World map in 1994

Border history

The interactive map lets you inspect named territories in 1994 and compare them to earlier or later snapshots on the timeline.

Biographical context

Meet figures alive in, or close to, 1994 and move from political geography to the people connected to the period.

Era-based reading

The related chronicles below provide long-form reading tied closely to the contemporary period.

1994 – 1996

First Chechen War

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria vs Russian Federation

Russia invaded the breakaway Chechen Republic to reassert federal control. The brutal urban warfare in Grozny devastated the city and killed tens of thousands, ending in a humiliating Russian withdrawal.

Key battles and events: Battle of Khankala (December 1994); First Battle of Grozny (1994–1995)

1993 – 2005

Burundi Civil War

Burundian Government (Tutsi-led military) vs Hutu rebel groups (CNDD-FDD, FNL)

An ethnic civil war between the Tutsi-dominated military and Hutu rebel groups, paralleling the Rwandan genocide next door. An estimated 300,000 people died before a power-sharing agreement ended the conflict.

Key battles and events: October 1993 massacres; Battle of Bujumbura (1994)

1992 – 2002

Algerian Civil War

Algerian government vs Islamist insurgent groups

A brutal civil war that erupted after the cancellation of Algeria's elections, pitting the state against Islamist insurgents in a conflict marked by massacres and disappearances.

Key battles and events: Battle of Algiers (1997); Bentalha massacre (1997)

1992 – 1995

Bosnian War

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat forces

The bloodiest war of Yugoslavia's collapse, marked by the siege of Sarajevo, ethnic cleansing and the Srebrenica genocide before ending with the Dayton Accords.

Key battles and events: Siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996); Battle of Mostar (1992-1994)

1992 – 1997

Tajik Civil War

Government forces (Kulobi-Khujandi alliance) vs United Tajik Opposition (Islamists, democrats, regionalists)

Post-Soviet civil war in Tajikistan between the ruling communist elite and an opposition coalition, killing up to 100,000 people and displacing over a million.

Key battles and events: Battle for Dushanbe (1992); Kofarnihon massacres (1992)

1992 – 1994

US Intervention in Somalia (UNOSOM)

United Nations, United States vs Somali National Alliance (Aidid)

A humanitarian intervention in famine-ravaged Somalia escalated into urban combat. The Battle of Mogadishu ('Black Hawk Down') killed 18 US soldiers and led to American withdrawal.

Key battles and events: Battle of Mogadishu (1993); Operation Gothic Serpent (1993)

1991 – 1995

Croatian War of Independence

Croatia vs Yugoslav People's Army and Serb forces

War triggered by Yugoslavia's breakup in which Croatia fought the JNA and Serb separatist forces before major Croatian offensives restored most of the state's territory.

Key battles and events: Battle of Vukovar (1991); Siege of Dubrovnik (1991-1992)

1991 – 2002

Sierra Leone Civil War

Sierra Leone Government & ECOMOG vs Revolutionary United Front (RUF)

The RUF, backed by Charles Taylor's Liberia and funded by 'blood diamonds', waged a campaign of terror that included mass amputations of civilians' hands. British military intervention in 2000 and a UN peacekeeping force finally ended the war.

Key battles and events: RUF invasion from Liberia (1991); January 6 invasion of Freetown (1999)

Sichuan, China

Deng Xiaoping

1904 – 1997

Reform and Opening Up, Special Economic Zones, lifting 800 million from poverty

Ghana / New York

Kofi Annan

1938 – 2018

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, global advocate for human rights and development

United Kingdom

Margaret Thatcher

1925 – 2013

First female British Prime Minister, Falklands War, economic transformation of Britain

India

Mother Teresa

1910 – 1997

Founder of the Missionaries of Charity, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, champion of the poorest of the poor

South Africa

Nelson Mandela

1918 – 2013

Anti-apartheid revolutionary, political prisoner for 27 years, first Black president of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

United States

Ronald Reagan

1911 – 2004

40th President of the United States, Cold War leadership, Reaganomics, transforming the conservative movement

Built 1986 · Asia

Faisal Mosque

Islamabad's landmark mosque with a striking tent-shaped design by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, one of the largest mosques in the world

Built 1986 · Africa

Hassan II Mosque

Mosque with the world's tallest minaret, partially built over the Atlantic Ocean in Casablanca

Built 1985 · Africa

Basilica of Our Lady of Peace

World's largest church by area, modelled on St. Peter's Basilica, in Yamoussoukro

Natural wonder · Asia

Darvaza Gas Crater

Burning natural gas crater in Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert, alight continuously since 1971

Built 1963 · Africa

Great Mosque of Touba

Holy city and largest mosque in sub-Saharan Africa, centre of the Mouride brotherhood in Senegal

Built 1958 · South America

Cathedral of Brasília

Oscar Niemeyer's hyperboloid modernist cathedral of curved concrete columns

Sichuan, China · Leader

Deng Xiaoping

The Architect of Modern China

Purged three times, rehabilitated three times — how a five-foot-tall pragmatist transformed China from one of the world’s poorest nations into its fastest-growing economy.

Ghana / New York · Leader

Kofi Annan

The Conscience of the World

The story of a quiet boy from Kumasi who became the moral voice of a fractured world — from the Gold Coast to the glass towers of the United Nations, from Rwanda’s killing fields to the Nobel stage in Oslo.

India · Philosopher

Mother Teresa

The Saint of the Gutters

The story of an Albanian schoolgirl who heard a call within a call, walked into the slums of Calcutta with five rupees in her pocket, and built a global mission to the dying, the abandoned, and the forgotten.

South Africa · Revolutionary

Nelson Mandela

The Long Walk to Freedom

The story of a Xhosa chief’s son who became the world’s most famous prisoner, endured twenty-seven years behind bars, and emerged to dismantle apartheid and lead a nation back from the brink of civil war.