The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 completely changed the map of Central Asia. Five more sovereign nations appeared: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Russia retains major lands to the North, which extend all the way to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. South of this region are Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, which link this landlocked region to the Indian Ocean.
Central Asia in 1992
