Boris Yeltsin received international praise for his role in dismantling the Soviet Union, transforming Russia into a representative democracy, and introducing new political, economic, and cultural freedoms to the country. Conversely, he was accused of economic mismanagement, overseeing a massive growth in inequality and corruption, and of undermining Russia's standing as a major world power.

Monica Seles won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of them as a teenager while representing Yugoslavia. But on April 30, 1993, she was the victim of an on-court attack, when a man ran from the stands and stabbed her in the back with a 9-inch knife. Seles did not return to tennis for over two years. Although she enjoyed some success after rejoining the tour in 1995, several players and historians have suggested that she had the potential to become the most accomplished female player of all time had she not been stabbed.

The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that had physically and ideologically divided East and West Berlin since it's construction in 1961. The demolition of the Wall officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in November 1991. The "fall of the Berlin Wall" paved the way for German reunification, which formally took place on 3 October 1990.

Although Tupac Shakur's killing remains unsolved, many attribute his death to the decade's heated East Coast vs. West Coast rap war, which pitted Shakur against his New York rival, Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. Six months later, Wallace was also murdered in a drive-by shooting.

"The Soup Nazi" was an episode of Seinfeld, in which Jerry and friends risk the ire of a temperamental soup kitchen owner in order to try his delicious soup.

On January 6, 1994, one day before the U.S. Figure Skating Championship, defending champion Nancy Kerrigan was forced to withdraw after being attacked after a practice session. Tonya Harding went on to win the U.S. title. When it was discovered that Harding's ex-husband had orchestrated the attack on Kerrigan, the United States Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya of her titles and banned her from competition for life.

The death toll was 60, with more than 9,000 injured. In addition, property damage was estimated to be $13-50 billion, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

After sitting dormant for more than six centuries, the Philippines' Mount Pinatubo rumbled back to life with devastating consequences on June 15, 1991. The eruption blasted hot ash 28 miles into the air, causing the largest stratospheric disturbance since the Krakatoa eruption in 1883, dropping global temperatures and increasing ozone depletion.

On 31 August 1997, Diana died in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris while the driver was fleeing the paparazzi. An estimated 2.5 billion people watched the funeral worldwide.

Jack Kevorkian was an American pathologist who publicly championed a terminal patient's right to die by physician-assisted suicide. Proclaiming that "Dying is not a crime," Kevorkian assisted at least 130 patients in voluntary euthanasia. He was convicted of murder in 1999 and served 8 years of a 10-to-25-year prison sentence.