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

1991   Full sovereignty comes to Germany after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all control over the country.

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.

1991   The Baltic States which were under the Soviet Union occupation get recogntion as independent nations from the Soviet Union itself.

1991   Armenia breaks away from the Soviet Union to declare its independence.