Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev closes his resignation speech after delivering it at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 25, 1991. After 74 years, the Soviet Union was dissolved, breaking into 15 countries. But there's often been friction among the former Soviet republics, including the current confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.
Liu Heung Shing/AP
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To understand the friction between Russia and Ukraine, it's important to go back to 1991. Exactly 30 years ago this weekend, the Soviet Union formally dissolved and broke up into 15 separate nations.
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev closes his resignation speech after delivering it at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 25, 1991. After 74 years, the Soviet Union was dissolved, breaking into 15 countries. But there's often been friction among the former Soviet republics, including the current confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.
Liu Heung Shing/AP
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