A Brief History Of: Former Soviet Republics

Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP / Getty
  • Share

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.

Time.com on Digg

POWERED BY digg

Quotes of the Day »

EXCERPT FROM DOCUMENTS given by the CIA to British intelligence officials about Ethiopian-born British resident Binyam Mohamed, who alleges he was tortured at the behest of U.S. authorities after his 2002 arrest in Pakistan
For use in rail of Articles page or Section Fronts pages. Duplicate and change name as necesssary to distinguish.