'20 Years After The Big Breakup, Does The 'Former Soviet Union' Still Exist?'

from rferl.........

"It has been 20 years since the failed coup that precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, 20 years since 15 new independent countries appeared on the global stage

But for citizens of these adolescent states, the meaning of the dramatic events of August 19-21, 1991, depends upon where one sits.

For those in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius, those three days that shook the world two decades ago marked the beginning of a process that moved the Baltic states unambiguously toward democracy, free markets, and the European mainstream".............READ MORE