CIS Countries

About Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization which was created in December 1991 by the former

Soviet Republics. In the adopted Declaration the participants of the Commonwealth declared their interaction on the basis of

sovereign equality.

At present the CIS member states are: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

In 2008, Georgia left the organization.

Code Country Currency / Symbol

AM Armenia CIS drams

AZ Azerbaidjan CIS Azerbaijani manats

BY Belarus CIS Belarusian rubles

GE Georgia Non-CIS laris

KZ Kazahstan CIS tenge

KG Kyrgyzstan CIS SOMS

MD Moldova CIS Moldovan lei

RU Russia CIS rubles

TM Turkmenistan CIS Turkmen manat

TJ Tajikistan CIS Tajikistani somoni

UA Ukraine CIS hryvnia

 UZ Uzbekistan CIS soum

In all cases, we have given preference to data obtained from national supervisory authorities.

Where official data were not available, we have used information provided by the national insurers associations.

Also, domestic financial press represented a valuable source of information regarding the local tendencies and events.

For conversion of the national currencies into the euro, we have use the official exchange rate valid in the last

day of the period considered.

Commonwealth of Independent States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the Commonwealth of Nations.

Commonwealth of Independent
States

Flag Emblem
 Administra Minsk
tive center

Largest Moscow
city

Official Russian
language

Type Regional organization

Membershi 9 member
p states[show]
2 associate
states[show]

Leaders

Executive Sergei Lebedev

Secretary

Presidency Russia

Establishment

Belavezha 8 December 1991

Accords
 Collective 15 May 1992
Security
Treaty
Organisation

Free trade 18 October 2011[1]

agreement
signed

Free Trade 20 September 2012

Area establis
hed

Area

Total 22,100,843 km2(8,533,18

3 sq mi)

Population

2017 estima 282,214,245

te

Density 12.77/km2(33.1/sq mi)

GDP (PPP) 2016 estimate

Total US$5.429 trillion

Per capita US$19,238

GDP (nomin 2013 estimate

al)

Total US$2.808 trillion

Per capita US$10,113

HDI (2015) 0.734

high
 Currency Member states[show]

Associate states[show]

Time zone (UTC+2 to +12)

Drives on right
the

Website
www.cis.minsk.by

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS; Russian:

, , tr. Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv,
SNG), also called the Russian Commonwealth (to distinguish it from the
British Commonwealth of Nations[3]), is a regional organization formed during
the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Nine out of the 15 former Soviet
Republics are member states, and two are associate members
(Ukraine and Turkmenistan). Georgia withdrew its membership in 2008, while
the Baltic states (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia) chose not to participate.
The CIS has few supranational powers but aims to be more than a purely
symbolic organization, nominally possessing coordinating powers in the
realms of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. It has also promoted
cooperation on cross-border crime prevention. Furthermore, eight of the nine
CIS member states participate in the CIS Free Trade Area. Three
organizations are under the overview of the CIS, namely the Collective
Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union (alongside
subdivisions, the Eurasian Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Space,
which comprises territory inhabited by over 180 million people), and
the Union State. While the first and the second are military and economic
alliances, the third aims to reach a confederation of Russia and Belarus with
a common government, flag, currency, etc.

Contents
[hide]

1History

2Membership

o 2.1Member states
 o 2.2Associate states

o 2.3Former member states

3Leadership

o 3.1Executive Secretaries

4Human rights

5Military structures

6Associated organisations

o 6.1Free trade area (CISFTA)

6.1.11994

6.1.22011

o 6.2Eurasian Economic Community

o 6.3Organisation of Central Asian Cooperation

o 6.4Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations

o 6.5Common Economic Space

o 6.6Collective Security Treaty Organization

7Other activities

o 7.1Controversial election observation mission

o 7.2Interparliamentary Assembly

o 7.3Russian language status

o 7.4Sports events

8Economic data

9Heads of State of the member states within the CIS, as of 2017

 10See also

11Notes

12References

13External links

History[edit]
Signing of the agreement to establish the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), 8 December 1991
In March 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev, the president of the Soviet Union,
proposed a federation by holding a referendum to preserve the Union as
the Union of Sovereign States. The new treaty signing never happened as
the Communist Party hardliners staged an attempted coup in August that
year.
Following the events of August, the republics had declared their
independence fearing another coup. A week after the Ukrainian
independence referendum was held, which kept the chances of the Soviet
Union staying together low, the Commonwealth of Independent States was
founded on 8 December 1991 by the Republic of Belarus (Byelorussia),
the Russian SFSR, and Ukraine, when the leaders of the three countries met
in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve, about 50 km (31 mi) north
of Brest in Belarus and signed the "Agreement Establishing the
Commonwealth of Independent States", known as the Creation
Agreement (Russian: , Soglasheniye), on the dissolution of
the Soviet Union and the creation of CIS as a successor entity to it.[2] At the
same time they announced that the new alliance would be open to all
republics of the former Soviet Union, and to other nations sharing the same
goals. The CIS charter stated that all the members were sovereign and
independent nations and thereby effectively abolished the Soviet Union.
On 21 December 1991, the leaders of eight additional former Soviet
Republics
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajiki
stan, and Uzbekistan signed the Alma-Ata Protocol which can either be
interpreted as expanding the CIS to these states or the proper foundation or
refoundation date of the CIS,[3] thus bringing the number of participating
countries to 11.[4] Georgia joined two years later, in December 1993. [5] At this
point, 12 of the 15 former Soviet Republics participated in the CIS. The
three Baltic states did not, reflecting their governments' view that the post-
1940 Soviet occupation of their territory was illegitimate (in 2004 they
joined NATO and the European Union).
Between 2003 and 2005, three CIS member states experienced a change of
government in a series of colour revolutions: Eduard Shevardnadze was
overthrown in Georgia; Viktor Yushchenko was elected in Ukraine; and Askar
Akayev was toppled in Kyrgyzstan. In February 2006, Georgia withdrew from
the Council of Defense Ministers, with the statement that "Georgia has taken
a course to join NATO and it cannot be part of two military structures
simultaneously",[6][7] but it remained a full member of the CIS until August
2009, one year after officially withdrawing in the immediate aftermath of
the Russo-Georgian War. In March 2007, Igor Ivanov, the secretary of the
Russian Security Council, expressed his doubts concerning the usefulness of
the CIS, emphasising that the Eurasian Economic Community was becoming
a more competent organisation to unify the largest countries of the CIS.
[8]
Following the withdrawal of Georgia, the presidents of Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan skipped the October 2009 meeting of the CIS,
each having their own issues and disagreements with the Russian
Federation.[9]
In May 2009, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine
joined the Eastern Partnership, a project which was initiated by the European
Union (EU).

Membership[edit]
See also: Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations, GUAM
Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development, and TRACECA
There are nine full member states of the Commonwealth of Independent
States.
The Creation Agreement remained the main constituent document of the CIS
until January 1993, when the CIS Charter (Russian: , Ustav) was
adopted.[10] The charter formalised the concept of membership: a member
country is defined as a country that ratifies the CIS Charter (sec. 2, art. 7).
Turkmenistan has not ratified the charter and changed its CIS standing to
associate member as of 26 August 2005 in order to be consistent with its UN-
recognised international neutrality status.[11][12]
Although Ukraine was one of the founding countries and ratified the Creation
Agreement in December 1991, Ukraine chose not to ratify the CIS Charter [13]
[14]
as it disagrees with Russia being the only legal successor to the Soviet
Union. Thus it does not regard itself as a member of the CIS. [5][15] In 1993
Ukraine became an "Associate Member" of CIS. [16] On 14 March 2014, a bill
was introduced to Ukraine's parliament to denounce their ratification of the
1991 Agreement Establishing the CIS, following the Russian military
intervention in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, but was never approved.
[17][18][19]
Following the 2014 parliamentary election, a new bill to denounce the
CIS agreement was introduced.[20][21] In September 2015 the Ukrainian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Ukraine will continue taking part in CIS
"on a selective basis".[22][23] Since that month Ukraine has had no
representatives in the CIS Executive Committee building.[22]
In light of Russias support for the independence of breakaway regions within
Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine,[24][25][26] as well as its violation of the Istanbul
Agreement (see Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty),
legislative initiatives to denounce the agreement on the creation of CIS were
tabled in Moldova's parliament on 25 March 2014, though they were not
approved.[27][28][29]

Member states[edit]

Agreement/protocol Charter
Country[30] Notes
ratified ratified

Founding
Armenia 18 February 1992 16 March 1994
state

Azerbaija 24 September
24 September 1993
n 1993

Founding
Belarus 10 December 1991 18 January 1994
state

Kazakhsta Founding
23 December 1991 20 April 1994
n state

Kyrgyzsta Founding
6 March 1992 12 April 1994
n state

Moldova 8 April 1994 15 April 1994

 Agreement/protocol Charter
Country[30] Notes
ratified ratified

Founding
Russia 12 December 1991 20 July 1993
state

Tajikistan 26 June 1993 4 August 1993

Uzbekista Founding
4 January 1992 9 February 1994
n state

Associate states[edit]

Charte
Agreement/prot
Country r Notes
ocol ratified
ratified

Turkmenist Not Founding state. Associate

26 December 1991
an ratified since 2005.

Founding state.
Not Participated since
Ukraine 10 December 1991
ratified formation. Associate
since 1993.

Former member states[edit]

 Chart
Countr Agreement/pro er Withdra Effecti
Notes
y tocol ratified ratifi wn ve
ed

Withdrew
as a result
18 of
Georg 19 April 18 August
3 December 1993 August the Russo
ia 1994 2008
2009 -Georgian
War of
2008.

Leadership[edit]
Executive Secretaries[edit]

Meeting of CIS leaders in Bishkek, 2008.

Name Country Term

Ivan Korotchenya Belarus 26 December 1991 29 April 1998

Boris Berezovsky Russia 29 April 1998 4 March 1999

Ivan Korotchenya Belarus 4 March 2 April 1999

Yury Yarov Russia 2 April 1999 14 June 2004

Vladimir Rushailo Russia 14 June 2004 5 October 2007

Sergei Lebedev Russia 5 October 2007 Incumbent

Human rights[edit]
Since its inception, one of the primary goals of the CIS has been to provide a
forum for discussing issues related to the social and economic development
of the newly independent states. To achieve this goal member states have
agreed to promote and protect human rights. Initially, efforts to achieve this
goal consisted merely of statements of good will, but on 26 May 1995, the
CIS adopted a Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.[31]
Even before the 1995 human rights treaty, the Charter of the CIS that was
adopted in 1991 created, in article 33, a Human Rights Commission sitting in
Minsk, Belarus. This was confirmed by decision of the Council of Heads of
States of the CIS in 1993. In 1995, the CIS adopted a human rights treaty
that includes civil and political as well as social and economic human rights.
This treaty entered into force in 1998. The CIS treaty is modeled on
the European Convention on Human Rights, but lacking the strong
implementation mechanisms of the latter. In the CIS treaty, the Human
Rights Commission has very vaguely defined authority. The Statute of the
Human Rights Commission, however, also adopted by the CIS Member States
as a decision, gives the Commission the right to receive inter-state as well as
individual communications.
CIS members, especially in Central Asia, continue to have among the world's
poorest human rights records. Many activists point to the 2005 Andijan
massacre in Uzbekistan, or the cult of personality around
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan (though not a CIS
member), to show that there has been almost no improvement in human
rights since the collapse of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. The
consolidation of power by President Vladimir Putin has resulted in a steady
decline in the modest progress of previous years in Russia. The
Commonwealth of Independent States continues to face serious challenges
in meeting even basic international standards.[32]

Military structures[edit]
The CIS Charter establishes the Council of Ministers of Defense, which is
vested with the task of coordinating military cooperation of the CIS member
states. To this end, the Council develops conceptual approaches to the
questions of military and defense policy of the CIS member states; develops
proposals aimed to prevent armed conflicts on the territory of the member
states or with their participation; gives expert opinions on draft treaties and
agreements related to the questions of defense and military developments;
issues related suggestions and proposals to the attention of the CIS Council
of the Heads of State. Also important is the Council's work on approximation
of the legal acts in the area of defense and military development. [citation needed]
An important manifestation of integration processes in the area of military
and defense collaboration of the CIS member states is the creation, in 1995,
of the joint CIS Air Defense System. Over the years, the military personnel of
the joint CIS Air Defense System grew twofold along the western, European
border of the CIS, and by 1.5 times on its southern borders.[33]
When Boris Yeltsin became Russian Defence Minister on 7 May
1992, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, the man appointed as Commander-in-Chief of
the CIS Armed Forces, and his staff, were ejected from the MOD and General
Staff buildings and given offices in the former Warsaw Pact Headquarters at
41 Leningradsky Prospekt[34] on the northern outskirts of Moscow.
[35]
Shaposhnikov resigned in June 1993.
In December 1993, the CIS Armed Forces Headquarters was abolished.
[36]
Instead, 'the CIS Council of Defence Ministers created a CIS Military
Cooperation Coordination Headquarters (MCCH) in Moscow, with 50 per cent
of the funding provided by Russia.'[37] General Viktor Samsonov was
appointed as Chief of Staff. The headquarters has now moved to 101000,
, , 3/2, and 41 Leningradsky Prospekt has now
been taken over by another Russian MOD agency.
The chiefs of the CIS general staffs have spoken in favor of integrating their
national armed forces.[38]

Associated organisations[edit]
Euler diagram showing the relationships among various supranational
organisations in the territory of the former Soviet Unionv d e
Free trade area (CISFTA)[edit]
Main article: Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area
1994[edit]
In 1994, the CIS countries "agreed" to create a free trade area (FTA), but the
agreements were never signed. The 1994 agreement would have covered all
twelve then CIS members except Turkmenistan.[39]
2011[edit]
In 2009, a new agreement was begun to create a FTA, the CISFTA.[40] In
October 2011, the new free trade agreement was signed by eight of the
eleven CIS prime ministers; Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine at a meeting in St. Petersburg. As of
2013, it has been ratified by Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, and Armenia,
and is in force only between those states.[41]
The free trade agreement eliminates export and import duties on a number
of goods but also contains a number of exemptions that will ultimately be
phased out.[42] An agreement was also signed on the basic principles of
currency regulation and currency controls in the CIS at the same October
2011 meeting.[43]
Corruption and bureaucracy are serious problems for trade in CIS countries.
[44]

Eurasian Economic Community[edit]

Main article: Eurasian Economic Community
The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC or EAEC) originated from a
customs union between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan on 29 March 1996.
[45]
It was named the EAEC on 10 October
2000[46] when Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan signed
the treaty. EurAsEC was formally created when the treaty was finally ratified
by all five member states in May 2001. Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine hold
observer status. EurAsEC is working on establishing a common energy
market and exploring the more efficient use of water in central Asia. The
Eurasian Economic Community was terminated from 1 January 2015 in
connection with the launch of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Organisation of Central Asian Cooperation[edit]
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan formed the
OCAC in 1991 as Central Asian Commonwealth (CAC). The organisation
continued in 1994 as the Central Asian Economic Union (CAEU), in which
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan did not participate. In 1998 it became the
Central Asian Economic Cooperation (CAEC), which marked the return of
Tajikistan. On 28 February 2002 it was renamed to its current name. Russia
joined on 28 May 2004.[47] On 7 October 2005 it was decided between the
member states that Uzbekistan will join [48] the Eurasian Economic Community
and that the organisations will merge.[49] The organisations joined on 25
January 2006. It is not clear what will happen to the status of current CACO
observers that are not observers to EurAsEC (Georgia and Turkey).
Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations[edit]
Main article: Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations
The post-Soviet disputed states of Abkhazia, the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, South Ossetia, and Transnistria are all members of the Community
for Democracy and Rights of Nations which aims to forge closer integration
among the members.
Common Economic Space[edit]
After discussion about the creation of a common economic space between
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries of
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, agreement in principle about the
creation of this space was announced after a meeting in the Moscow suburb
of Novo-Ogarevo on 23 February 2003. The Common Economic Space would
involve a supranational commission on trade and tariffs that would be based
in Kiev, would initially be headed by a representative of Kazakhstan, and
would not be subordinate to the governments of the four nations. The
ultimate goal would be a regional organisation that would be open for other
countries to join as well, and could eventually lead even to a single currency.
On 22 May 2003, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) voted 266
votes in favour and 51 against the joint economic space. However, most
believe that Viktor Yushchenko's victory in the Ukrainian presidential election
of 2004 was a significant blow against the project: Yushchenko has shown
renewed interest in Ukrainian membership in the European Union and such
membership would be incompatible with the envisioned common economic
space. Yushchenko's successor Viktor Yanukovych stated on 27 April 2010
"Ukraine's entry into the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is
not possible today, since the economic principles and the laws of the WTO do
not allow it, we develop our policy in accordance with WTO principles".
[50]
Ukraine is a WTO member.[50]
A Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia was thus created in
2010,[51] with a single market envisioned for 2012.[52]
Collective Security Treaty Organization[edit]
Main article: Collective Security Treaty Organization

CSTO logo

CSTO members
GUAM members
Other CIS members
The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) (Russian:
) or simply the Tashkent Treaty
(Russian: ) first began as the CIS Collective Security
Treaty[53] which was signed on 15 May 1992,
by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian
Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in the city
of Tashkent. Azerbaijan signed the treaty on 24 September 1993, Georgia on
9 December 1993 and Belarus on 31 December 1993. The treaty came into
effect on 20 April 1994.
The CST was set to last for a 5-year period unless extended. On 2 April 1999,
only six members of the CSTO signed a protocol renewing the treaty for
another five-year period, while Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused
to sign, and withdrew from the treaty instead; together
with Moldova and Ukraine, formed a non-aligned, more pro-Western group
known as the "GUAM" (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova). The
organisation was named CSTO on 7 October 2002 in Tashkent. Nikolai
Bordyuzha was appointed secretary general of the new organisation. During
2005, the CSTO partners conducted some common military exercises. In
2005, Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM, and on 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan
became a full participant in the CSTO and its membership was formally
ratified by its parliament on 28 March 2008. [54] The CSTO is an observer
organisation at the United Nations General Assembly.
The charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from
the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other military
alliances or other groups of states, while aggression against one signatory
would be perceived as an aggression against all. To this end, the CSTO holds
yearly military command exercises for the CSTO nations to have an
opportunity to improve inter-organisation cooperation. The largest-scale
CSTO military exercise held to date were the "Rubezh 2008" exercises hosted
in Armenia where a combined total of 4,000 troops from all 7 constituent
CSTO member countries conducted operative, strategic, and tactical training
with an emphasis towards furthering efficiency of the collective security
element of the CSTO partnership.[55]
In May 2007, the CSTO secretary-general Nikolai
Bordyuzha suggested Iran could join the CSTO saying, "The CSTO is an open
organisation. If Iran applies in accordance with our charter, we will consider
the application." If Iran joined, it would be the first state outside the former
Soviet Union to become a member of the organisation.
On 6 October 2007, CSTO members agreed to a major expansion of the
organisation which would create a CSTO peacekeeping force that could
deploy under a UN mandate or without one in its member states. The
expansion would also allow all members to purchase Russian weapons at the
same price as Russia.[56] CSTO signed an agreement with the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, to broaden
cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and drug trafficking. [57]
On 29 August 2008, Russia announced it would seek CSTO recognition of the
independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, three days after Russia
officially recognised both.[58] On 5 September 2008, Armenia assumed the
rotating CSTO presidency during a CSTO meeting in Moscow, Russia. [59]
In October 2009, Ukraine refused permission for the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center
to hold anti-terrorist exercises on its territory because Ukraine's constitution
bans foreign military units from operating on its territory.[60]
The largest military exercises ever held by the CSTO, involving up to 12,000
troops, were conducted between 19 and 27 September 2011 to raise
preparedness and co-ordination in anti-destabilization techniques, to counter
any attempts at popular uprisings like the Arab Spring.[61]

Other activities[edit]
Controversial election observation mission[edit]
The CIS Election Monitoring Organisation (Russian:
) is an election monitoring body that was formed in
October 2002, following a Commonwealth of Independent States heads of
states meeting which adopted the Convention on the Standards of
Democratic Elections, Electoral Rights, and Freedoms in the Member States
of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The CIS-EMO has been sending
election observers to member countries of the CIS since this time; they
approved many elections which have been heavily criticised by independent
observers.[62]

The democratic nature of the final round of the Ukrainian presidential

election, 2004 which followed the Orange Revolution and brought into
power the former opposition, was questioned by the CIS while
the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) found no
significant problems. This was the first time ever that the CIS observation
teams challenged the validity of an election, saying that it should be
considered illegitimate. On 15 March 2005, the Ukrainian Independent
Information Agency quoted Dmytro Svystkov (a spokesman of the
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry) that Ukraine has suspended its participation in
the CIS election monitoring organisation.

The CIS praised the Uzbekistan parliamentary elections, 2005 as

"legitimate, free and transparent" while the OSCE had referred to the
Uzbek elections as having fallen "significantly short of OSCE
commitments and other international standards for democratic elections".
[63][64]
 Moldovan authorities refused to invite CIS observers in the Moldovan
parliamentary elections, 2005, an action Russia criticised. Many dozens
such observers from Belarus and Russia were stopped from reaching
Moldova.[65]

CIS observers monitored the Tajikistan parliamentary elections, 2005

and in the end declared them "legal, free and transparent." The same
elections were pronounced by the OSCE to have failed international
standards for democratic elections.

Soon after CIS observers hailed the Kyrgyz parliamentary elections of

2005 as "well-organised, free, and fair", as large-scale and often violent
demonstrations broke out throughout the country protesting what the
opposition called a rigged parliamentary election. In contrast the OSCE
reported that the elections fell short of international standards in many
areas.[66]

International observers of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly stated

the 2010 local elections in Ukraine were organised well.[67]While
the Council of Europe uncovered a number of problems in relation to a
new electorate law approved just prior to the elections [67]and the Obama
administration criticised the conduct of the elections, saying they "did not
meet standards for openness and fairness".[68][69]

Interparliamentary Assembly[edit]
The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, established in March 1995, is a
consultative parliamentary wing of the CIS created to discuss problems of
parliamentary cooperation.[70] The Assembly held its 32nd Plenary meeting
in Saint Petersburg on 14 May 2009. Ukraine participates,
[71]
but Uzbekistan does not.
Russian language status[edit]
Russia has been urging that the Russian language receive official status in all
of the CIS member states. So far Russian is an official language in only four
of these states: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Russian is also
considered an official language in the region of Transnistria, and the
autonomous region of Gagauzia in Moldova. Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow-
supported presidential candidate in the controversial 2004 Ukrainian
presidential election, declared his intention to make Russian an official
second language of Ukraine. However, the Western-supported
candidate Viktor Yushchenko, the winner, did not do so. After his early 2010
election as President Yanukovych stated (on 9 March 2010) that "Ukraine will
continue to promote the Ukrainian language as its only state language".[72]
Sports events[edit]
At the time of the Soviet Union's dissolution in December 1991, its sports
teams had been invited to or qualified for various 1992 sports events. A joint
CIS team took its place in some of these. The "Unified Team" competed in
the 1992 Winter Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics, and a CIS association
football team competed in UEFA Euro 1992. A CIS bandy team played some
friendlies in January 1992 and made its last appearance at the 1992 Russian
Government Cup, where it also played against the new Russia national bandy
team. The Soviet Union bandy championship for 19911992 was rebranded
as a CIS championship.
Since then, CIS members have each competed separately in international
sport.

Economic data[edit]
The data is taken from the United Nations statistics division and the United
States Central Intelligence Agency.[73]
 GDP GDP
GDP
per per
Popula GDP GDP gro
Coun capi capi
tion 2007 (USD 2012 (USD wth
try ta ta
(2015) ) ) (201
(20 (20
2)
07) 12)

9,475,10 45,275,738,7 58,215,000,0

Belarus 4.3% 4,656 6,710
0 70 00

Kazakhs 17,417,4 104,849,915, 196,642,000, 11,70

5.2% 6,805
tan 47 344 000 0

Kyrgyzs 5,776,50 3,802,570,57 6,197,000,00

0.8% 711 1,100
tan 0 2 0

146,270, 1,294,381,84 2,022,000,00 14,24

Russia 3.4% 9,119
033 4,081 0,000 0

Tajikista 8,610,00 2,265,340,88 7,263,000,00

2.1% 337 900
n 0 8 0

Uzbekis 31,025,5 22,355,214,8 51,622,000,0

4.1% 831 1,800
tan 00 05 00

Azerbaij 9,356,10 33,049,426,8 71,043,000,0

3.8% 3,829 7,500
an 0 16 00

3,558,20 4,401,137,82 7,589,000,00

Moldova 4.4% 1,200 2,100
0 4 0

3,022,00 9,204,496,41 10,551,000,0

Armenia 2.1% 2,996 3,500
0 9 00
 Heads of State of the member states within the CIS, as of 2017[edit]

Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia

Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko
President of Ukraine

Republic of Belarus
Alexander Lukashenko
President of Belarus


Republic of Armenia
Serzh Sargsyan
President of Armenia

Republic of Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev
President of Azerbaijan

Republic of Kazakhstan
Nursultan Nazarbayev
President of Kazakhstan

Kyrgyz Republic
Almazbek Atambayev
President of Kyrgyzstan


Republic of Moldova
Igor Dodon
President of Moldova

Turkmenistan
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
President of Turkmenistan[74]

Republic of Uzbekistan
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
President of Uzbekistan

See also[edit]

Regional organisations in post-Soviet states

Collective Security Treaty Organization

Eurasian Economic Union

Soviet Union

Notes[edit]
 1. ^ The Commonwealth of Independent States and
the Commonwealth of Nations are also called the "Russian
Commonwealth" and the "British Commonwealth" respectively to
differentiate between them.[75]

References[edit]

1. Jump up^ CIS leaders sign free trade deal, 18 October 2011.
Retrieved 21 June 2015.

2. Jump up^ Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS: 3

founding countries, 8 December 1991 (unofficial English
translation). Russian text here [1]

3. Jump up^ Plokhy, Serhii, The Last Empire: The final days of the
Soviet Union, Oneworld, London (2014), ISBN 9781780746463, pp
356 365

4. Jump up^ Alma-Ata Declaration: 11 countries accede to the CIS,

21 December 1991 (English translation). Russian text here [2]

5. ^ Jump up to:a b Ratification status of CIS documents as of 15

January 2008Archived 30 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
(Russian)

6. Jump up^ 3 February 2006 (11 September 2001). "Georgia opts

out of ex-Soviet military cooperation body". Pravda.Ru.
Retrieved 23 July 2013.

7. Jump up^ "RIA Novosti World Georgia's quitting CIS council

will not affect security Russian minister". En.rian.ru. Retrieved 23
July 2013.

8. Jump up^ Russia questions further existence of the CIS post-

soviet organisation InfoNIAC

9. Jump up^ Pannier, Bruce. "Russia Facing Resistance With Allies

On CIS's Southern Flank". Rferl.org. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

10. Jump up^ CIS Charter, 22 January 1993 (unofficial English

translation). Russian text here

11. Jump up^ Decision on Turkmenistan's associate membership,

CIS Executive Committee meeting in Kazan, Russia, 26 August
2005 (Russian).
12. Jump up^ Turkmenistan reduces CIS ties to "Associate Member",
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 29 August 2005.

13. Jump up^ Conflict in the Former USSR. Retrieved 25

September 2014.

14. Jump up^ Russia and Nis Mineral Industry Handbook.

Retrieved 25 September 2014.

15. Jump up^ September 2008 Statement by Foreign Minister of

Ukraine Volodymyr Ohryzko, Ukraine does not recognise the legal
personality of this organisation, we are not members of the CIS
Economic Court, we did not ratify the CIS Statute, thus, we cannot
be considered a member of this organisation from international
legal point of view. Ukraine is a country-participant, but not a
member country

16. Jump up^ Economic Interdependence in Ukrainian-Russian

Relations. Retrieved 25 September 2014.

17. Jump up^ "Bill introduced to withdraw Ukraine from CIS". Kyiv
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18. Jump up^ " i,

". Retrieved 25
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submitted to Verkhovna Rada". Information Telegraph Agency of
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20. Jump up^ "

". Verkhovna Rada. Retrieved 30 November 2014.

21. Jump up^ "

". Verkhovna
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22. ^ Jump up to:a b Ukraine to selectively work as part of

CIS, BelTA (21 September 2015)

23. Jump up^ Yatsenyuk says Ukraine will drop Commonwealth of

Independent States criminal search database system on Aug
24, Kyiv Post (20 August 2015)
24. Jump up^ Buckley, Neil (25 November 2014). "Georgia calls on
west to condemn Abkhazia treaty with Russia". Financial Times.
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25. Jump up^ Rettman, Andrew (7 May 2015). "Donbas: A new

'black hole' in Europe". Retrieved 9 May 2015.

26. Jump up^ "Russia Erecting Monument to 'Little Green Men' Who
Took Over Crimea". Moscow Times. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 9
May 2015.

27. Jump up^ In Moldova propose to denounce the agreement on

creation of CIS. Ukrinform. 25 March 2014

28. Jump up^ "Proiectul hotrrii cu privire la denunarea Acordului

de constituire a Comunitii Statelor Independente". Parliament of
the Republic of Moldova. Retrieved 4 November 2014.

29. Jump up^ "Proiectul legii cu privire la denunarea Acordului de

constituire a Comunitii Statelor Independente nr.40-XII din
08.04.1994". Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Retrieved 4
November 2014.

30. Jump up^ " ,

1991 2014 ". Commonwealth of
Independent States. Retrieved 10 October 2014.

31. Jump up^ "Commonwealth of Independent States Convention

on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms". 1995. Retrieved 24
March 2013.

32. Jump up^ "Democracy Deficit Grows in Former Soviet

Union" 2011. date retrieved 12 February 2014

33. Jump up^ "

". Cis.minsk.by. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

34. Jump up^ Johnson's Russia List #2142, 9 April 1998

35. Jump up^ Odom, The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p.385-86

36. Jump up^ Interfax, 22 December 1993, via Zbigniew Brzezinski,

Paige Sullivan, 'Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent
States' CSIS, 1997, p.464 via Google Books
37. Jump up^ SIPRI 1998 Annual, p.18

38. Jump up^ "CIS chiefs of staff want military integration." RIA
Novosti, 3 December 2010.

39. Jump up^ "Free Trade Agreement Between Azerbaijan,

Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, The Russian
Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan And The Kyrgyz
Republic" (PDF). Retrieved 23 July 2013.

40. Jump up^ Russia expects the CIS countries to create a free
trade zone by yearend, 17 June 2010

41. Jump up^ CIS Free Trade Agreement comes into force; Baker &
McKenzi, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, 18 October 2012, 18 October
2011

42. Jump up^ CIS leaders sign free trade deal, 19 October 2011

43. Jump up^ Most CIS states sign free trade zone agreement, 19
October 2011

44. Jump up^ "Petro Jacyk Program Centre for Russian and East
European Studies, University of Toronto" (PDF). Retrieved 25
September 2014.

45. Jump up^ WTO WT/REG71/1

46. Jump up^ "Foundation Agreement Of Eaec Agreement On

Foundation Of Eurasian Economic Community" (PDF). Retrieved 23
July 2013.

47. Jump up^ "Central Asian Cooperation Organisation".

Retrieved 23 July 2013.

48. Jump up^ "Working group discusses Uzbekistan's accession to

EurAsEC". En.rian.ru. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013.
Retrieved 23 July 2013.

49. Jump up^ "Collective Security: A Timeline".

Centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

50. ^ Jump up to:a b Yanukovych: Ukraine won't join Customs

Union, Kyiv Post (27 April 2010)
51. Jump up^ "Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus plan on common
economic space". Rbcnews.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

52. Jump up^ "Russia expects CIS countries to create free trade
area". En.rian.ru. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

53. Jump up^ The Charter of the CSTO Archived 15 May 2011 at
the Wayback Machine.

54. Jump up^ " -

". Eurasianhome.org. Archived from the
original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

55. Jump up^ Rubezh 2008: The First Large-Scale CSTO Military
Exercise | PfP Information Management System (PIMS) Archived 18
February 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

56. Jump up^ "Gendarme of Eurasia Kommersant Moscow".

Kommersant.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

57. Jump up^ "Leading News Resource of Pakistan". Daily Times. 6

October 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

58. Jump up^ Halpin, Tony (30 August 2008). "Kremlin announces
that South Ossetia will join one united Russian state". The Times.
London. Retrieved 30 April 2010.

59. Jump up^ "Armenian News PanARMENIAN.Net | Armenian

News Agency CSTO Security Councils Secretaries meet in
Yerevan". Panarmenian.Net. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 23
July 2013.

60. Jump up^ Ukraine refuses to hold CIS anti-terrorist drills on its
territory, Kyiv Post (29 October 2009)

61. Jump up^ Central Asian armies start exercises to counter

potential Arab Spring-style unrest, The Daily Telegraph (20
September 2011)

62. Jump up^ "Election fraud: How to steal an election". The

Economist. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.

63. Jump up^ "Foreign observers differ in their evaluation of the

election in Uzbekistan". Enews.ferghana.ru. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
 64. Jump up^ Alexander Yakovenko, the Spokesman of Russia's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Answers a Russian Media Question
Regarding International Observers' Conclusions on Election Results
in Ukraine and Uzbekistan

65. Jump up^ CIS Observers Outraged by Deportation of Colleagues

66. Jump up^ Kupchinsky, Roman. "CIS: Monitoring The Election

Monitors". Rferl.org. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

67. ^ Jump up to:a b EU will not condemn the local elections in

Ukraine, Razumkov Centre (3 November 2010)

68. Jump up^ Interview: Top U.S. Diplomat Discusses Regional

Developments, Abuses, Stalemates, And Cooperation, Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (5 November 2010)

69. Jump up^ Ukraine's Ballot Flawed, U.S. Says, The Wall Street
Journal (4 November 2010)

70. Jump up^ Information and Publish. Department. "CIS Inter-

Parliamentary Assembly". Cisstat.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

71. Jump up^ "Member Nations of the CIS". CIS Interparliamentary

Assembly. Retrieved 14 March 2015.

72. Jump up^ Yanukovych: Ukraine will not have second state
language, Kyiv Post (9 March 2010)

73. Jump up^ "The World Factbook".

74. Jump up^ Holds both presidency and executive powers since
the former Prime Minister of Turkmenistan role was abolished.

75. Jump up^ Vinep A Kankam-da-Costa (2012). Who Is Fit to Rule

America in the Twenty-First Century and Beyond?. Xlibris.
p. 271. ISBN 9781479739653. Retrieved 17 November 2013.

External links[edit]

Wikivoyage has
a travel guide
for Commonwe
alth of
Independent
 States.

Wikimedia
Commons has
media related
to Commonwea
lth of
Independent
States.

CIS Executive Committee

Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS

Interstate Statistical Committee of the CIS

Charter of the CIS

PINR C.I.S. Struggles for Cohesion

RZB Outlook For Commonwealth Of Independent States

Food Security in Caucasus and Republic of Moldova (FAO)

Kembayev, Zhenis. Legal Aspects of the Regional Integration Processes

in the Post-Soviet Area. Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer Verlag,
2009 (summary and sample pages).

Belarus Leads The CIS In 2013