Starostin's ( 1991 ) lexicostatistical research claimed that the proposed Altaic groups shared about 15 – 20 % of potential cognates within a 110-word Swadesh-Yakhontov list ( e. g. Turkic – Mongolic 20 %, Turkic – Tungusic 18 %, Turkic – Korean 17 %, Mongolic – Tungusic 22 %, Mongolic – Korean 16 %, Tungusic – Korean 21 %).

A mummified man, determined to be 5, 000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian – Italian border in 1991.

* 1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader ( d. 1991 )

* 1991 – Magnus Paajarvi, Swedish hockey player

* 1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

* 1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

* 1991 – Rikiya Otaka, Japanese actor

* 1991 – Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web.

* 1991 – Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.

* 1991 – Jiao Liuyang, Chinese swimmer

* 1902 – Zino Francescatti, French violinist ( d. 1991 )

* 1991 – Hansika Motwani, Indian actress

* 1991 – Candela Vetrano, Argentine actress and singer

* 1898 – Regis Toomey, American actor ( d. 1991 )

* 1912 – Salvador Luria, Italian-American microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate ( d. 1991 )

* 1991 – Dave Days, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

* 1991 – Skyler Day, American actress

* 1991 – Evander Kane, Canadian ice hockey player

* Party of Labour of Albania, the sole legal political party in Albania during communist rule ( 1946 – 1991 )

From the mid-1940s the country was subject to Soviet economic control and saw considerable Russification of its peoples, but Latvian culture and infrastructures survived such that, during the period of Soviet liberalisation under Mikhail Gorbachev, Latvia once again took a path towards independence which eventually succeeded in August 1991 and was recognised by Russia the following month.

People who arrived in Latvia during the Soviet era, and their descendants born before 21 August 1991, have to pass a naturalisation process to receive Latvian citizenship.

After the declaration on the restoration of its full independence on August 21, 1991, Latvia became a member of the United Nations on September 17, 1991, and is a signatory to a number of UN organizations and other international agreements, including Council of Europe, CERCO, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, UNESCO, UNICEF, International Criminal Court, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

* 1991 – In concurrent referenda, 74 % of the population of Latvia votes for independence from the Soviet Union, and 83 % in Estonia.

Gorbachev's rump government recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in August and September 1991.

* 1991 – The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

* 1991 – Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.

The doctrine was also invoked by U. S. Under-Secretary of State Sumner Welles in a declaration of July 23, 1940, that announced non-recognition of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of the three Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — and remained the official U. S. position until the Baltic states gained formal international recognition as independent states in 1991.

Through a strict, non-confrontational policy in pursuing independence, Estonia managed to avoid the violence which Latvia and Lithuania incurred in the bloody January 1991 crackdowns and in the border customs-post guard murders that summer.

The majority of immigrants came to Latvia during the Soviet occupation ( 1940 – 1991 ), supplementing pre-existing ethnic minority communities.

The present day governments of Estonia and Latvia, who regained their independence in 1991, generally take a positive, or sometimes neutral, view towards the contributions of the Baltic Germans in the development of their cities and countries throughout their history.

* Cēsis, Latvia ( since 1991 )

Using old photographs and blueprints, the statue was reconstructed after Latvia reachieved its independence in 1991, and unveiled on August 13, 1992.

The Singing Revolution is a commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

* January 1991 events in Latvia

Gorbachev's permissive attitude toward Eastern Europe did not initially extend to Soviet territory ; even Bush, who strove to maintain friendly relations, condemned the January 1991 killings in Latvia and Lithuania, privately warning that economic ties would be frozen if the violence continued.

The Socialist Party of Latvia (, LSP, ) was formed in 1994 as a successor party to the Communist Party of Latvia, which was banned in 1991.

From 1991 to 2001, Repše was the president of the Bank of Latvia ( Latvia's central bank ).

* The BHHRG based part of a Latvia report on an interview with Alfreds Rubiks, the Communist who led the " National Salvation Committee " which would have co-ordinated repression had the coup against Gorbachev not failed in 1991.

He refused to play for the Soviet Union in 1991 because Latvia had proclaimed independence from the Soviet Union on May 4, 1990 and the Soviet government attempted to use military force in January 1991 to stop Latvia's independence.

* 1991 – Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

* 1991 – Ukraine declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

* 1991 – Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognized by the international community.

* 1991 – South Ossetia declares independence from Georgia.

* 1991 – Uzbekistan declares independence from the Soviet Union

* 1991 – Tajikstan declares independence from the Soviet Union.