The Afghan war did not cause a pronounced political reaction among ordinary Soviet citizens: with poor knowledge of the situation, lack of understanding and fear prevailed. The relatives of the men of military age were particularly concerned that they might be sent to Afghanistan. For a large part of the Soviet citizens, the cancellation of the deferment from military service to full-time university students was a blow.

From year to year, the attitude to the war became more and more wary-negative. From the very beginning, Soviet dissidents opposed the war. For example an academician Sakharov in 1980 he was expelled from Moscow for public anti-war statement.

At the same time, the amount of information presented in the Soviet media was clearly insufficient for an event of such scale and significance. The emphasis has always been on the word "limited" in reference to the Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces in Afghanistan. The authorities sought to minimize the submission of information about the tragic events and its dissemination. First of all, it concerned the farewell to the dead soldiers. Until 1987, zinc coffins with bodies were buried in semi-secret, and it was forbidden to indicate on the gravestones that a soldier had died in Afghanistan.

By 1989, in connection with the policy of Glasnost, critical articles about the Soviet participation in this war began to appear in the press. At the Second Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR in December 1989, a resolution was adopted declaring that the invasion of Afghanistan deserved political and moral condemnation.

Surce: Alekseeva L. M. Istoriya inakomysliya v SSSR: Noveyshiy period [The history of dissent in the USSR: the contemporary period]. Moscow: Zatsepa, 2001.