A multilateral group of independent states which were once members of the USSR; formed in December 1991; membership included all the states that once comprised the USSR, with the exceptions of the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) and Georgia; Georgia joined in December 1993.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (in Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств (СНГ) - Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv) is the international organization, or alliance, consisting of 11 former Soviet Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
The creation of CIS signalled the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, according to leaders of Russia, its purpose was to "allow a civilized divorce" between the Soviet Republics. However, many observers have seen the CIS as a tool that would allow some country to keep its influence over the post-Soviet states.
The CIS is not a confederation.
Members
Current members: Russia (1991) Belarus (1991) Ukraine (1991) Moldova (1991) Kazakhstan (1991) Azerbaijan (1991) Armenia (1991) Kyrgyzstan (1991) Uzbekistan (1991) Tajikistan (1991) Georgia (1993; withdrew 2005, associate member since then)History
Foundation
Initiating the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1991, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine met on December 8 in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve, about 50 km (30 mi) north of Brest in Belarus, and signed an agreement establishing the CIS.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev described this as an "illegal and dangerous" constitutional coup, but it soon became clear that the development could not be stopped: On December 21, 1991, the leaders of 11 of the 15 constituent republics of the Soviet Union met in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, and signed the charter, thus de facto ratifying the initial CIS treaty. The Soviet government had already recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on September 6, 1991, and the three Baltic nations as well as Georgia refused to join the CIS. The CIS charter stated that all the members were sovereign and independent nations and thereby effectively abolished the Soviet Union.
The 11 original member states were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. In December 1993, Georgia also joined the CIS under somewhat controversial circumstances, following a civil war.
CIS crisis
Between 2003 and 2005, the leaderships of three CIS member states were overthrown in a series of "color revolutions": Eduard Shevardnadze in Georgia, Leonid Kuchma in Ukraine, and, lastly, Askar Akayev in Kyrgyzstan.
In that timeframe a number of statements have been made by member state officials, casting doubt on the potential and continued worth of the CIS:
Moldova: On September 19, 2003, Vladimir Voronin, the president of Moldova, expressed his disappointment at the Common Economic Space, set up between Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus, and claimed this decision would lead to a "depreciation of CIS stock" and that it showed that "possible modernization of the CIS has been abandoned for good" and "the lack of perspective of the CIS has become evident". However he has also more recently argued that it would be a great mistake for Moldova to leave the "huge markets" of the CIS and that Moldova can gain profit by remaining part of the CIS Georgia: In November 2004, the Defense Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Baramidze, told reporters that he would not be attending the CIS Council of Defense Ministers, and that the CIS is "yesterday's history", while Georgia's future was in cooperation with NATO defense ministers. As tensions heighten with Russia due to the latter's ban on several Georgian wine and mineral water brandies, the Government of Georgia is considering withdrawing from the CIS, a membership of which is largely unpopular within Georgia. President Mikheil Saakashvili said on May 2, 2006 that the government would review whether the country was benefiting from being a CIS member Belarus: One of the closest allies of Russia, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, said during a summit with Vladimir Putin that "The CIS is undergoing the most critical phase of its history" and is at risk of being dissolved or losing all its significance to the member states. Ukraine: On April 9, 2005, Minister of Economics of Ukraine said at a news conference "there is no hope for CIS development" and that Ukrainian government is considering halting its financial contributions to CIS bodies. Turkmenistan: In August 2005, Turkmenistan downgraded its CIS status to an associate member.Role and organization
The CIS is headquartered in Minsk, Belarus. All of the CIS's executive secretaries have been from Belarus or Russia.
From a historical point of view, the CIS could be viewed a successor entity to the Soviet Union, insofar as one of its original intents was to provide a framework for the disassembly of that state. However, the CIS is emphatically not a state unto itself, and is more comparable to the European Community than to its "predecessor". The most significant issue for the CIS is the establishment of a full-fledged free trade zone / economic union between the member states, to have been launched in 2005.
During the 1992 Olympic Games (in Albertville and Barcelona), athletes from the CIS member states competed as the Unified Team for the last time.
CIS Governing Institutions
Staff for Coordinating Military Cooperation. Established as the CIS Joint Armed Forces High Command in March 1992 and then reorganised as the Coordinating Staff in August 1993.Statutory Bodies
The affairs of CIS member states are governed by the following statutory bodies:
Council of the Heads of States Council of the Heads of Governments Council of Foreign Ministers Council of Defense Ministers Council of Border Troops Commanders Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (IPA) Established in March 1992 as a consultative institution, the first participants were Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Economic Court - WebsiteExecutive Bodies
Economic Council Council of the Member-State Permanent Representatives Executive Committee - WebsiteAgencies for Economic Cooperation
Interstate Statistical Committee - Website Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification - Website Also known as the Euro Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC). Interstate Council for Emergencies Caused by Natural Phenomena and Industrial Activities Interstate Ecological Council Interstate Council for Hydrometeorology Interstate Council for Geodesy, Cartography, Cadaster and Remote Earth Probing Interstate Council for Coordination of Scientific Information Inter-Governmental Council for Cooperation in the Construction Industry Electric Power Council - Website Council for Cooperation in Health Care Interstate Council for Anti-Trust Policies Interstate Council for Industrial Safety - Website Council of the Heads of Statistical Services Anti-Terrorism Center Council of the Interior Ministers Note. Council of the Heads of Security and Special Services Joint Consultative Commission on DisarmamentChartered Organizations
Interstate Bank - Website MIR Interstate Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Council of the Heads of the Chambers of Commerce International Association of Exchanges - Website Leasing Confederation - Website International Consumer Cooperatives Council International Union for Agricultural Production International Academy of Wine Growing and Wine MakingElection Observation Missions
Since 2002 the CIS has been sending observers to elections in member countries of the CIS.
After the CIS observer mission disputed the final (repeat) round of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which followed the Orange Revolution and brought into power the former opposition, Ukraine suspended its membership in the CIS observer missions.
Moves for further integration
CIS Collective Security Treaty
The CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992, by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in the city of Tashkent.
Russian language
Russia has been urging for the Russian language to receive official status in all 12 of the CIS member states.
Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow-supported presidential candidate in the controversial Ukrainian presidential election, 2004, declared his intention to make Russian an official second language of Ukraine.
Common economic space
There has been discussion about the creation of a "common economic space" between the countries of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
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