Commonwealth of

Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)[a] is a

regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It
was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet
Union in 1991. It covers an area of 20,368,759 km2
(7,864,422 sq mi) and has an estimated population of
239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation in
economic, political and military affairs and has certain
powers relating to the coordination of trade, finance,
lawmaking, and security, including cross-border crime
prevention.

As the Soviet Union disintegrated, Belarus, Russia and

Ukraine signed the Belovezha Accords on 8 December
1991, declaring that the Union had effectively ceased
to exist and proclaimed the CIS in
Commonwealth
its place. On 21 December, the
of
Alma-Ata Protocol was signed. Independent
The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia States
and Lithuania), which had been Содружество
illegally occupied by the Soviet Независимых
Государств
Union, chose not to participate.
Sodruzhestvo
Georgia withdrew its membership Nezavisimyh
in 2008 following the Russo- Gosudarstv
Georgian War. Ukraine formally
ended its participation in CIS
Flag Emblem
statutory bodies in 2018, although
it had stopped participating in the
organization much earlier.[4][5][6]
Following the Russian invasion of
Ukraine starting from 24 February
2022, Moldova voiced its
Member states
intention to progressively Disputed
territory[1]
withdraw from the CIS
Associate state
institutional framework.[7][8]
Administrative Min
Eight of the nine CIS member seats Mo
Largest Moscow
states participate in the CIS Free
city
Trade Area. Three organizations
Working Russian
originated from the CIS, namely language
the Collective Security Treaty Type Intergovernm
Organization, the Eurasian
Membership 9 me
Economic Union (alongside
state
subdivisions, the Eurasian
Customs Union and the Eurasian
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State. While the first and the
second are military and economic (su
pa
alliances, the third aims to reach
a supranational union of Russia
and Belarus with a common
1 ass
government, currency, and so on.
state

Tu

Leaders
• General Serg
Secretary Lebe
 Legislature Interpa
History and structure Assem

Establishment
Background
• Belavezha 8
Accords Dece
1991
• Alma- 21
Ata Decem
Signing of the Belovezh Accords, 8
December 1991
Protocol 1991
• Charter 22
The CIS as a shared Russophone adopted Janua
1993
social, cultural, and economic
• Free 20
space has its origins with the Trade Septemb
Russian Empire, which was Area 2012

replaced in 1917 by the Russian Area

• Total 20,368,75
Republic after the February (7,864,422
Revolution earlier that year.
Population
Following the October Revolution, • 2018
the Russian Soviet Federative estimate 236,44
(exclud
Socialist Republic became the Crimea
leading republic in the Soviet • Density 11.77/km
(30.5/s
Union (USSR) upon its creation
with the 1922 Treaty and GDP (PPP) 2022 e
Declaration of the Creation of the • Total $5.5
trillion
USSR along with Byelorussian • Per $22,500
SSR, Ukrainian SSR and capita (approx.

Transcaucasian SFSR. GDP (nominal) 20

• Total $2.5
In March 1991, amidst Perestroika trillion
• Per $9,000
and a rising political crisis in the capita (approx.
country, Mikhail Gorbachev, the
HDI (2017) 0.740
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proposed a federation by holding Currency No com
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Russian SFSR, and the Ukrainian a Soviet ruble
SSR, when the leaders of the (руб) used from
1991 to 1994
three republics met at the
Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural
Reserve,[9] about 50 km (31 mi) north of Brest in
Belarus, and signed the "Agreement Establishing the
Commonwealth of Independent States", known as the
Belovezh Accords (Russian: Беловежские
соглашения, romanized: Belovezhskiye
soglasheniya).

The CIS announced that the new organization 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, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan)
signed the Alma-Ata Protocol which can either be
interpreted as expanding the CIS to these states or the
proper foundation or foundation date of the CIS,[10]
thus bringing the number of participating countries to
11.[11] Georgia joined two years later, in December
1993.[12] At this point, 12 of the 15 former Soviet
Republics participated in the CIS, the three non-
participants being the Baltic states, which were
occupied by the Soviet Union. The CIS and Soviet
Union also legally co-existed briefly with each other
until 26 December 1991, when the Soviet of the
Republics formally dissolved the Soviet Union. This
was followed by Ivan Korotchenya becoming
Executive Secretary of the CIS on the same day.[13]

After the end of the dissolution process of the Soviet

Union, Russia and the Central Asian republics were
weakened economically and faced declines in GDP.
Post-Soviet states underwent economic reforms and
privatisation.[journal 1][14] The process of Eurasian
integration began immediately after the break-up of
the Soviet Union to salvage economic ties with Post-
Soviet republics.[journal 2]

CIS Charter

The 20–22 June 2000 CIS Summit

On 22 January 1993, the Charter (Statutes) of the CIS
were signed, setting up the different institutions of the
CIS, their functions, the rules and statutes of the CIS.
The Charter also defined that all countries have ratified
the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS and its
relevant (Alma-Ata) Protocol would be considered to
be founding states of the CIS, with only those
countries ratifying the Charter would be considered to
be member states of the CIS (art. 7). Other states can
participate as associate members or observers if
accepted as such by a decision of the Council of
Heads of State to the CIS (art. 8).

All the founding states apart from Ukraine and

Turkmenistan ratified the Charter of the CIS and
became member states of it. Nevertheless, Ukraine
and Turkmenistan kept participating in the CIS, without
being member states of it. Turkmenistan became an
associate member of the CIS in August 2005. Georgia
left the CIS altogether in 2009 and Ukraine stopped
participating in 2018.
General Secretary

The work of CIS is coordinated by the General

Secretary.

General Secretaries
Name Term

Ivan Korotchenya 14 May 1993 – 29 April 1998

Boris Berezovsky 29 April 1998 – 4 March 1999

Ivan Korotchenya 4 March – 2 April 1999

Yury Yarov 2 April 1999 – 14 June 2004

Vladimir Rushailo 14 June 2004 – 5 October 2007

Sergei Lebedev 5 October 2007 – Present

Interparliamentary Assembly

The Interparliamentary Assembly was established on

27 March 1992 in Kazakhstan. On 26 May 1995, the
CIS leaders signed the Convention on the
Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of
the Commonwealth of Independent States eventually
ratified by nine parliaments, the only CIS member not
signing was Georgia. Under the terms of the
convention, the InterParliamentary Assembly (IPA) was
invested with international legitimacy.
It is housed in the Tauride Palace in St Petersburg and
acts as the consultative parliamentary wing of the CIS,
created to discuss problems of parliamentary
cooperation, review draft documents of common
interest and pass model laws to the national
legislatures in the CIS (as well as recommendations)
for their use in the preparation of new laws and
amendments to existing legislation. More than 130
documents have been adopted that ensure the
convergence of laws in the CIS at the level of national
legislation. The Assembly is actively involved in the
development of integration processes in the CIS and
also sends observers to the national elections.[15] The
Assembly held its 32nd Plenary meeting in Saint
Petersburg on 14 May 2009.

Further developments

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",[16] 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, emphasizing
that the Eurasian Economic Community was becoming
a more competent organization to unify the largest
countries of the CIS.[17] 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.[18]

In May 2009, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,

Moldova, and Ukraine joined the Eastern Partnership
(EaP), a project which was initiated by the European
Union (EU). The EaP framework governs the EU's
relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and
Ukraine.[19]

Membership
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: Устав, tr. Ustav) was
adopted.[20] The charter formalized the concept of
membership: a member country is defined as a
country that ratifies the CIS Charter (sec. 2, art. 7).
Additional members can join with the consent of all
current members.[21] Parties that ratified the Creation
Agreement before the adoption of the Charter are
considered to be "Founding states", but not members.

Member states
Country[22] Signed Agreement ratified Charter ratified Notes

Founding state. Signatory of the Alma-Ata

Armenia 21 December 1991 18 February 1992 16 March 1994 [21]
Protocol

14 December 1993
Azerbaijan 21 December 1991 24 September 1993 [21]
Signatory of the Alma-Ata Protocol.

Founding state. Signatory of both the

[21]
Belarus 8 December 1991 10 December 1991 18 January 1994 Belovezha Accords and the Alma-Ata
Protocol.

Founding state. Signatory of the Alma-Ata

Kazakhstan 21 December 1991 23 December 1991 20 April 1994 [21]
Protocol.

Founding state. Signatory of the Alma-Ata

Kyrgyzstan 21 December 1991 6 March 1992 12 April 1994 [21]
Protocol.

Signatory of the Alma-Ata Protocol.

Moldova 21 December 1991 8 April 1994 27 June 1994 [21] Active participation in CIS ceased in
November 2022.[7]

Founding state. Signatory of both the

[21]
Russia 8 December 1991 12 December 1991 20 July 1993 Belovezha Accords and the Alma-Ata
Protocol.

Tajikistan 21 December 1991 26 June 1993 14 August 1993 [21] Signatory of the Alma-Ata Protocol.

Founding state. Signatory of the Alma-Ata

Uzbekistan 21 December 1991 4 January 1992 9 February 1994 [21]
Protocol.
Moldova

In light of Russia's support for the independence of

occupied regions within Moldova, Georgia, and
Ukraine[23][24][25] 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.[26][27][28] A similar bill was
proposed in January 2018.[29][30]

On 14 June 2022, Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs

Nicu Popescu said the Moldovan government was
considering the prospect of leaving the CIS, although
at the end of May President Maia Sandu had said the
country would not leave for the time being.[8] An
August 2021 poll conducted in Moldova (prior to the
start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine) found that 48.1%
of respondents supported Moldova's withdrawal from
the CIS.[31]
On 30 November 2022, Popescu stated that Moldova
will suspend its participation in CIS meetings,[7] and on
23 February 2023 stated that Moldova has started
withdrawing from multiple treaties that the country had
signed with the CIS, as his country aims to join the
European Union.[32] On 15 May 2023, the President of
the Parliament of Moldova, Igor Grosu, stated the
country will withdraw from the agreement establishing
the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly; he argued that
being in the CIS "did not protect the Republic of
Moldova from energy blackmail in the middle of
winter, from threats and official statements hostile to
the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of
Moldova".[33]

As part of the process to severing connections with

the CIS, in July 2023 Moldova passed a law on
denunciation of the agreement on Moldova's
membership in the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of
the CIS countries.[34]
Associate member

A country can become an associate member under

the CIS Charter (sec. 2, art. 8) if approved by the
Council of Heads of States. Participation of associate
members and of the observers in the work of the
Commonwealth organs shall be governed by their
rules of procedures.[21]

Agreement Charter Associate

Country[22] Signed Notes
ratified ratified from

Founding state. Signatory of the

21 December 1991 26 December 1991 Not ratified August 2005 Alma-Ata Protocol. Has never been
Turkmenistan
a full member.

Two states, Ukraine and Turkmenistan ratified the CIS

Creation Agreement before the adoption of the CIS
Charter in January 1993, making them "founding states
of the CIS", but did not ratify the Charter itself that
would make them full members. These states, while
not being formal members of the CIS, were allowed to
participate in CIS.[35] They were also allowed to
participate in various CIS initiatives, e.g. the Free Trade
Area,[36] which were, however, formulated mostly as
independent multilateral agreements, and not as
internal CIS agreements.

Turkmenistan has not ratified the Charter and

therefore is not formally a member of the CIS.
Nevertheless, it has consistently participated in the CIS
as if it were a member state.

Turkmenistan changed its CIS standing to associate

member as of 26 August 2005. The cited reason was
to be consistent with its 1995-proclaimed, UN-
recognised, international neutrality status, but experts
have cited the country no longer needing Russia to
provide natural gas access, as well as the country's
declining faith in the confederation's ability to maintain
internal stability in light of the Colour
Revolutions.[37][38]
Founding state

The Verkhovna Rada never ratified the agreement on

membership of the CIS in accordance with the CIS
Charter so never became a member.[39]

Ukraine did not apply to become an Associate

member, nor was it granted by the Council of Heads of
States, accordingly Ukraine remained just a Founding
state.

Ukraine did participate in the CIS and became an

associate member of the CIS Economic Union in
1994,[40] and signed the Commonwealth of
Independent States Free Trade Area in 2011.

Ukraine withdrew its representatives from the CIS in

May 2018 and stopped actively participating in the CIS,
but remained a party to a number of agreements, such
as the free trade area.
Country Signed Agreement ratified Charter ratified Notes

Founding state. Signatory of both the Belovezha

Accords and the Alma-Ata Protocol. Has never
been a full member.
Largely ceased to participate from 2014

Ukraine 8 December 1991 10 December 1991 Not ratified Withdrew its representatives in May 2018[41]

Denounced various CIS treaties as of 2023

Has not formally withdrawn from the Creation

Agreement, thus it continues to be recognised
as a founder.

Representatives of Ukraine, Russia,

Belarus, Kazakhstan and other
states at the 20–22 June 2000 CIS
Summit in Moscow

Although Ukraine was one of the states which ratified

the Creation Agreement in December 1991, making it a
Founding State of the CIS, it chose not to ratify the CIS
Charter[42][43] as it disagrees with Russia being the
only legal successor state to the Soviet Union. Thus it
has never been a full member of the CIS.[12][44]
However, Ukraine had kept participating in the CIS,
with the consent of the Council of Heads of States,
even though it was not a member. Ukraine has never
applied for, or been granted, Associate member
status.
Following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in
February 2014, relations between Ukraine and Russia
deteriorated, leading Ukraine to consider ending its
participation in the CIS. As Ukraine never ratified the
Charter, it could cease its informal participation in the
CIS. However, to fully terminate its relationship with
the CIS, it would need to legally withdraw from the
Creation Agreement, as Georgia did previously. On 14
March 2014, a bill was introduced to Ukraine's
parliament to denounce their ratification of the CIS
Creation Agreement, but it was never
approved.[45][46][47] Following the 2014 parliamentary
election, a new bill to denounce the CIS agreement
was introduced.[48][49] In September 2015, the
Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed
Ukraine will continue taking part in the CIS "on a
selective basis".[50][51] Since that month, Ukraine has
had no representatives in the CIS Executive
Committee building.[50]
In April 2018, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
indicated that Ukraine would formally leave the CIS.[52]
On 19 May 2018, Poroshenko signed a decree formally
ending Ukraine's participation in CIS statutory
bodies.[53]

As of 1 June 2018, the CIS secretariat had not received

formal notice from Ukraine of its withdrawal from the
CIS, a process that would take one year to complete,
following notice being given.[54] The CIS secretariat
stated that it will continue inviting Ukraine to
participate.[55][56][57] Ukraine has stated that it intends
to review its participation in all CIS agreements and
only continue in those that are in its interests. On 3
May 2023 Ukraine formally withdrew from the 1992
agreement that set up the CIS Interparliamentary
Assembly.[58]
Former member states
Country Signed Agreement ratified Charter ratified Withdrawn Effective Notes

Withdrew as a result of
19 April 1994
3 December 1993 3 December 1993 [21]
18 August 2008 18 August 2009 the Russo-Georgian
Georgia
War of 2008.

Following the overthrow of Eduard Shevardnadze in

Georgia, Georgia officially withdrew from the Council
of Defense Ministers in February 2006,[59] stating that
"Georgia has taken a course to join NATO and it
cannot be part of two military structures
simultaneously".[60] However, it remained a full
member of the CIS.

In the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War in 2008,

President Saakashvili announced during a public
speech in the capital city Tbilisi that Georgia would
leave the CIS[61] and the Georgian Parliament voted
unanimously on 14 August 2008 to withdraw from the
regional organization.[62] On 18 August 2008 the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia sent a note to
the CIS Executive Committee notifying it of the
aforesaid resolutions of the Parliament of Georgia and
Georgia’s withdrawal from CIS.[63] In accordance
with the CIS Charter (sec. 1, art. 9),[64] Georgia's
withdrawal came into effect 12 months later, on 18
August 2009.[65][66]

Politics

Meeting of CIS leaders in Bishkek, 2008

Human rights

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 goodwill, but on 26
May 1995, the CIS adopted a Commonwealth of
Independent States Convention on Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms.[67]

In 1991, four years before the 1995 human rights treaty,

article 33 of the Charter of the CIS created a Human
Rights Commission with its seat in Minsk, Belarus. This
was confirmed by the 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 modelled
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 examples such as the 2005
Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan 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. In turn, this has led to little to
no scrutiny by Russia when it comes to the situation of
human rights in other CIS member states. The
Commonwealth of Independent States continues to
face serious challenges in meeting even basic
international standards.[68]

Military

The members of the council

meeting in Moscow in 2017
The CIS Charter establishes the Council of Ministers of
Defence, which is vested with the task of coordinating
military cooperation of the CIS member states who
wish to participate.

In May 1992, six post-Soviet states belonging to the

CIS signed the Collective Security Treaty (also referred
to as the Tashkent Pact or Tashkent Treaty).[69] Three
other post-Soviet states signed in 1993 and the treaty
took effect in 1994 and lasted 5 years. When the treaty
was subsequently renewed, three counties withdrew,
leaving Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia and Tajikistan as members.

In December 1993, the CIS Armed Forces

Headquarters was abolished.[70] Instead, "the CIS
Council of Defence Ministers created a CIS Military
Cooperation Coordination Headquarters (MCCH) in
Moscow, with 50 percent of the funding provided by
Russia."[71] General Viktor Samsonov was appointed
as Chief of Staff. The headquarters has now moved to
101000, Москва, Сверчков переулок, 3/2.

An important manifestation of integration processes in

the area of military and defence 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.[72]

In 2002, the six member states agreed to create the

Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) as a
military alliance.[73]

In 2007, CSTO members agreed to create a CSTO

peacekeeping force.

One of the CST original objectives was to resolve

conflicts between CIS members, however military
conflicts such as Russia's open assistance and
support to the two secessionist areas in Georgia,
Russia seizing Crimea and support to secessionist
areas in Ukraine, the Armenia and Azerbaijan conflict
and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan border issues have
demonstrated how ineffective the CST and later the
CSTO, is in this role.[74][75]

Economy
Corruption and bureaucracy are serious problems for
trade in CIS countries.[76]

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev

proposed that CIS members take up a digitization
agenda to modernize CIS economies.[77]

Economic data[78]
 GDP (USD million) GDP growth GDP per capita Human Development
Country Population (2021)
2007 2012 (2012) 2007 2012 2020 Index (2019)

Armenia 2,790,974 9,204 10,551 2.1% 2,996 3,500 4,268 0.776

Azerbaijan 10,312,992 33,049 71,043 3.8% 3,829 7,500 4,214 0.756

Belarus 9,578,167 45,275 65,685 4.3% 4,656 6,940 6,411 0.823

Kazakhstan 19,196,465 104,849 196,642 5.2% 6,805 11,700 9,122 0.825

Kyrgyzstan 6,527,743 3,802 6,197 0.8% 711 1,100 1,174 0.697

Moldova 3,061,506 4,401 7,589 4.4% 1,200 2,100 4,551 0.750

Russia 145,102,755 1,294,381 2,022,000 3.4% 9,119 14,240 10,127 0.824

Tajikistan 9,750,064 3,695 7,263 2.1% 526 960 859 0.668

 GDP (USD million) GDP growth GDP per capita Human Development
Country Population (2021)
2007 2012 (2012) 2007 2012 2020 Index (2019)

Uzbekistan 34,081,449 22,355 63,622 4.1% 831 2,137 1,686 0.720

Standards and rules

GOST standards were originally developed by the

government of the Soviet Union as part of its national
standardization strategy. After the disintegration of the
USSR, the GOST standards acquired a new status of
the regional standards. They are now administered by
the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology
and Certification (EASC), a standards organization
chartered by the Commonwealth of Independent
States.

Supranational integration initiatives, trade and

economic cooperation within CIS

In 24 September 1993 an Agreement on the Economic

Union was signed by the heads of a number of CIS
states. Its aim was the forming of conditions of stable
development of economies of Contracting Parties to
benefit increases in living standards of their
population.[79] This led to other specific agreements.

The terms of the CIS FTA agreements allow member

states to enter into the FTA agreements with other
countries, as well as to join/create custom unions.[80]
Like other Commonwealth of Independent States
agreements, this agreement does not regulate
relations with third countries and allows differentiated
integration (aka à la carte and multi-speed Europe).

1994 Framework for bilateral free trade agreements

and Freedom of Transit

1994 Agreement signatories

On 15 April 1994, at a meeting of the Commonwealth

of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of State
in Moscow, the presidents of 12 countries, namely
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed an Agreement on the
Establishment of a Free Trade Area (Соглашение о
создании зоны свободной торговли).[81] The
Agreement entered into force on 30 December 1994
for those countries that had completed ratification. As
of 2023, the Agreement is fully in force for Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, while
Russia and Turkmenistan have notified the application
of the Agreement on a provisional basis. According to
the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of
Independent States, no one has ceased participation
in the Agreement, made reservations or suspended
the application.[82]

Bilateral FTAs concluded on the basis of CIS 1994 as a

framework agreement.[83] According to the analytical
material of the Executive Committee of the
Commonwealth of Independent States, the 1994
version has not yet provided for multilateral free trade,
but the conclusion of many bilateral agreements.[84]
Under the 1994 version, the free trade regime enters
into force when conditions are met, but, for example,
the freedom of transit enters into force immediately
between participants. According to the text, transit
transportation should not be subject to unreasonable
delays or restrictions and the conditions of transit,
including tariffs for transportation by any mode of
transport and the provision of services, should not be
worse than for domestic shippers, recipients and
owners of goods, as well as no worse than the
conditions for any third country.[85]

1999 Protocol introducing a multilateral free trade

among 10 countries

On 2 April 1999, in Moscow, the presidents of 11

countries, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed a Protocol
on Amendments and Additions to the Agreement on
the Establishment of a Free Trade Area of 15 April
1994[86] (Протокол о внесении изменений и
дополнений в Соглашение о создании зоны
свободной торговли от 15 апреля 1994 года).
Turkmenistan did not participate. The Protocol entered
into force on 24 November 1999 for those countries
that had completed ratification. As of 2023, the
Protocol has entered into force for all countries,
namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Ukraine, except Russia, which remains
a signatory but has not notified entry into force or
provisional application. According to the Executive
Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent
States, no one has ceased participation in the Protocol
or suspended the application, while 1 reservation was
made by Azerbaijan on non-application in relation to
Armenia and 2 specific opinions were expressed by
Georgia and Ukraine.[87]

According to the analytical material of the Executive

Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent
States, the 1999 Protocol replaced the existing bilateral
free trade regime with a multilateral regime, eliminated
all fees, as well as taxes and levies with equivalent
effect, and quantitative restrictions on the import and
(or) export of goods in mutual trade of the FTA
participating states, established a procedure for
dispute resolution, etc. [88] The 1999 version refers to
the principles of the World Trade Organisation,
envisages cooperation in economic policy, payments,
customs cooperation, taxes, science, provides for a
ratchet effect prohibiting the imposition of new tariffs
and restrictions, provides for treatment no worse than
that of any third country, and provides for the transit of
goods on the basis of the principle of freedom of
transit without discrimination.[89]

The 2011 CIS FTA Treaty envisages that the 1994

agreement and the 1999 protocol no longer apply
between its 8 participants (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and
Moldova), however, among the rest of the countries,
they continue to be applied.

International Trade Centre says the 1994 Agreement

on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area signed by
12 CIS countries still continues to be used by
Azerbaijan and Georgia in trade with other CIS
countries except with Russia and Turkmenistan.
Reportedly it is also used bilaterally between
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan pending Tajikistan’s
ratification of Uzbekistan’s accession to the 2011 CIS
Free Trade Area Treaty.[90]

2011 multilateral Free Trade Area Treaty among 9

countries

2011 Treaty signatories and parties

In 2009, a new agreement was begun to create a FTA,
the CIS Free Trade Agreement (CISFTA). 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.
Initially, the treaty was only ratified by Russia, Belarus,
and Ukraine,[91][92][93] however by the end of 2012,
Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Moldova had also
completed ratification.[94][95] In December 2013,
Uzbekistan, signed and then ratified the treaty,[96][97]
while the remaining two signatories, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan later both ratified the treaty in January 2014
and December 2015 respectively.[98][99] Azerbaijan is
the only full CIS member state not to participate in the
free trade area.

The free trade agreement eliminates export and import

duties on several goods but also contains a number of
exemptions that will ultimately be phased out. An
agreement was also signed on the basic principles of
currency regulation and currency controls in the CIS at
the same October 2011 meeting.

2023 Agreement on Free Trade in Services among 7

countries

On 8 June 2023 in Sochi Armenia, Belarus,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan signed an Agreement on Free Trade in
Services, Establishment, Operations and Investment.
[100]

Other activities

Election monitoring

The CIS-Election Monitoring Organisation (Russian:

Миссия наблюдателей от СНГ на выборах) 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.

Controversies

The election monitoring body has approved many

elections which have been heavily criticised by
independent observers.[101]

The democratic nature of the final round of the 2004

Ukrainian presidential election which followed the
Orange Revolution and brought into power the
former opposition, was questioned by the CIS while
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) found no significant problems. This
was the first time 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 organization.
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".[102][103]
Moldovan authorities refused to invite CIS observers
in the 2005 Moldovan parliamentary elections, an
action Russia criticised. Many dozens such
observers from Belarus and Russia were stopped
from reaching Moldova.[104]
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-organized,
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.[105]
International observers of the Interparliamentary
Assembly stated the 2010 local elections in Ukraine
were organised well.[106] While the Council of
Europe uncovered a number of problems in relation
to a new electorate law approved just prior to the
elections[106] and the Obama administration
criticised the conduct of the elections, saying they
"did not meet standards for openness and
fairness".[107][108]
Russian language status

Russia has urged that the Russian language receive

official status in all of the CIS member states. So far
Russian is an official language in only four 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. After the Ukrainian 2010 election, President
Yanukovych stated "Ukraine will continue to promote
the Ukrainian language as its only state language."[109]

Sports events

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 1991–1992 was rebranded as a CIS championship,
this lasted just one year before it became Russian
bandy.

In 2017, a festival for national sports and games,

known as the Festival of National Sports and Games of
the Commonwealth of Independent States (Russian:
Фестиваль национальных видов спорта и игр
государств — участников Содружества
Независимых Государств) was held in Ulyanovsk.
The main sports were sambo, tug of war, mas-
wrestling, gorodki, belt wrestling, lapta, bandy (rink),
kettlebell lifting, chess and archery. A few
demonstration sports were also a part of the
programme.[110]
In 2021 the first CIS games took place in Kazan with 9
nations and 2,000 athletes. The second games took
place in 2023 in Belarus.

Cultural events

The CIS has also been a relevant forum to support

cultural relations between former Soviet republics. In
2006, the Council of the Heads of Governments of the
CIS launched the Intergovernmental Foundation for
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Cooperation
(IFESCCO).[111] IFESSCO has substantially relied on
Russia's financial support since its creation and
supported several multilateral cultural events, including
the ‘CIS Capital of Culture’ initiative.[112] In 2017, the
Armenian city of Goris was declared the CIS Cultural
Capital of the year, in 2022 it was Karakol.

Life expectancy
Life expectancy at birth in the countries of CIS in 2021,
according to the World Bank Group.[113][114][115]
 COVID-19
2021 Historical data impact
Countries
Gender 2000 2014 2019 2020 2019 2014
All Male Female 2000 2014 2019 2020 2021
gap →2014 →2019 →2020 →2021 →2021 →2021

1 Belarus 72.37 67.30 77.70 10.40 68.91 4.06 72.97 1.26 74.23 −1.77 72.46 −0.09 72.37 −1.86 −0.60

2 Armenia 72.04 66.55 77.35 10.80 70.62 3.43 74.06 1.38 75.44 −3.27 72.17 −0.13 72.04 −3.40 −2.02

3 Kyrgyzstan 71.90 67.90 76.10 8.20 68.56 1.84 70.40 1.20 71.60 0.20 71.80 0.10 71.90 0.30 1.50

4 Tajikistan 71.59 69.57 73.73 4.17 63.26 5.81 69.07 1.80 70.87 −2.87 67.99 3.60 71.59 0.73 2.52

5 Uzbekistan 70.86 68.33 73.39 5.06 65.72 4.51 70.23 1.11 71.34 −1.01 70.33 0.53 70.86 −0.48 0.63

6 Kazakhstan 70.23 66.33 74.03 7.70 65.45 5.99 71.44 1.74 73.18 −1.81 71.37 −1.14 70.23 −2.95 −1.21

7 Azerbaijan 69.37 65.65 73.29 7.64 64.89 6.22 71.12 1.99 73.10 −6.23 66.87 2.50 69.37 −3.74 −1.75

8 Russia 69.36 64.21 74.77 10.56 65.48 5.26 70.74 2.34 73.08 −1.75 71.34 −1.98 69.36 −3.72 −1.38

9 Turkmenistan 69.26 65.86 72.66 6.80 65.03 3.59 68.61 0.39 69.00 −0.31 68.69 0.58 69.26 0.26 0.65

10 Moldova 68.85 64.44 73.55 9.10 66.42 2.61 69.03 1.90 70.94 −0.77 70.17 −1.32 68.85 −2.09 −0.19
LLE
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Post-Soviet organisations and initiatives
outside CIS framework

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships among various supranational

v•d•e
organisations in the territory of the former Soviet Union

EurAsEc and EAEU

Common Economic Space

After a 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 Kyiv, 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
organization 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 had 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
following WTO principles".[117] Ukraine has been a
WTO member since 2008.[117]

A Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia

was thus created in 2010,[118] A single market had
been envisioned for 2012, but instead the customs
union was renamed as the Eurasian Customs Union
and expanded to include Armenia and Kyrgyzstan in
2015.

Union State of Russia and Belarus

Organisation of Central Asian Cooperation

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.[119] On 7
October 2005, it was decided between the member
states that Uzbekistan will join the Eurasian Economic
Community and that the organisations will merge.[120]
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

The post-Soviet disputed states of Abkhazia, Artsakh,

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.
GUAM Organization for Democracy and
Economic Development

See also
Collective Security Treaty Organization Asia
portal
Eurasianism
Europe
Russian world portal
Politics
Comecon portal
Russia
Community for Democracy and Rights portal
of Nations
Eastern Bloc
Eurasian Economic Union
Lublin Triangle
Post-Soviet states
Unified Team

Notes
a. Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств,
СНГ, romanized: Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh
 Gosudarstv, SNG

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Journals

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External links
Charter of the CIS (http://webarchiv Commonwealt
e.loc.gov/all/20060720174729/htt h of
Independent
p://www.therussiasite.org/legal/law States
s/CIScharter.html) at the Library of at Wikipedia's
sister projects
Congress Web Archives (archived
20 July 2006) Media from
CIS Executive Committee (http://ww Commons
Data from
w.cis.minsk.by/) Wikidata

Interstate Statistical Committee of

the CIS (http://www.cisstat.com/eng/index.htm)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

title=Commonwealth_of_Independent_States&oldid=1185186525"

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