Map showing Russian political and military influence or interference as of 2023

Changes in national boundaries after the end of the Cold War

This is a list of the violent political and ethnic conflicts in the countries of the former Soviet Union following its dissolution in 1991. Some of these conflicts such as the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis or the 2013–2014 Euromaidan protests in Ukraine were due to political crises in the successor states. Others involved separatist movements attempting to break away from one of the successor states. They also include overtly aggressive invasions as well as the use of deniable forces out of uniform and foreign-controlled proxy forces.

Frozen conflicts

Some post-Soviet conflicts ended in a stalemate or without a peace treaty, and are referred to as frozen conflicts. This means that a number of post-Soviet states have sovereignty over the entirety of their territory in name only. In reality, they do not exercise full control over areas still under the control of rebel factions. In many instances, these territories have institutions which are similar to those of fully-fledged independent states, albeit with little or no international recognition, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia; Transnistria in Moldova; and previously, the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in Ukraine.^[1]

Recognition of these states varies. Transnistria has not received recognition from any UN member state, including Russia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia have received recognition from Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru and Syria. The Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics had received recognition from Russia, Syria, and North Korea before their unrecognized annexation by Russia.

Central Asia

Conflict	Parties		Start	End	Detail
Tajikistani Civil War	/ Tajikistan / Russia  Uzbekistan  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan	United Tajik Opposition Jamiat-e Islami  Afghanistan al-Qaeda Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan	5 May 1992	27 June 1997	Began when ethnic groups from the Gharm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan, which were underrepresented in the ruling elite, rose up against the national government of President Rahmon Nabiyev, in which people from the Leninabad and Kulob regions dominated. The war ended with the signing of the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan and the Moscow Protocol.[2]
Batken conflict	Government	Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan	30 July 1999	27 September 1999	Armed clashes between militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan
Andijan massacre	Government	Protesters in the city of Andijan	13 May 2005		Protest and government massacre in the city of Andijan in Uzbekistan
2010 Kyrgyz Revolution	Government	Opposition	6 April 2010	14 December 2010	Also known as the People's April Revolution, the Melon Revolution or the April Events. Began with the ousting of Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev in the capital Bishkek. The violence ultimately led to the consolidation of a new parliamentary system in Kyrgyzstan.[3]
2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes	Government	Ethnic Kyrgyz rioters Ethnic Uzbek rioters	19 May 2010	June 2010	Clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan, primarily in the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad, in the aftermath of the ouster of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on April 7.
Insurgency in Gorno-Badakhshan (2010–2015)	Tajikistan	United Tajik Opposition	19 September 2010	September 2015	Sporadic fighting in Tajikistan between rebel and government forces.
Zhanaozen massacre	Government	Striking oil workers in the city of Zhanaozen	16 December 2011	17 December 2011	Labor protest and government massacre in the city of Zhanaozen in Kazakhstan
2020 Dungan–Kazakh ethnic clashes	Kazakhstan	Ethnic Kazakh rioters Ethnic Dungans rioters	5 February 2020	8 February 2020	Clashes between ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Dungans (a Muslim group with Chinese origins) in the village of Masanchi within the Korday District of Kazakhstan.[4]
2020 Kyrgyz Revolution	Government	Opposition	5 October 2020	15 October 2020	Response to the 2020 Kyrgyz parliamentary election that was perceived by protestors as unfair, with allegations of vote rigging.
2021 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes	Kyrgyzstan	Tajikistan	28 April 2021	1 May 2021	Clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over water dispute.[5][6]
2022 Kazakh unrest	Government  CSTO	Opposition	2 January 2022	11 January 2022	Protests across Kazakhstan that were sparked by an abrupt increase of gas prices, but have escalated into general protests. Kazakhstan's government has requested CSTO assistance in quelling the protests.
2022 Karakalpak protests	Uzbekistan	Karakalpakstan	1 July 2022	3 July 2022	Over proposed amendments by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Constitution of Uzbekistan which would have ended Karakalpakstan's status as an autonomous region of Uzbekistan and right to secede from Uzbekistan via referendum. A day after protests had begun in the Karakalpak capital of Nukus, President Mirziyoyev withdrew the constitutional amendments. The Karakalpak government said that protesters had attempted to storm government buildings.[7]
2022 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes	Kyrgyzstan	Tajikistan	27 January 2022	20 September 2022	Clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

North Caucasus

The breakaway republics within the Caucasus region.

Conflict	Parties		Start	End	Detail
East Prigorodny conflict	North Ossetia-Alania  Russia	Ingushetia	30 October 1992	6 November 1992	Inter-ethnic conflict in the Eastern part of the Prigorodny district.
First Chechen War	Russia	Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	11 December 1994	31 August 1996	Russian troops invaded after Chechnya declared independence, but withdrew in 1996 leading to a de facto Chechen independence.
War in Dagestan (1999)	Russia	Islamic Djamaat of Dagestan	7 August 1999	14 September 1999	The Islamic International Brigade invaded the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan in support of the Shura of Dagestan separatist movement.
Second Chechen War	Russia	Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	26 August 1999	31 May 2000	Russia restores federal control of Chechnya.
Insurgency in Chechnya	Russia	Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Caucasus Emirate	1 June 2000	16 April 2009	Separatist insurgency in Chechnya, Dagestan, and other parts of the North Caucasus region.
Insurgency in Ingushetia	Russia	Caucasus Emirate	21 July 2007	19 May 2015	Separatist insurgency in Ingushetia.
Low-level insurgency in the North Caucasus	Russia	Caucasus Emirate  Islamic State	16 April 2009	19 December 2017	Separatist insurgency in Chechnya, Dagestan, and other parts of the North Caucasus region.
Low-level Islamic State insurgency in the North Caucasus	Russia	Islamic State Imam Shamil Battalion	20 December 2017	Present	ongoing terror activity of the Islamic State branch in the North Caucasus after the insurgency of the Caucasus Emirate.

South Caucasus

Conflict	Parties		Start	End	Detail
First Nagorno-Karabakh War	Azerbaijan  Soviet Union (1988–91) Supported by:  Russia	Republic of Artsakh  Armenia Supported by:  Russia	20 February 1988	12 May 1994	The separatist conflict leads to de facto independence of Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic).
South Ossetia war (1991–1992)	Georgia	South Ossetia Supported by:  Russia	5 January 1991	24 June 1992	The separatist conflict leads to South Ossetia's de facto independence from Georgia.
Georgian Civil War	Pro-Gamsakhurdia forces Supported by: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	Pro-Shevardnadze forces  Russia	22 December 1991	31 December 1993	The Military Council deposes first President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia and asks former Soviet leader Eduard Shevardnadze to lead the country. The supporters of the ousted president stage revolt, which is crushed with the help of Russian military.
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)	Georgia	Abkhazia Supported by:  Russia	14 August 1992	27 September 1993	Abkhaz separatism leads to the de facto independence of Abkhazia from Georgia.
War in Abkhazia (1998)	Ethnic Georgian rebels	Abkhazia	18 May 1998	26 May 1998	Ethnic Georgians launched an insurgency against the Abkhazian secessionist government.
1998 Georgian attempted mutiny	Shevardnadze Government	Pro-Gamsakhurdia forces	18 October 1998	20 October 1998	An abortive mutiny led by pro-Gamsakhurdia forces to remove new President Eduard Shevardnadze from power
2001 Kodori crisis	Georgian guerrillas	Abkhazia	4 October 2001	18 October 2001	Georgian guerrillas unsuccessfully try to regain control over Abkhazia with the help of Chechen fighters.
Pankisi Gorge crisis	Georgia Supported by:  Russia  United States	al-Qaeda Chechen rebels	2002	2004	An incursion by Al-Qaeda forces into Georgia on behalf of Chechen rebels fighting in the North Caucasus. They were forced out in 2004 by Georgian forces with American and Russian backing.
2004 South Ossetian clashes	Georgia	South Ossetia  Russia	10 August 2004	19 August 2004	Clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian troops result in several deaths.
2006 Kodori crisis	Saakashvili Government	Monadire	22 July 2006	28 July 2006	Georgian police and special forces drive a local rebellious militia out of the Georgian-controlled Kodori Valley in Abkhazia.
Russo-Georgian War	Russia  South Ossetia  Abkhazia	Georgia	7 August 2008	12 August 2008	A war between Georgia on one side and Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other side confirms the de facto independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and leads to their recognition by Russia and Nicaragua.[8]
2009 Georgian mutiny	Saakashvili Government	Mukhrovani Separate Tank Battalion	5 May 2009	5 May 2009	An alleged abortive mutiny by a Georgian Army tank battalion based in Mukhrovani village with a goal of removing President Saakashvili from power.
2010 Mardakert clashes	Azerbaijan	Armenia  Republic of Artsakh	18 June 2010	1 September 2010	Sporadic border war on the Armenian–Azerbaijan border and at the line of contact between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict	Azerbaijan	Armenia  Republic of Artsakh	1 April 2016	5 April 2016	Armenian and Azerbaijani forces fight a four-day long conflict along the border of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. Azerbaijani forces make minor territorial gains, some of which are retaken by Armenian forces before the end of the conflict.
July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes	Azerbaijan	Armenia	12 July 2020	16 July 2020	Armenian and Azerbaijani forces engage in border clashes along the Tavush Province of Armenia and Tovuz District of Azerbaijan. The death of Azerbaijani major general Polad Hashimov sparks the July 2020 Azerbaijani protests. Turkey and Azerbaijan organize large-scale military exercises following the clashes, and tensions persist until the beginning of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War 2 months later.
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War	Azerbaijan Supported by:  Turkey  Israel	Armenia  Republic of Artsakh Supported by:  Russia	27 September 2020	10 November 2020	Azerbaijan retakes most of the territories previously controlled by the Republic of Artsakh. Russian peacekeepers introduced into the remaining disputed area.
Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis	Azerbaijan Supported by:  Turkey  Israel  Ukraine	Armenia Supported by:  Iran  Syria	12 May 2021	present	Border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh	Azerbaijan	Republic of Artsakh	12 December 2022	October 2023	Azerbaijan blockades the Republic of Artsakh.
2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh	Azerbaijan	Republic of Artsakh	19 September 2023	20 September 2023	Azerbaijan launches an attack on the Republic of Artsakh after nine months of blockade. The Artsakh Defence Army disbands, the government of the Republic of Artsakh agrees to dissolve itself entirely by January 1, 2024, and almost the entire population of Artsakh flees to Armenia.

Eastern Europe

Conflict	Parties		Start	End	Detail
Gagauzia conflict	Gagauz Republic	Moldova	12 November 1989	14 January 1995	Ended in the reintegration of Gagauzia into Moldova as an autonomous region.
Transnistria conflict	Transnistria / Russia	Moldova Supported by:  Romania / Ukraine	2 September 1990	present	Ongoing political conflict. Its major escalation was the Transnistria War of 1992.
Transnistria War	Transnistria  Russia Diplomatic support:  Ukraine	Moldova Supported by:  Romania	1 March 1992	21 July 1992	The Transnistria War started due to fear from Transnistria's population to a potential unification with Romania. Heavy fighting started 1 March 1992 after the political struggle. A ceasefire between Russian and Transnistrian forces and Moldovan forces has been in place since 1992, enforced by the presence of Russian forces in Transnistria.[9]
1993 Russian constitutional crisis	Pro-Yeltsin forces	Pro-Supreme Soviet forces	21 September 1993	4 October 1993	Political stand-off between the Russian president and the Russian parliament that was resolved by using military force.
Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity	Government of Ukraine Anti-Maidan Supported by:  Russia	Opposition Supported by:  European Union	21 November 2013	22 February 2014	Euromaidan is the name given to civil unrest that started when the Ukrainian government cancelled an association agreement with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia. The protests escalated and led to the Revolution of Dignity, which toppled the Ukrainian government.
Russian invasion of Crimea	Russia  Republic of Crimea	Ukraine  Autonomous Republic of Crimea	20 February 2014	26 March 2014	In February 2014, Russia invaded Crimea. In March, following the takeover of Crimea by pro-Russian separatists and Russian Armed Forces,[10] a referendum (not recognised by the new Ukrainian authorities)[11] was held on the issue of reunification with Russia.[12] This took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity.[13] Russia then annexed Crimea on 18 March.
2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine	Pro-Russian separatists  Russia	Ukraine	22 February 2014	2 May 2014	As a result of the revolution in Kyiv, a pro-Russian unrest in the eastern regions of the country escalated into mass protests and violence between the pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian activists. In Crimea, the events served as a pretext for a Russian annexation of the region. In Donbas, the situation quickly escalated into a war. Protests in other regions included seizure of government buildings in Kharkiv and deadly clashes in Odesa.
War in Donbas	Donetsk People's Republic  Luhansk People's Republic  Russia	Ukraine	6 April 2014	24 February 2022	As a result of the unrest, a full-fledged war began in the Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, known collectively as Donbas. The separatist "people's republics" captured a strip of land on the border with Russia. Major combat ended with the signing of the second Minsk agreements in early 2015, with a stalemate lasting until the start of the full-scale invasion by Russia of February 2022.
Russian invasion of Ukraine	Russia Supported by:  Belarus  CSTO  North Korea  Syria  Iran  Eritrea  Cuba  Venezuela  Myanmar  Mali	Ukraine Supported by:  United States  NATO  European Union  United Kingdom  France  Germany  Italy  Spain  Czech Republic  Poland  Denmark  Finland  Sweden  Turkey  Canada  Mexico  Australia  South Korea  New Zealand  Morocco  Pakistan  Georgia  Israel  Moldova  Belarusian Democratic Republic Russian Anti-Putin Opposition Chechen volunteers	24 February 2022	present	On 24 February 2022, the Russo-Ukrainian War escalated when Russian forces began bombing Ukrainian cities. After the bombings, Russian troops launched an operation on Ukrainian soil and began sending in troops on Ukrainian territory, launching a 'full-scale' invasion. This invasion was supported militarily by the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic and non-militarily by Belarus. Ukraine received military aid from the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and other countries from the Western world. On 30 September 2022, Russia, amid an ongoing invasion, annexed four oblasts of Ukraine – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which were not fully under Russian control at the time. The annexation is the largest in Europe since World War II, surpassing Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
2023 Belgorod Oblast incursions	Russian government	Freedom of Russia Legion Russian Volunteer Corps Other Russian, Belarusian, Polish, and Chechen militant groups  Ukraine (alleged by Russia, denied by Ukraine)[lower-alpha 1]	22 May 2023	Present	Pro Ukrainian Armed Rebels Invasion Of Russia
Wagner Group rebellion	Russian government	PMC Wagner	23 June 2023	24 June 2023	Mutiny of Wagner PMC against the Russian government

See also

• Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations
• List of wars: 1990–2002
• List of wars: 2003–present
• Military history of the Russian Federation
• Post-Soviet states
• Second Cold War
• Ethnic conflicts in the Soviet Union

Notes

References