The former Soviet Union broke into what separate states?
1 Answer
The Soviet Union's fragmentation allowed 15 states to appear (or re-emerge), in 1991.
Explanation:
Russia, in 1917, had been a sprawling empire, and the new Soviet Union sometimes played to old ethnic identities, allowing an appearance of a degree of political autonomy for some peoples provided that they follow Moscow's leadership in most things Also, during 1939, Stalin forceable annexed territory from several nations and occupied others.
The USSR had been kept together by coercion and the uniting ideology of the Communist Party. The ideology failed in utterly in the 1980s and Gorbachev had to relax the grip of the state's power. The failed coup in Moscow in 1990 proved the USSR had lost its authority and legitimacy, and in 1991 the USSR was dissolved.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, had been brutally annexed to the USSR in 1939, and strong independence movements appeared in 1986 and succeeded in 1991.
Moldavia had been annexed in 1939 from Romania, and also left immediately in 1991, only to have Russian nationalists on its territory carve out their own 'Transnistria' which still exists but is not recognized by most other nations.
In Central Asia, Kazakhistan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan, Khirgizistan and Turkmenistan had been conquered by Russia in the 19th Century (and major rebellions had been quelled in 1916 and the 1920s). As restless Muslim-majority areas, violence appeared in the mid-1980s, and they also became independent in 1991.
Georgia, Armenia and the Azerbaijan had also been occupied by Russia in the 19th Centuries and had their own internal rivalries -- the Armenians and Azeris re-ignited their centuries-old war in the 1980s; all three left in 1991 (and Georgia also fragmented as the Ossetians decided to bid for their independence).
Ukrainian nationalism has a long history, and they can point to brutal repression by the Russians -- over 10 million died in Stalin's time. The Soviets had assigned Russian territory to the Ukraine as a "reward" after Stalin died, and this sewed the seeds for today's conflicts. Belarus also had grievances going back to Stalin, and likewise took the opportunity to depart.
