In advance of the collapse of the Soviet Union and shortly thereafter, several territories which had before been parts of Soviet republics declared themselves independent States: Abkhazia and South Ossetia (both from Georgia), Nagorno-Karabakh (from Azerbaijan) and Transnistria (from Moldova). In 2014, after the so-called Euromaidan events in Ukraine, two “People’s Republics” in the Donetsk and Lugansk (Luhansk) regions of Eastern Ukraine were proclaimed by opponents to the new Ukrainian government. Each of these declarations of independence led to military conflicts but nevertheless these self-declared States developed administrative structures and people continue to live in these territories. The Introduction gives an overview over the contents of the book, explaining also the focus on (mainly) private law matters relating to non-recognized States, leaving aside the status question whether such entities are indeed States under public international law. As has already been stated in the Preface, this book takes into account developments until 31 December 2021. Nevertheless, the findings of the book are thought to keep their value, independently of the later fate of some of the discussed territories.