Soviet Legacy
uThe newly independent states have for the most part
gone their own
way.
uThe Baltic States have by general agreement made the
most rapid advances.
uMost of Central
Asia and Belarus still show patterns of communism.
uThe Russian Federation and Ukraine have made some
progress politically.
uCivil wars and extreme instability have plagued
Moldova, Tajikistan,
Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
uTerritorial
disputes have lead to war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
uThe most dangerous dispute is between Russia and
Ukraine over possession
of the Crimean Peninsula in southeastern Ukraine, which is populated largely by ethnic Russians.