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Ukrainian Independence
- August 24, 1991
- Seceded after failed Soviet coup
- Wanted to distance themselves from USSR
- Backed by United Nations
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Collapse of Soviet Union
- December 26, 1991
- “too big to fail, too stable to collapse”
- Before the actual dissolution, all the states had seceded from the union (including Russia itself)
- Signified end of the Cold War
- Formed CIS, the Commonwealth of Independent States
-
Ukraine Joins NATO
- After the end of the Cold War, there was debate about expanding eastward
- The incorporation of states previously in the Soviet spheres of influence created tension between NATO and Russia
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Russo-Georgian War
- Between Russia and Georgia (both formerly part of the Soviet Union)
- Regarded as the first European war of the 21st century
- Russia didn’t like Georgia’s declaration of independence from the 1990s
- President of France ultimately called a cease fire
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Period: to
Russo-Georgian War
-
Russian Annexation of Crimea
- March 2014
- Russia swooped in after the Ukrainian revolution
- Russia’s international relations lessened, suspended from world powers group G8
