Situated at the strategically important crossroads where Europe meets Asia, over the centuries, Georgia was the object of rivalry between Persia, Turkey and Russia, before being eventually annexed by Russia in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Since independence, Georgia has endured periods of civil war and unrest as well as violence related to the separatist conflicts in Georgia's regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia that declared independence from Georgia during a war in the 1990s. Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognized by Russia as sovereign states, but have nonetheless remained internationally-recognized as Georgian territories. In August 2008, tensions between Georgia and Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia escalated into a full-blown military conflict. The conflict remains unresolved, although cease-fires are in effect. Georgia was one of the most prosperous areas of the former Soviet Union. But after independence in 1991, Georgia suffered severe political and economic turbulence as a result of the impact of the civil war and the loss of both preferential accesses to former Soviet Union markets and large budget transfers from the central government of the former Soviet Union. The economy started to pick up in 2000 and has seen impressive performance in recent years.