SOVIET REPUBLICS A status report

The Soviet Union broke up in 1991, creating 14 separate republics, many of them governed by people tied to the defunct Soviet system. Here's a status report on those countries:
ARMENIA: Robert Kocharian, a former Communist Party member, became president in 1997. He was re-elected in 2003 in a contentious election.
AZERBAIJAN: Political instability postponed elections until 1992. More instability led to the election of Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB agent, as president in 1993. His son, Ilham Aliyev, won the presidency in a disputed election in 2003.
BELARUS: President Alexander Lukashenko was elected in 1994 and re-elected in 1999. A referendum in 2004 did away with limitations on presidential terms. He's expected to run again in 2006.
ESTONIA: Declared independence in 1991 after the "Singing Revolution," in which thousands of Estonians sang in mass demonstrations.
GEORGIA: The "Rose Revolution" of 2003 forced former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze from the presidency amid allegations of widespread voter fraud.
KAZAKHSTAN: Former Communist Party member Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected the country's first president in 1991 and re-elected in 1997.
KYRGYZSTAN: President Askar Akayev apparently resigned and fled the country Thursday after allegations of voter fraud in parliamentary elections sparked opposition protests.
LATVIA: Several governments have formed, dissolved and re-formed since independence in 1991. President Vaira Vike-Freiberga was elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.
LITHUANIA: The government has swung from one political party to the other. In January 2004, the president was impeached. A newly elected government took office last December.
MOLDOVA: An election in 2001 led to the Communist Party being in control.
TAJIKISTAN: Instability led to a 1997 peace accord, implemented in 2000. The 1999 and 2000 elections were considered flawed but legitimate. Tajikistan is the only Central Asian country with an Islamic party represented in Parliament.
TURKMENISTAN: President Saparmurat Niyazov was elected in 1991. In 1999, he was named president for life by a Parliament composed of members he'd handpicked.
UKRAINE: Widespread allegations of voter fraud and intimidation in the 2004 presidential campaign led to the "Orange Revolution" protests, which produced a runoff election won by opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko.
UZBEKISTAN: President Islam Karimov was elected in 1991; his term has been extended until 2007.
Sources: State Department, Wikipedia, CIA Factbook; Compiled by researcher Tish Wells