Russia

The condition of Russia today is complex, changing, and -- for many neighboring countries -- alarming. Russia seems to be flexing its military muscle and looking to regain the great power status it had when it was the largest country inside the Soviet Union (USSR, 1922-1991). In 2008, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into neighboring Georgia (also once a part of the Soviet Union) in response to a conflict over to small regions with strong ties to Russia. The international community was outraged, but did little. In 2014, the Crimea Peninsula, part of Ukraine, became the focus of the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War (1945-1990). After Ukraine's president was driven from power, pro-Russian forces seized Crimea. They then voted in an election, declared illegal by Ukraine, to make Crimea part of Russia. In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebels aided by Russian military equipment, and supported by Russia, have been fighting the Ukrainian Army to establish an independent territory. This has sent shivers all over Eastern Europe, especially among countries that used to be, like Russia, part of the Soviet Union. - p. 5.