A Brief History Of: Former Soviet Republics

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Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP / Getty

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Since the breakup of The Soviet Union in 1991, its former republics have attempted to take different political directions. Most came together in the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.), which is still led by Russia. The Baltic nations joined NATO and the European Union in 2004--a course Ukraine and Georgia have flirted with recently--while the resource-rich Central Asian republics have remained largely loyal to Moscow. But after the invasion of Georgia, former members of the U.S.S.R. face an inescapable truth: you can't run from geography. Try as they might to move closer to Europe, many are now nervously eyeing a resurgent Russia on their borders.

EASTERN EUROPE

1. BELARUS 2. UKRAINE 3. MOLDOVA Russia has held a grudge against Ukraine since the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution. Belarus has kept particularly close ties with Moscow, while Russian troops are currently stationed in a semidetached Moldovan territory.

THE CAUCASUS

1. GEORGIA 2. ARMENIA 3. AZERBAIJAN A vital region for the West, which has high hopes for an oil pipeline through Azerbaijan. George W. Bush visited ally Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia in 2005. Tiny Armenia, which borders Turkey and Iran, readily accepts Russian protection.

CENTRAL ASIA

1. KAZAKHSTAN 2. UZBEKISTAN 3. TURKMENISTAN 4. KYRGYZSTAN 5. TAJIKISTAN These states are wedged between Russia and China. Several are resource-rich and endure varying levels of autocratic rule; a few have let NATO use land for bases.

THE BALTICS

1. ESTONIA 2. LATVIA 3. LITHUANIA Thriving, technologically advanced democracies with prickly relationships with Russia. Estonia blames Moscow for major cyberattacks in 2007.