The collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago failed to transform completely Russian-US ties, despite attempts to reset the testy relationship between the two nations.

Even though economically, Washington still far outweighs Moscow on the global scale, two decades on, the US is no longer the world’s sole superpower.

And although World Bank figures show that Russia’s gross domestic product amounted last year to just 10 per cent of the US, Moscow is trying to assert itself as one of the main pillars of a multi-polar world.

The Soviet collapse gave Washington the opportunity to spread its influence over the empire’s debris, but wielding US power in the last decade has irritated a more self-confident Russia led by strongman Vladimir Putin.

After the discord triggered by the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the brief war between Russia and US-ally Georgia in 2008 sunk bilateral ties to a post-Cold War low.

It also fuelled the Russian leadership’s perception that Nato was more of a threat than a potential partner.

The resetting of ties which President Barack Obama’s Administration has sought with Russia following the tension of the George Bush years has actually produced tangible results.

There is a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, cooperation on Afghanistan, a rapprochement between Russia and Nato, and a renewed dialogue on everything from economic matters to education and adoption.

Nonetheless, the White House has failed to convince the Kremlin that a plan to deploy a missile shield in Europe does not threaten Russia despite repeated arguments that it is aimed at countering a future threat from Iran.

In response, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced last Tuesday that Russia had activated a radar warning system against incoming missiles in its exclave of Kalinin-grad on the borders of the European Union.

Russia expert Andrew Kuchins said the current disagreement is part genuine but added “the escalation of the Russian rhetoric in the last few weeks has to do with the parliamentary campaign”.

Since spring, Moscow has also voiced its differences with Washington in the UN Security Council. It criticised the Western military intervention in Libya, and is standing firm against any sanctions against Syria.

Mr Putin has also accused the US of being a “parasite” on the global economy.

The former Russian President turned Prime Minister is now the odds-on favourite to return as head of state in March 2012, but Mr Kuchins doubts the US-Russia relationship will suffer.

“Where we were three years ago was not a position in the interest of the US nor of the Russian Federation. We are closer to a state of that today,” he said.

Twenty years after the Soviet Union’s collapse, the emergence of such economic powers such as China, Brazil, India, and South Africa are changing the global political landscape.

The financial crisis of 2008, and this year’s debt crisis have accelerated the trend.

“The Russian focus on the US and Nato as its principal threats is shifting somewhat,” Mr Kuchins said. “They have to be increasingly concerned about the implications of growing Chinese power in the East, particularly as it exercises through economic means in their zone of so-called privileged interests.”

The “rationale for rapprochement with the US” stems amid the rise of “lots of uncertainty,” he added.

Key events that led to the fall

Following are the key events leading to the formal liquidation of the Soviet Union. The quotes are taken from the memoirs of Mr Yeltsin and Mr Gorbachev.

November 25
Novo-Ogaryevo, Russia: Mr Yeltsin stuns Mr Gorbachev by refusing to initial a draft agreement creating a confederation state to replace the USSR, at a meeting with Soviet republic leaders outside Moscow. “Gorbachev jumped out of his chair and stormed out of the room. It was then that we understood we had gathered here for the last time,” said Yeltsin.

December 1
Kiev, Ukraine: Ukraine votes overwhelmingly, with over 90 per cent in favour, for independence in a referendum that helps undermine any remaining rationale for keeping the USSR together.

December 8
Belovezh forest, Belarus: Mr Yeltsin and the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus meet at a hunting lodge outside Minsk to coordinate their actions. “It was a perfect winter evening. Just below zero. A light snowfall. The three of us had gathered to decide the fate of the Union,” Mr Yeltsin remembered.

They agree to create a Commonwealth of Independent States to replace the Soviet Union. The USSR would cease to exist and the CIS would not be a state in itself.

Mr Gorbachev is not invited and Mr Yeltsin first spoke by telephone to US President George Bush to inform him of the outcome.

When he finally spoke to the Soviet leader, Mr Gorbachev told him: “What you have done behind my back, in agreement with the President of the US, is shameful!”

December 9
Moscow, Russia: Mr Yeltsin goes to see a furious Mr Gorbachev back in Moscow. “The Union no longer exists, don’t you understand? And there is no way back,” Mr Yeltsin told the Soviet President.

December 21-22
Almaty, Kazakhstan: At a meeting in the Kazakh city of Almaty, all republics of the USSR – excluding the three Baltic States and Georgia – agree to join the CIS. The agreement states clearly that neither the Soviet Union nor the post of Soviet President exist. “The statehood of the peoples of a great country is beginning a new history,” Mr Gorbachev told delegates. “It will not be easy.”

December 23
Moscow, Russia: With the Soviet Union by now clearly without any viable future, Mr Yeltsin holds a long eight-hour meeting with Mr Gorbachev to discuss the modalities of the handover of power. “Over the course of many hours, with just small breaks, I discussed with Yeltsin the questions about the transfer from a Union State to the CIS,” Mr Gorbachev wrote.

December 25
Moscow, Russia: Mr Gorbachev formally resigns in an address broadcast on Soviet television. “The line of dismembering the country and breaking up the state has won, which I cannot accept,” Mr Gorbachev said. He is calm and dignified but makes no secret of his frustration. That night, the Soviet hammer-and-sickle red flag is taken down from the Kremlin.

December 31
Moscow, Russia: Midnight – the Soviet Union ceases to exist as a legal entity.