People of the Revolution and the USSR
- Mohammad Daoud Khan محمد داود خان Afghan prince who overthrew his cousin to found a republic, then was killed five years later in the same palace by a communist coup
- Nur Muhammad Taraki نور محمد ترهکی Afghan communist founder whose overthrow and murder by his protégé Amin triggered the Soviet invasion
- Hafizullah Amin حفیظالله امین Khalq strongman who engineered the Saur Revolution and fell to Soviet guns three months after seizing power
- Mohammad Najibullah محمد نجیبالله The last communist president of Afghanistan, who outlasted the Soviet withdrawal by three years before the Taliban tortured and hanged him