Europe 1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union
25 December 1991
25 Dec 1991
Post-Cold War Europe
-27–68 Julio-Claudian Dynasty
68–96 Flavian Dynasty
96–192 Nerva–Antonine Dynasty
192–235 Severan Dynasty
235–268 Crisis of the Third Century: Turmoil
268–284 Crisis of the Third Century: Restoration
284–311 Diocletian and the Tetrarchy
311–363 Constantinian Dynasty
363–383 Valentinianic Dynasty
383–408 Theodosian Dynasty: Divided Empire
408–425 Theodosian Dynasty: The West Besieged
425–441 Theodosian Dynasty: Fall of Africa
441–457 Theodosian Dynasty: Hunnic Wars
457–1803 NO MAPS FOR THIS PERIOD YET
1803–1814 Napoleonic Wars
1814–1815 Vienna and Waterloo
1815–1848 Congress Europe
1848–1850 Springtime of Peoples
1850–1859 Crimean War
1859–1862 Italian Unification
1862–1871 German Unification
1871–1914 Imperial Europe
1914–1918 Great War
1918–1922 Armistice Europe
1922–1939 Rise of Fascism
1939–1942 World War II: Blitzkrieg
1942–1945 World War II: Fall of the Third Reich
1945–1990 Cold War
1990–2010 Post-Cold War Europe
2010–pres Crisis of Europe
Collapse of the Soviet Union
3 Oct 1990 Reunification of Germany
28 Feb 1991 Gulf War
27 Jun 1991 Breakup of Yugoslavia
19 Aug 1991 Soviet Coup Attempt
6 Sep 1991 Baltic Independence
9 Dec 1991 Croatian War of Independence
25 Dec 1991 Collapse of the Soviet Union
22 Jun 1992 Bosnian War
1 Nov 1993 European Union
12 Jun 1999 Kosovo War
13 Apr 2003 War on Terror
16 Aug 2008 South Ossetia War
The failure of the August coup broke the Communist Party and ended Soviet dominance. Real power now lay in the hands of the component republics, such as Russia and Ukraine. On December 25, unable to stop the republics from asserting their independence, Gorbachev resigned and the Soviet Union was officially dissolved.