A soldier waves 21 August 1991 a Russian flag from the top of his News Photo - Getty Images

A soldier waves 21 August 1991 a Russian flag from the top of his tank as armoured units leave their positions in Moscow following the collapse of the military coup against president Gorbatchev. Coup Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

What Putin Fears Most

June 12, 1991: Boris Yeltsin Elected President of Russia

21,778 Russia Flag Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

656 Soviet Soldiers 1991 Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

1,117 Display The Russian Flag Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

Russians' regret over passing of USSR into history

1,149 Russian Flag Waving Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

Saddam Hussein fell. Then violence in Iraq spiralled – Middle East Monitor

1,210 Soviet Coup Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

656 Soviet Soldiers 1991 Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

August 19, 1991: August Putsch Against Gorbachev Fails

Has Russia Always Played By Its Own Rules?

656 Soviet Soldiers 1991 Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images

Ukraine marks 31-year Independence Day under threat of nuclear catastrophe

1,012 Soviet Soldiers 1991 Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images