11.   After the Soviet breakup, living standards plunged.

12.   After the Soviet breakup, Russian President Boris Yeltsin changed the anthem and state symbols by decree.

13.   After the Soviet breakup, Tajikistan, its poorest republic, disintegrated into a civil war among regional factions fighting under the banners of communism, Islam and democracy.

14.   Air safety has declined dramatically since the Soviet breakup, in part due to budget cuts and the disintegration of the old system of maintenance and regulation.

15.   After the Soviet breakup, Russia agreed to rent the old Soviet space-launch facility at Baikonur, on the Kazak plains.

16.   Air safety on Russian airlines has declined dramatically since the Soviet breakup due to lack of money, poor maintenance and aging planes.

17.   Authoritarian-style rule has dominated the former Central Asian republics since the Soviet breakup.

18.   Before the Soviet breakup, the area around the lake was a nature reserve, inaccessible to the public at large.

19.   Authoritarian-style rule has dominated the Central Asian republics since the Soviet breakup.

20.   Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko lashed out at NATO on Wednesday and said he regretted that Belarus jettisoned its nuclear weapons after the Soviet breakup.