How+did+the+breakup+of+the+Soviet+Union+lead+to+new+nationalism+and+alliances,+including+emerging+democracies?

== How did the breakup of the Soviet Union lead to new nationalism and alliances, including emerging democracies?==

The Basics:
The Soviet Unions collpase into independant nations began in early 1985. Years of Soviet Military buildup at the expense of domestic development, caused economic growth to be at a stand still. These states compromised the USSR:


 * ~ The Republics of the Soviet Union (1956 — 1989) ||
 * ~  ||~ Flag ||~ Republic ||~ Capital ||~ Map of the **Soviet Union** ||
 * **1** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Flag_of_Armenian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Armenian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Armenian_SSR.svg"]] || Armenian SSR ||> Yerevan || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/USSR_Republics_Numbered_Alphabetically.png/520px-USSR_Republics_Numbered_Alphabetically.png width="495" height="330" caption="Republics of the Soviet Union"]] ||
 * **2** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Flag_of_Azerbaijan_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Azerbaijan_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Azerbaijan SSR ||> Baku ||^  ||
 * **3** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Flag_of_Byelorussian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Byelorussian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Byelorussian SSR ||> Minsk ||^  ||
 * **4** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Flag_of_Estonian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Estonian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Estonian SSR ||> Tallin ||^  ||
 * **5** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Flag_of_Georgian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Georgian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Georgian SSR ||> Tbilisi ||^  ||
 * **6** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Flag_of_Kazakh_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Kazakh_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Kazakh SSR ||> Alma-Ata ||^  ||
 * **7** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Flag_of_Kyrgyz_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Kyrgyz_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Kirghiz SSR ||> Frunze ||^  ||
 * **8** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Flag_of_Latvian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Latvian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Latvian SSR ||> Riga ||^  ||
 * **9** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Flag_of_Lithuanian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Lithuanian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Lithuanian SSR ||> Vilnius ||^  ||
 * **10** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Flag_of_Moldavian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Moldavian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Moldavian SSR ||> Kishinev ||^  ||
 * **11** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Flag_of_Russian_SFSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Russian_SFSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Russian SFSR ||> Moscow ||^  ||
 * **12** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Flag_of_Tajik_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Tajik_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Tajik SSR ||> Dushanbe ||^  ||
 * **13** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Turkmen_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Turkmen_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Turkmen SSR ||> Ashkhabad ||^  ||
 * **14** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Flag_of_Ukrainian_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Ukrainian_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Ukrainian SSR ||> Kiev ||^  ||
 * **15** || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Flag_of_Uzbek_SSR.svg/50px-Flag_of_Uzbek_SSR.svg.png width="50" height="25"]] || Uzbek SSR ||> Tashkent ||^  ||

When the Soviet Union broke up, these states would become independent:


 * **Baltic**
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Flag_of_Estonia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Estonia.svg.png width="22" height="14"]] Estonia
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Flag_of_Latvia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Latvia.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Latvia
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/22px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png width="22" height="13"]] Lithuania ||  || **Eastern Europe**
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Flag_of_Belarus.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belarus.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Belarus
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Flag_of_Moldova.svg/22px-Flag_of_Moldova.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Moldova
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Flag_of_Ukraine.svg/22px-Flag_of_Ukraine.svg.png width="22" height="15"]] Ukraine ||  || **Transcaucasus**
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Flag_of_Armenia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Armenia.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Armenia
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Azerbaijan
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Flag_of_Georgia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Georgia.svg.png width="22" height="15"]] Georgia ||  ||
 * **Central Asia**
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Flag_of_Kazakhstan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Kazakhstan.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Kazakhstan
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Flag_of_Kyrgyzstan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Kyrgyzstan.svg.png width="22" height="13"]] Kyrgyzstan
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Flag_of_Tajikistan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Tajikistan.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Tajikistan
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Flag_of_Turkmenistan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Turkmenistan.svg.png width="22" height="15"]] Turkmenistan
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg.png width="22" height="11"]] Uzbekistan ||  || **Eurasia**
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png width="22" height="15"]] Russia ||  ||

Before reading this next section, please read this wikipedia article on Gross Domestic Product: [].

Economy:
Most of the post Soviet States began the transition to a market economy through the years 1990-1991. They made many efforts to rebuild and restructure their economic systems, alot of which had different results. This triggered severely huge declines across the Post USSR states, with GDP dropping more than 40% between 1990 -95. The decline in GDP was even worse than the GDP los in the American Great Deppresion, which only dropped 27% GDP.

"The reconfiguration of public finance in compliance with the principles of market economy resulted in dramatically reduced spending on health, education and other social programs, leading to a sharp increase in poverty."

The decline eventually stopped, by the cumulative effect of market reforms, and only after 1995 the economy in Post Soviet Union states began to recover, with GDP rates finally increasing.By 2007, 10 of the 15 Post Soviet Union states had there GDP, higher than 1991.

These Post Soviet Union states did not increse. They became worse: 5. Tajikstan This is a chart from explaining Post Soviet GDP:
 * 1) Moldova
 * 2) Ukraine
 * 3) Georgia
 * 4) Kyrgyzstan

year* ||
 * ~ Country ||~ 1991 ||~ 1995 ||~ 2000 ||~ 2005 ||~ 2007 ||~ Turnaround
 * //Baltic states// ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * < Estonia ||< 100.0 ||< 76.0 ||< 99.6 ||< 143.7 ||< 166.0 ||< 1995 ||
 * Latvia || 100.0 || 60.9 || 80.3 || 118.4 || 138.1 || 1994 ||
 * Lithuania || 100.0 || 61.5 || 76.0 || 109.6 || 123.7 || 1995 ||
 * //Central Asia// ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Kazakhstan || 100.0 || 68.9 || 77.8 || 127.1 || 148.7 || 1996 ||
 * Kyrgyzstan || 100.0 || 56.6 || 74.3 || 89.1 || 98.7 || 1996 ||
 * Tajikistan || 100.0 || 43.5 || 50.0 || 78.2 || 89.5 || 1997 ||
 * Turkmenistan || 100.0 || 65.4 || 79.8 || 167.4 || 188.9 || 1998 ||
 * Uzbekistan || 100.0 || 82.5 || 93.6 || 117.2 || 132.0 || 1996 ||
 * //Transcaucasus// ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Armenia || 100.0 || 45.9 || 59.0 || 104.5 || 119.1 || 1994 ||
 * Azerbaijan || 100.0 || 41.5 || 58.1 || 101.2 || 157.0 || 1996 ||
 * Georgia || 100.0 || 35.8 || 47.3 || 66.3 || 74.1 || 1995 ||
 * //Eastern European states// ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Belarus || 100.0 || 66.1 || 89.7 || 128.4 || 140.9 || 1996 ||
 * Moldova || 100.0 || 47.3 || 41.7 || 58.4 || 65.0 || 2000 ||
 * Ukraine || 100.0 || 52.4 || 47.5 || 68.7 || 73.3 || 2000 ||
 * Russia || 100.0 || 65.4 || 70.7 || 95.3 || 106.8 || 1999 ||

Politics:

 * Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine are "free" countries
 * Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova were listed as "partly free"
 * Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan were listed as "not free":Turkmenistan though has the most represive regime in the world.
 * Ukraine is "partly free"

A few Post USSR states have also come in contact with dynastical succession, with Ilham Aliyev becoming President of Azerbaijan after the death of his father Heydar Aliyev, and theories about the children of other leaders in Central Asia also being groomed for succession.

Conflicts:

 * The **Rose Revolution** in Georgia, leading to the fall from office of Eduard Shevardnadze.
 * The **Orange Revolution** in Ukraine, bringing into power Viktor Yushchenko.
 * The **Tulip Revolution** in Kyrgyzstan, leading to the resignation of Askar Akayev.
 * the **Denim Revolution** in Belarus, a series of protests organized by the opposition to Alexander Lukashenko

===Religion: === Quoted from Wikipedia:

"While under the Soviet system, religious intellectual life was eliminated, traditions continued to survive. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Islamic movements have emerged alongside ethnic and secular ones. Vitaly Naumkin gives the following assessment. "Throughout the time of change, Islam has served as a symbol of identity, a force for mobilization, and a pressure for democracy. This is one of the few social disasters that the church has survived, in which it was not the cause. But if successful politically, it faces economic challenges beyond its grasp.""