The disintegration of the Soviet Union raised concerns about the possibility of wars in the vast expanse, which would be fueled by a huge amount of weapons produced by the power in preparation for world war.
Indeed, although the Commonwealth was established under the USSR and borders were settled, the disintegration was accompanied by conflicts, some of which are active to this day.
Ukraine since 2014, Photo: IP
Ukraine
The most topical conflict zone in the region is undoubtedly eastern Ukraine, where a violent uprising of pro-Russian separatists, which claimed the lives of thousands of people, is in the midst of ongoing tensions between Kiev and Moscow.
In recent weeks, Moscow has concentrated more than one hundred thousand troops near the Ukrainian border, and in Kiev believe that a Russian invasion is a real possibility.
But how did it happen that Ukraine became a rock of contention between the West and Russia?
Ukraine declared its independence in 1991. In 1994, Kiev relinquished its vast nuclear arsenal, and in return Russia undertook not to violate its sovereignty, including the eastern provinces inhabited by a large ethnic Russian population.
After Vladimir Putin's rise to power, Ukraine became entrenched in his perception as a buffer zone between Russia and the West, and the Russian president used the large Russian minority in Ukraine and the parties representing him to control politics in Kiev.
Moscow's bear hug has ignited protest after protest in the country, which has tended to Europe over the years.
Russia's control of Ukraine's political system was broken only in 2014, with the "Maidan Revolution", which led to the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych and brought a pro-Western government to power.
In retaliation, Putin ordered the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which had been part of Ukraine since its independence.
In addition, the Kremlin encouraged an armed uprising in two eastern provinces of Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk, and aided it with money and mercenaries.
The separatists have established two republics, but they rely entirely on Putin's desk.
The war in eastern Ukraine is still raging over a small fire, and now a new round of fighting is feared in the west.
Georgia 2008, Photo: Reuters
Georgia
In Georgia, too, two separatist and pro-Russian republics were established, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which did not accept the rule of Tbilisi.
In 2008, the Georgian government led by pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili tried to gain control of the two rebel provinces, but Russia's military intervention led to a total war and a scorching Georgian defeat.
The defeat accelerated the disintegration of Saakashvili's government, leading to the rise of more comfortable governments for Moscow.
Belarus
Unlike Ukraine and Georgia, a few years after the declaration of independence Belarus returned to some extent to the Russian embrace.
The country's ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, has maintained warm relations with Moscow, albeit out of a constant effort to maintain a safe distance for fear of losing independence.
For the past year and a half, after repressing and still brutally suppressing the anti-counterfeiting protest in his favor, Lukashenko has repeatedly used the integration card with Russia to win economic support from the neighboring power in the face of hostility he has created towards the West.
He is making more and more pro-Russian statements, and recently even positioned himself as Russia's partner in the event of a confrontation with Ukraine.
Transnistria
One of the separatist provinces formed as a result of the disintegration of the USSR is Transnistria, or in its full name: the Moldovan Republic of Friedenstrowb. 1991 After weeks of fierce fighting.
Ironically, the republic preserves the symbols and some government buildings from the Soviet period, and it is sometimes claimed that the district is run like a Soviet republic - without the existence of the Soviet alliance itself.
We lived in Karbach
Not all of the conflicts that arose with the collapse of the Soviet Union were related to Russian-speaking minorities or Moscow's attempt to stir up what was happening in the new countries that arose in the post-Soviet space.
Fighting between Armenians and Azeris in the Nagorno-Karabakh region broke out even before the USSR disbanded in 1988, while Soviet troops were still on the ground.
The ongoing hostilities escalated into a full-scale war that lasted until 1994 and ended in a humiliating Azeri defeat, with hundreds of thousands of refugees and massacres and crimes against humanity.
Azerbaijan has vowed to return the quarrel to its hands, and was partially successful in doing so last year.
Chechnya 1994, Photo: IP
Chechnya
The collapse of the USSR also shocked the Russian Federation itself. Small uprisings of nations erupted in the first years of the fall of the Soviet empire, the most famous of which took place in Chechnya in 1994. Chechen separatists, along with Islamist elements, managed to destroy the ambush in the Georgian capital A huge Russian force, in a war that ended in independence and the signing of an agreement with Russia.
But Chechen independence did not last long and after almost a decade of terrorism, in 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a ruthless military operation, during which the Chechen state, which had by then already developed into a terrorist state, was eliminated, and Ahmad Kadyrov was crowned in the region. , A former rebel who switched sides.
His son rules Chechnya to this day.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us