4. End of the Soviet Flag over the Kremlin (1991)
On December 25, 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, declaring the office extinct and transferring its powers to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. That evening, at 7:35 p.m. Moscow time, the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time, and the Russian tricolor was raised in its place, symbolizing the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the emergence of independent republics. This historic moment marked the end of an era and the conclusion of the Cold War (washingtonpost.com).
