1991   Latvia and Estonia gain independence and are no longer part of the Soviet Union.

1991   Collapse of the Soviet Union: Estonia seceds from the Soviet Union and becomes independent as more than 100,000 people protest outside the Soviet Union's parliament building against the coup that ousted President Mikhail Gorbachev.

1991   The United States that had never recognized the occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the three Baltic states.

1998   Nineteen European nations sign an agreement to prohibit human cloning including: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.

2004   Seven nations are allowed to join NATO including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the organization

2004   Ten nations are added to the European Union including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus. The expansion is the largest expansion to date.