?I was 23 years old, born and raised in Soviet Union, and the idea seemed ridiculous to me,? she said. And concern, because despite its vices and problems the Soviet Union kept the lifestyle, safety and security in Armenia aligned with Europe,? he said. After years of food shortages, rising nationalist movements and an attempted coup, Mikhail Gorbachev, the president of the Soviet Union, resigned on Christmas Day 1991. ?It would be great if Estonia could just be Estonia, without having the label of ?country previously occupied by Soviet Union?. Read more?Luckily the Soviet Union ended just in time for me.