Dear vedic life, Soviet Union NEVER TOOK OVER Afghanistan, neither did British! Britain did have control of the Afghan foreign affairs (NO MORE THAN THAT), until 1919; that was when British attempted their THIRD fruitless effort, which followed two previous that began sometime in the early 1800s.. I don't remember the year!! Furthermore, Soviets, when they attacked/invaded (NOT TOOK OVER/COLONIZED) Afghanistan in 1979, CIA backed up Afghans to harness the energy of Afghan resistance to the Soviets and expand it into a holy war, an Islamic jihad, which would turn Muslim countries within the Soviet Union against the communist regime and eventually destabilise it; Offsprings are Taliban and Osama Bin Laden!!!