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.
See main article: Frozen conflict. 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.
| Conflict | Parties | Start | End | Detail | Fatalities | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tajikistani Civil War | / Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan | 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] | 20,000[3] –150,000[4] killed | |
| Batken conflict | Government (material support) Uzbekistan (military support) | 30 July 1999 | 27 September 1999 | Armed clashes between militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan | 1,182 killed | |
| Andijan massacre | Government | Protesters in the city of Andijan | 13 May 2005 | Protest and government massacre in the city of Andijan in Uzbekistan | 187–1,500 killed | |
| 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.[5] | 118 killed |
| 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. | 393–893 killed |
| Insurgency in Gorno-Badakhshan (2010–2015) | United Tajik Opposition | 19 September 2010 | September 2015 | Sporadic fighting in Tajikistan between rebel and government forces. | 191–206 killed | |
| 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 | 14+ killed |
| 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.[6] | 11 killed[7] |
| 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. | 1 killed[8] |
| 2021 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes | 28 April 2021 | 1 May 2021 | Clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over water dispute.[9] [10] | 45 killed | ||
| 2022 Kazakh unrest | Government | 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. | 257 killed |
| 2022 Karakalpak protests | 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.[11] | 21 killed | ||
| 2022 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes | 27 January 2022 | 20 September 2022 | Clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan | 146 killed | ||
| Conflict | Parties | Start | End | Detail | Fatalities | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Prigorodny conflict | 30 October 1992 | 6 November 1992 | Inter-ethnic conflict in the Eastern part of the Prigorodny district. | 600 killed[12] | |||
| First Chechen War | 11 December 1994 | 31 August 1996 | Russian troops invaded after Chechnya declared independence, but withdrew in 1996 leading to a de facto Chechen independence. | 46,500 killed[13] | |||
| War in Dagestan (1999) | 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. | 2,775 killed | ||
| Second Chechen War | 26 August 1999 | 31 May 2000 | Russia restores federal control of Chechnya. | 20,500 killed[14] | |||
| Insurgency in Chechnya | Caucasus Emirate | 1 June 2000 | 16 April 2009 | Separatist insurgency in Chechnya, Dagestan, and other parts of the North Caucasus region. | Unknown | ||
| Insurgency in Ingushetia | Caucasus Emirate | 21 July 2007 | 19 May 2015 | Separatist insurgency in Ingushetia. | 871 killed | ||
| Insurgency in the North Caucasus | Caucasus Emirate | 16 April 2009 | 19 December 2017 | Separatist insurgency in Chechnya, Dagestan, and other parts of the North Caucasus region. | 3,500 killed | ||
| Low-level Islamic State insurgency in the North Caucasus | 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. | 250+ killed | ||
| Conflict | Parties | Start | End | Detail | Fatalities | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Nagorno-Karabakh War | (1988–91) Supported by: | Supported by: | 20 February 1988 | 12 May 1994 | The separatist conflict leads to de facto independence of Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic). | 28,000–38,000 killed | |
| South Ossetia war (1991–1992) | Supported by: | 5 January 1991 | 24 June 1992 | The separatist conflict leads to South Ossetia's de facto independence from Georgia. | 1,000 killed[15] | ||
| 1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état | Rebel factions of National Guard Mkhedrioni And other paramilitariesSupported by: Russia | President Zviad Gamsakhurdia Factions of National GuardSupported by: Ichkeria | 22 December 1991 | 6 January 1992 | A military coup against Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia results in him fleeing to Chechnya | 113 killed | |
| Georgian Civil War | Pro-Gamsakhurdia forces Supported by: Ichkeria | Pro-Shevardnadze forces | 6 January 1992 | 31 December 1993 | A civil war between the post-coup Georgian government of Eduard Shevardnadze and supporters of ousted President Zviad Gamsakhurdia results in Gamsakhurdia's defeat with Russian military support for Shevardnadze. | 2,000 killed (including coup)[16] | |
| War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) | Supported by: | 14 August 1992 | 27 September 1993 | Abkhaz separatism leads to the de facto independence of Abkhazia from Georgia. | 10,000–30,000 killed[17] | ||
| Ganja Uprising | 709th Brigade of Azerbaijan Army Supported by: | President Abulfaz Elchibey Azerbaijani Army Popular Front | 4 June 1993 | 15 June 1993 | A mutiny against Azerbaijani President Abulfaz Elchibey replaces him with Heydar Aliyev | Unknown | |
| 1995 Azerbaijani coup attempt | Special Purpose Police Unit Elements from Turkey Supported by: Nationalist Movement Party | Government of Azerbaijan
Supported by: | 13 March 1995 | 17 March 1996 | A failed attempt to reinstall former president Abulfaz Elchibey | 31 killed | |
| War in Abkhazia (1998) | Ethnic Georgian rebels | 18 May 1998 | 26 May 1998 | Ethnic Georgians launched an insurgency against the Abkhazian secessionist government. | 100 killed[18] | ||
| 1998 Georgian attempted mutiny | President Eduard Shevardnadze Defense Ministry forces |  Pro-Gamsakhurdia forces | 18 October 1998 | 20 October 1998 | An abortive mutiny led by pro-Gamsakhurdia officers from the Senaki Military Brigade to remove new President Eduard Shevardnadze from power. | 5 killed[19] | |
| 2001 Kodori crisis | Georgian guerrillas | 4 October 2001 | 18 October 2001 | Georgian guerrillas unsuccessfully try to regain control over Abkhazia with the help of Chechen fighters. | At least 40 killed[20] | ||
| Pankisi Gorge crisis | Supported by: | 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. | Unknown | |
| 2004 South Ossetian clashes | 10 August 2004 | 19 August 2004 | Clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian troops result in several deaths. | 22 killed | |||
| 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. | 1 killed | |
| Russo-Georgian War | 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.[21] | 500 killed[22] | |||
| 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. | None killed | |
| 2010 Mardakert clashes | 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. | 7-8 killed | |||
| 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | 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. | 400–1,600 killed | |||
| July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes | 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. | 29–133 killed | |||
| Second Nagorno-Karabakh War | Supported by: | 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. | 7,000 killed[23] | ||
| Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis | Supported by: | 12 May 2021 | present | Border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia. | 353 killed | ||
| Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh | 12 December 2022 | October 2023 | Azerbaijan blockades the Republic of Artsakh. | Unknown | |||
| 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh | 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. | 200 killed[24] | |||
| Conflict | Parties | Start | End | Detail | Fatalities | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gagauzia conflict | Gagauz Republic | 12 November 1989 | 14 January 1995 | Ended in the reintegration of Gagauzia into Moldova as an autonomous region. | Unknown | ||
| Transnistria conflict | / | Supported by:  Romania/  Ukraine | 2 September 1990 | present | Ongoing political conflict. Its major escalation was the Transnistria War of 1992. | Unknown | |
| Transnistria War | Diplomatic support: | 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.[25] | 1,000 killed | |
| 1993 Russian constitutional crisis | Pro-Yeltsin forces | Pro-Supreme Soviet forces | 4 October 1993 | Political stand-off between the Russian president and the Russian parliament that was resolved by using military force. | 147 killed | ||
| Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity | Government of Ukraine Anti-Maidan Supported by: | Opposition Supported by: | 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. | 121 killed | |
| Russian invasion of Crimea | Ukraine | 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,[26] a referendum (not recognised by the new Ukrainian authorities)[27] was held on the issue of reunification with Russia.[28] This took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity.[29] Russia then annexed Crimea on 18 March. | 3 killed | ||
| 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine | Pro-Russian separatists | 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. | Unknown | |
| War in Donbas | Ukraine | 6 April 2014 | 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. | 14,000 killed[30] | |||
| Russian invasion of Ukraine | Supported by:  Belarus [31] [32] | Ukraine Supported by:  TurkeyGeorgian Legion 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. | See fatalities | |
| 2023 Belgorod Oblast incursions | Russian government | Freedom of Russia Legion Russian Volunteer Corps Other Russian, Belarusian, Polish, and Chechen militant groups (alleged by Russia, denied by Ukraine) | 22 May 2023 | Present | Pro-Ukrainian Armed Rebels Invasion of Russia | Unknown | |
| Wagner Group rebellion | Russian government | PMC Wagner | 23 June 2023 | 24 June 2023 | Mutiny of Wagner PMC against the Russian government | 15–31 killed | |
| August 2024 Kursk Oblast incursion | Ukraine | 6 August 2024 | Present | Ukrainian invasion of Russia | Unknown | ||