For an empire that dominated a whole continent and had control over dozens of more countries, the Soviet Union’s fall came fast and hard. What used to be the tightly controlled, centrally-planned Soviet Union ended with Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost, the opening up to the West. Suddenly the underground calls for independence became open ones, and every former republic in turn declared their independence.

On this day, December 8, in 1991, in place of the Soviet Union, the now lone Russian republic started the loose union, called the Commonwealth of Independent States.

There was no more control by Russia: each republic had a separate economy and government, and there are no triggers for any automatic action. Intended to operate on issues of cross-border law enforcement as well as finance and trade, it was first organized by Russia with Ukraine and Belarus, with later additions of the Caucasus region republics. There are currently 10 members, with Turkmenestan an unffocial one and Ukraine an observer.