This article lists the Post-Soviet conflicts, the violent political and ethnic conflicts in the countries of the former Soviet Union since shortly before its official breakup in December 1991. Some of these conflicts such as the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis or the 2013 Euromaidan protests in Ukraine were due to political crises in the successor states. Others involved separatist movements attempting to break away from one of the successor states. Some of these conflicts ended in a stalemate or without a peace treaty, and are referred to as frozen conflicts. This means that a number of former-Soviet states are left sovereign over the entirety of their territory in name only. In reality, they do not exercise full control over areas still under the control of rebel factions. Rebel groups are essentially left independent over large chunks of the territories they claim. In many instances, they have created institutions which are similar to those of fully fledged independent states, albeit with little or no international recognition. Notable such cases include Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia; Nagorno-Karabakh on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia; Transnistria in land near to Moldova's eastern border with Ukraine; and Novorossiya (a confederation of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, breakaway areas in Ukraine). The Republic of Crimea is also arguably part of this group of unrecognised states, as the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation remains unrecognized by a majority of UN member states and is contested by the government of Ukraine.
Began when ethnic groups from the Garm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan, which were underrepresented in the ruling elite, rose up against the national government of PresidentRahmon Nabiyev, in which people from the Leninabad and Kulyab regions dominated. The war ended with the signing of the "General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan" and the "Moscow Protocol".[1]
An incursion by Al-Qaeda forces on behalf on Chechen rebels fighting in the North Caucasus. They were forced out in 2004 by Georgian forces with American and Russian backing.
A war between Georgia on one side and Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other side confirms the de facto independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and leads to their recognition by Russia and Nicaragua.[2]
Transnistria, which is de facto independent from Moldova, has declared independence in 1990, due to its majority Russian-speaking population fearing union with Romania. A ceasefire between Transnistrian forces and Moldovan forces has been in place since 1992, enforced by the presence of Russian forces in Transnistria.[3]
Civil unrest fueled by the perception of widespread government corruption, abuse of power and violation of human rights in Ukraine. The unrest eventually lead to the toppling of the Ukrainian government.