41.   President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, who openly laments the Soviet breakup and was the driving force behind the union, said he is striving for full union.

42.   Putin said that the number of Russian scientists has shrunk by half since the Soviet breakup.

43.   Russia and Georgia have signed a series of agreements since the Soviet breakup, including ones on the deployment of Russian troops in Georgia.

44.   Russian troops pulled out of Azerbaijan after the Soviet breakup.

45.   Russian-American matchmaking services have flourished since the Soviet breakup.

46.   Russian troops stayed in Armenia after the Soviet breakup but their status had been uncertain.

47.   Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin told fellow premiers that closer cooperation was needed among the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose coalition established after the Soviet breakup.

48.   Since the Soviet breakup, Russian citizens have been permitted to own land in urban areas, but agricultural land remains largely in state hands.

49.   Since the Soviet breakup, the Americans have been helping Russia safeguard nuclear material and check for potential environmental problems.

50.   Since the Soviet breakup, Russian citizens have been permitted to own land in urban areas, but agricultural plots remain largely in state hands.