Copyright © 2021 Euromaidanpress.com

The work of Euromaidan Press is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation

When referencing our materials, please include an active hyperlink to the Euromaidan Press material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. To reprint anything longer, written permission must be acquired from [email protected].

Privacy and Cookie Policies.

Demise of USSR was anything but bloodless

Soviet armored troop carriers patrolling streets in Baku during the week of January 20, 1990. The photographer had to take this photo covertly through a car windshield, because it was too dangerous to openly photograph the Black January events. Photo: Reza.
Soviet armored troop carriers patrolling streets in Baku during the week of January 20, 1990. The photographer had to take this photo covertly through a car windshield, because it was too dangerous to openly photograph the Black January events. Photo: Reza.
Edited by: A. N.

Thirty years after the demise of the Soviet Union, it is perhaps not surprising that a number of myths have emerged about that event. Perhaps the one that is most widely believed but is demonstrably false is that the demise of the USSR was a bloodless event. In fact, it was very bloody but not in the center.

To be sure, very few people died in August or December 1991 at the center or indeed anywhere in the former Soviet space, especially if one compares the period of the immediate demise of the USSR with the collapse of India and Yugoslavia, to give but two of the events with which the Soviet collapse is most often compared.

But deadly violence was widespread immediately afterward across the country if not in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Lenta news agency has now provided a useful listing of the major conflicts of that period and the number of victims each claimed:

  • The Georgian-South Ossetian Conflict (1991-92) – 1500 dead
  • The Qarabagh Conflict (1991-94) – 28,000 to 38,000 dead
  • The Ossetian-Ingush Conflict (1992) – 600 dead
  • The Transniestria Conflict (1992) – more than 1,000 dead
  • The Georgian-Abkhazian Conflict (1992-93) – 16,000 dead
  • The Civil War in Tajikistan (1992-97) – more than 60,000 dead
  • The First Russo-Chechen War (1994-96) – more than 55,000 dead

In addition, there were thousands more injured, often seriously, and millions who fled from these conflicts as well as for other reasons. None of this should be forgotten by those now looking back to the events of 30 years ago.

Read More:

Edited by: A. N.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.  We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!
Total
0
Shares
Related Posts