The huge loss of life in Afghanistan (equal to the United States’ losses in Vietnam, but in a far shorter period of time) already suggested to many that the Kremlin was becoming a danger to itself; the attack on a civilian airliner seemed to confirm that emerging view. It was this realization that spurred Mikhail Gorbachev’s rise to power, as well as support among the leadership for Gorbachev’s reformist policies of perestroika and glasnost.
阿富汗战争导致的巨大的生命损失（相当于美国在越南的损失，但时间上短得多）让很多人感到克里姆林宫已经成为其自身的威胁；攻击民航客机则确认了这一新观点。正是这一意识刺激了戈尔巴乔夫问鼎权力以及领导层对戈尔巴乔夫机制调整与改革开放政策的支持。