be used as a tool during this discussion.--Paul Siebert (talk) 01:30, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * As I did not use gscholar - I think you need to rethink how you phrase your arguments.  They appear to be IDONTLIKEIT at this point, rather than any actual reason to refuse the hundreds of strong RS sources from Harvard, Praeger, UN etc. etc. etc. Collect (talk) 02:35, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Paul Siebert cites Nasreen Ghufran in THE TALIBAN AND THE CIVIL WAR ENTANGLEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN. Asian Survey, Vol. 41, No. 3 (May/June 2001), pp. 462-487, to claim there was no Soviet occupation. Here is what Nasreen Ghufran says in a 2011 paper about Pakistan: "However, Pakistan remerged as an ally in the 1980s during the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan" --Nug (talk) 01:42, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * You misinterpreted my words. I used this source to support the claim that the Afghan civil war started in 1978. As Zloyvolsheb correctly noted, there was probably some short period of occupation, however, Karmal/Najibulla's regime lasted even after Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, and even longer then the USSR itself.--Paul Siebert (talk) 01:51, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * And the UN source specified that the occupation lasted far longer than you wish to admit. As do hundreds of other reliable sources from all the major academic presses.  In short - plenty of RS sources for the fact that the Soviet occupation was real, extensive, and decade long. Collect (talk) 02:32, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * The claim that there was an occupation, but only for a fraction of the time the Soviet military was involved, appears to be based on original research and synthesis.TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 03:52, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Are you going to write a new POV fork of the Soviet war in Afghanistan article? If you believe it was an occupation, change that article first.--Paul Siebert (talk) 03:57, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * How does that article contradict the notion that there was an occupation? It has text like "the Soviets occupied the cities", "Pakistan took in millions of Afghan refugees (mostly Pashtun) fleeing the Soviet occupation",  "The accords had failed to address adequately the issue of the post-occupation period", ect.TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 04:45, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Read the Soviet war in Afghanistan article first. It is in a good shape, and I believe, the users who worked on it have been able to adequately reflect major viewpoints. It was a civil war there, which started before Soviet intervention. The Soviets neither changed political system nor installed new regime, they just supported one of two wings (the moderate one) of the same political party. I agree that many sources mix military presence with military occupation, however, "occupation" is a very concrete term, and Soviet military presence hardly fits it. Nevertheless, I agree that media frequently apply the term "occupation" to the events in Afghanistan. However, since media frequently make mistakes (thus, in popular mind, the conflict in Afghanistan started after Soviet intervention, whereas in actuality it started before, the sources can be provided), I am not sure we can rely solely on what media says, as well as on brief mention of "occupation" some scholarly articles. --Paul Siebert (talk) 05:14, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * This just gets better. First a gscholar search on "Afghan Civil War" even though that civil war persists today long after the collapse of the SU, then unsupported claim that Edelstein presents a definitive list of occupations, then a cite of Nasreen Ghufran, now finally citing a Wikipedia article! Paul, please don't waste our time. --Nug (talk) 08:34, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
 * The first argument sounds reasonable, although you did not accept similar arguments from me during some other discussion. With regard to the rest, you again misinterpreted my words. Where did I claim that Edelstein's list is comprehensive? However, the fact that he includes NATO occupation of Afghanistan and does not include Soviet occupation requires some explanation. In actuality, whereas NATO deposed Talib government and installed a totally new one, the USSR just took one side in the intra-party conflict.
 * I used Ghufran to support the statement that the civil war started in Afghanistan before Soviet intervention, and you failed to proof that this source is fringe or unreliable.
 * And, I do not cite a Wikipedia article, I am just pointing your attention at the fact that this article should be in accordance with the main article per WP:CFORK. If you believe that "occupation" is the most adequate term, why didn't you try to modify the main article accordingly? I suspect that the reason is that your do not believe in a success of such enterprise...--Paul Siebert (talk) 02:24, 15 October 2012 (UTC)

Western Ukraine
A section on the occupation of Western Ukraine needs to be added. It was occupied at around the same time as the Baltic states.--Sanya3 (talk) 00:30, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Requested move
<div class="boilerplate" style="background-color: #efe; margin: 2em 0 0 0; padding: 0 10px 0 10px; border: 1px dotted #aaa;">
 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the proposal was move per request.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:51, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Soviet occupations → Military occupations by the Soviet Union – Eliminate ambiguity. When I read "Soviet occupations", the first thing I think of is "teacher, factory worker, and people's revolutionary commissar". Per the doctrine of least astonishment, I think it would be a better idea to choose a title with less ambiguity, given that the word "occupation" has multiple definitions. Alternatively, "Countries occupied by the Soviet Union" is also a valid title. -- benlisquare T•C•E 21:01, 31 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Per nom, support "Military occupations by the Soviet Union" (rather than of which could be confused for an occupation of the Soviet Union by another country) or (less preferably) "Countries occupied by the Soviet Union" but am open to other suggestions. — <span style="border:1px solid #000073;background:#4D4DA6;padding:2px;color:#F9FFFF;text-shadow:black 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em"> AjaxSmack   01:49, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Whoops. Fixed, thanks for that. -- benlisquare T•C•E 05:10, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Support. Sounds legitimate. --Jaan Pärn (talk) 08:54, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
 * You've come across a very real issue here. See also Talk:Military occupations. --BDD (talk) 21:22, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Support, it is definitely a more clear title. --Vejvančický (talk / contribs) 12:22, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

For info, the discussion linked above as Talk:Military occupations is currently at Talk:Military careers. – Fayenatic  L ondon 13:54, 27 January 2014 (UTC)