The Soviet Union officially dissolved on December 25, 1991, marking the end of the Cold War era.

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.

The Belavezha Accords, signed on December 8, 1991, by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, formally dissolved the Soviet Union.

Estonia was the first republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union on August 20, 1991.

Perestroika, meaning 'restructuring', was a series of economic and political reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s to revitalize the Soviet economy and political system.

Glasnost, meaning 'openness', was a policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s to promote transparency and freedom of expression in the Soviet Union.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 is often seen as the catalyst for the collapse of the Soviet Union, as it symbolized the end of the Cold War and the weakening of the Soviet bloc.

Sajudis was a nationalist movement in Lithuania that played a significant role in the independence movement of the Baltic republics.

Georgia experienced a violent conflict during its independence movement, known as the Georgian Civil War, which lasted from 1991 to 1993.

The Russian Federation emerged as the largest and most powerful successor state to the Soviet Union after its dissolution.

Azerbaijan experienced an armed conflict between ethnic Armenians and ethnic Azerbaijanis following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, known as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed by the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union in December 1991.

Tajikistan experienced a civil war following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which lasted from 1992 to 1997.

The Post-Soviet Economic Crisis was a severe economic crisis that affected the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Kazakhstan experienced significant economic growth and became a regional power after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, largely due to its vast natural resources and strategic location.