What unique status did Russia hold in the post-Soviet space following the dissolution of the USSR?
1) It became a part of the European Union.
2) It retained its Soviet identity.
3) It was the only nuclear state in the region.
4) It embraced communism as its governing ideology.

Choose the correct answer from the given options:

3

Russia became the only nuclear state in the post-Soviet space following the dissolution of the USSR.

The declaration on the disintegration of the USSR and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) came as a surprise to the other republics, especially to the Central Asian ones. The exclusion of these republics was an issue that was quickly solved by making them founding members of the CIS. Russia was now accepted as the successor state of the Soviet Union. It inherited the Soviet seat in the UN Security Council. Russia accepted all the international treaties and commitments of the Soviet Union. It took over as the only nuclear state of the post-Soviet space and carried out some nuclear disarmament measures with the US. The old Soviet Union was thus dead and buried.