List of conflicts in territory of the former Soviet Union

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	Fatalities
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]	20,000^[3]–150,000^[4] killed
Batken conflict	Government Russia (material support) Uzbekistan (military support)	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	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)	Tajikistan	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	Kyrgyzstan	Tajikistan	28 April 2021	1 May 2021	Clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over water dispute.^[9]^[10]	45 killed
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.	257 killed
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.^[11]	21 killed
2022 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes	Kyrgyzstan	Tajikistan	27 January 2022	20 September 2022	Clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan	146 killed

North Caucasus

Conflict	Parties		Start	End	Detail	Fatalities
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.	600 killed^[12]
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.	46,500 killed^[13]
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.	2,775 killed
Second Chechen War	Russia	Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	26 August 1999	31 May 2000	Russia restores federal control of Chechnya.	20,500 killed^[14]
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.	Unknown
Insurgency in Ingushetia	Russia	Caucasus Emirate	21 July 2007	19 May 2015	Separatist insurgency in Ingushetia.	871 killed
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.	3,500 killed
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.	250+ killed

South Caucasus

Conflict	Parties		Start	End	Detail	Fatalities
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).	28,000–38,000 killed^[19]
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.	1,000 killed^[20]
1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état	Rebel factions of National Guard Mkhedrioni And other paramilitariesSupported by: Russia Transcaucasian Military District	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 Russia	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)^[21]
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.	10,000–30,000 killed^[22]
Ganja Uprising	709th Brigade of Azerbaijan Army Supported by: Russia	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 Azerbaijani Armed Forces Supported by: Government of Turkey	13 March 1995	17 March 1996	A failed attempt to reinstall former president Abulfaz Elchibey	31 killed
War in Abkhazia (1998)	Ethnic Georgian rebels	Abkhazia	18 May 1998	26 May 1998	Ethnic Georgians launched an insurgency against the Abkhazian secessionist government.	100 killed^[23]
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^[24]
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.	At least 40 killed^[25]
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.	Unknown
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.	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	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.^[26]	500 killed^[27]
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	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.	7-8 killed
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.	400–1,600 killed
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.	29–133 killed
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War	Azerbaijan Supported by: Turkey Israel	Armenia Republic of Artsakh	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^[28]
Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis	Azerbaijan Supported by: Turkey	Armenia	12 May 2021	present	Border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.	353 killed
Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh	Azerbaijan	Republic of Artsakh	12 December 2022	October 2023	Azerbaijan blockades the Republic of Artsakh.	Unknown
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.	200 killed^[29]

Eastern Europe

Conflict	Parties		Start	End	Detail	Fatalities
Gagauzia conflict	Gagauz Republic	Moldova	12 November 1989	14 January 1995	Ended in the reintegration of Gagauzia into Moldova as an autonomous region.	Unknown
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.	Unknown
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.^[30]	1,000 killed
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.	147 killed
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.	121 killed
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,^[31] a referendum (not recognised by the new Ukrainian authorities)^[32] was held on the issue of reunification with Russia.^[33] This took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity.^[34] Russia then annexed Crimea on 18 March.	3 killed
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.	Unknown
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.	14,000 killed^[35]
Russian invasion of Ukraine	Russia Donetsk People's Republic Luhansk People's Republic Supported by: Belarus North Korea Syria Iran Eritrea Venezuela Myanmar Mali Nicaragua Transnistria South Ossetia^[36] Abkhazia^[37]	Ukraine Supported by: United States NATO European Union United Kingdom France Germany Netherlands Italy Spain Czech Republic Poland Lithuania Latvia Estonia Denmark Norway Finland Sweden Taiwan Turkey Canada Mexico Australia South Korea New Zealand Kuwait Morocco Switzerland Sudan Jordan Singapore Pakistan Argentina Moldova Georgian Legion 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.	See fatalities
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)^[a]	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

Notes

References

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