How the Soviet Union's collapse explains the current Russia-Ukraine tension

On Christmas Day 1991, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sat down at a table deep inside the Kremlin and prepared to deliver a monumental speech. Associated Press reporter Alan Cooperman was among the few journalists allowed in.

"We were ushered down into some kind of underground chamber where they had a formal television studio with those big, Soviet-era tripods and huge cameras." Cooperman recalled. "We sat there for a while and then Gorbachev came in." Cooperman and AP photographer were sternly warned not to ask questions or take pictures. "It was an extraordinary speech. I remember thinking that Gorbachev looked very tired," Cooperman said. "He expressed trepidation about the future. But I Gorbachev announced that after 74 years as one of the world's most powerful nations, the Soviet Union no longer existed, and would break up in 15 separate countries. As Gorbachev finished speaking, ignored the warning he'd been given and quickly snapped a photo that became an iconic image: Gorbachev closing the folder that held his speech, marking the end of the Soviet empire.