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collapse of the Soviet Union: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As dissolution of the Soviet Union
Date August 18, 1991 - December 31, 1991
Location Russia • Soviet Union
Participants Armenia • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Georgia • Kazakhstan • Lithuania • Moldova • Russia • Ukraine • Uzbekistan
Context Cold War • 1991 Soviet coup attempt

Photos and Videos

Boris Yeltsin and the collapse of the Soviet Union
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1922–91
Mikhail Gorbachev, 1987
Map of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) showing physical features such as mountain ranges, seas, and major rivers, along with the boundaries of union republics and autonomous republics. Union republics are outlined in red and labeled, while autonomous republics are shaded in orange and identified by name. Neighboring countries and bodies of water are also labeled.
Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, smiling and seated in a suit and tie during a visit to London.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Map showing the territory of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) highlighted in orange, spanning Eastern Europe and northern Asia. The map labels the constituent republics, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, with neighboring countries such as Mongolia and China also shown. Major bodies of water like the Arctic Ocean, Berin
Russian President Boris Yeltsin stands at a podium with microphones, smiling, in front of a U.S. flag during a news conference at the White House.
Map of the Baltic States-Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania-showing country borders, major uplands and plains, highest points, and the capitals Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. Surrounding countries and bodies of water, including Russia, Belarus, Poland, Finland, Sweden, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Finland, are also labeled.
Map highlighting the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States in orange, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, spanning Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Surrounding countries and bodies of water are shown for geographic context.
How Mikhail Gorbachev helped end the Cold War and unite Europe
Mikhail Gorbachev: From farmer to statesman
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Timeline

President Harry S. Truman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill stand side by side on the steps of the Little White House during the Potsdam Conference.
Iron Curtain speech
March 5, 1946
Harry Truman's presidency: World War II, the atomic bomb, and the Cold War
Truman Doctrine
March 12, 1947
George C. Marshall
Marshall Plan
April 1948 - December 1951
Berlin blockade and airlift
Berlin blockade
June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949
Map of Europe in 1960 during the Cold War, showing countries color-coded by political alignment: NATO members in green across Western Europe, Warsaw Pact countries in orange in Eastern Europe, and non-aligned nations in beige. The Soviet Union and its allies are grouped to the east, while Western European countries are aligned with the United States.
Warsaw Pact
May 14, 1955 - July 1, 1991
Francis Gary Powers
U-2 Incident
May 5, 1960 - May 17, 1960
Black-and-white photo of armed soldiers escorting captured men with hands bound in front, during the Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961. Other soldiers follow in the background.
Bay of Pigs invasion
April 17, 1961
The Brandenburg Gate is seen through coils of barbed wire, with a sign reading in German that you are leaving West Berlin, during the early Berlin Wall era, circa 1962.
Berlin crisis of 1961
August 1961
Kennedy announces U.S. naval blockade of Cuba
Cuban missile crisis
October 22, 1962 - November 20, 1962
John F. Kennedy: Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
August 5, 1963
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
1969 - 1979
default image
Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
October 1973 - February 9, 1989
default image
Korean Air Lines flight 007
September 1, 1983
Ronald Reagan (left) and Mikhail Gorbachev, 1986
Reykjavík summit of 1986
October 11, 1986 - October 12, 1986
Boris Yeltsin and the collapse of the Soviet Union
collapse of the Soviet Union
August 18, 1991 - December 31, 1991

Key People

default image
Oleg Baklanov
Soviet politician
default image
Aleksandr Nikolayevich Yakovlev
Soviet economist and official
Mikhail Gorbachev, 1987
Mikhail Gorbachev
president of Soviet Union
Russian President Boris Yeltsin stands at a podium with microphones, smiling, in front of a U.S. flag during a news conference at the White House.
Boris Yeltsin
president of Russia
Shevardnadze, Eduard
Eduard Shevardnadze
president of Georgia

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