Ex-U.S.S.R. and Iron Curtain Countries

     In December of 1991 the Soviet Union (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or U.S.S.R.) was officially dissolved.  From it emerged Russia (the Russian Federation) and a number of independent countries in Central Asia and Eastern Europe (shown in greens in the map).  In addition the countries of Eastern Europe were freed from Soviet military domination (shown in yellows in the map).  In Central Asia 8 new (or newly independent) countries emerged:  Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.  In Eastern Europe the 6 new (or restored) countries are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova.  The Eastern European countries freed from Soviet domination but not part of the U.S.S.R. are Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Albania and Yugoslavia.
     East Germany has reunited with West Germany.  Czechoslovakia has split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  Yugoslavia disintegrated violently creating Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia and most recently Kosovo; leaving the remainder as Serbia.  Russia supports the separatist movements of Transnistria in Moldova and Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia but these have no international recognition.