Mujaheddin pictured standing on a Soviet tank, Afghanistan, 1979.

1979
The US-Soviet exchange agreement expires and is not renewed because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In keeping with IREX’s tradition of insulating intellectual exchange from the exigencies of international politics, IREX continues exchange programs with Russia without a formal agreement.

Regional experts, particularly those with direct experience of Soviet Central Asian lands, become increasingly important to US policymakers. Almost without exception, the handful of Americans with first-hand experience and knowledge of the indigenous languages of Central Asia are alumni of IREX exchanges.