Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a group of countries in Eurasia. It started after the Soviet Union ended in 1991. The CIS helps its members work together on things like trade, money, laws, and safety.

When the Soviet Union ended, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine created the CIS. Later, more countries joined. But some countries left the CIS. For example, Georgia left in 2008, and Ukraine stopped working with the CIS after Russia took over Crimea in 2014. In 2026, Moldova also left the CIS.

Many CIS members trade with each other. Some groups formed from the CIS, like a military alliance and an economic union. One group is working to bring Russia and Belarus closer together.

History and structure

Background

Signing of the Belovezha Accords, 8 December 1991

In 1991, the Soviet Union began to change. The leader tried to turn it into a group of independent republics, but things became unstable. Then, there was an attempt to take control in the capital city.

Founding

The Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, dated 8 December 1991. The information from the depository of the international agreement is published on the Unified Register of Legal Acts and Other Documents of the Commonwealth of Independent States (under the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States) as of 2024.

After that attempt failed, many parts of the Soviet Union became independent countries. On December 8, 1991, leaders from three of these new countries formed a group called the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS. This group was meant to help these countries work together after the Soviet Union ended.

More countries joined the CIS later. By the end of 1991, 11 countries were part of it. Two years later, another country joined, making 12 members. Three countries chose not to join. The CIS and the Soviet Union existed together for a short time until the Soviet Union officially ended on December 26, 1991. After that, the countries began working on their own.

CIS Charter

The Protocol to the Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, dated 21 December 1991. The information from the depository of the international agreement is published on the Unified Register of Legal Acts and Other Documents of the Commonwealth of Independent States (under the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States) as of 2024.

In January 1993, the CIS created a charter to explain how it would work. This charter said which countries were founding members and which were just participants. Some countries signed the charter and became members, while others stayed as participants. One country became an associate member later, and another left the CIS completely in 2009. Another country stopped participating in 2018.

General secretary

Main article: General Secretary of the CIS

The CIS is managed by a general secretary.

Interparliamentary Assembly

The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly was created in 1992 to help the countries work together on laws. It meets to talk about common problems and suggests ideas for new laws. The Assembly has helped create over 130 documents to make laws more similar across the CIS countries.

Further developments

Between 2003 and 2005, some countries in the CIS had big changes in their governments. In 2006, one country left a part of the CIS because it wanted to join another group, but it stayed in the CIS until 2009. In 2007, a leader from another country said the CIS might not be as useful anymore. Some countries missed meetings of the CIS leaders because they had disagreements. In 2009, several countries joined a project started by the European Union to work together with Europe.

General secretaries
Name	Term
Ivan Korotchenya	14 May 1993 – 29 April 1998
Boris Berezovsky	29 April 1998 – 4 March 1999
Ivan Korotchenya	4 March 1999 – 2 April 1999
Yury Yarov	2 April 1999 – 14 July 2004
Vladimir Rushailo	14 July 2004 – 5 October 2007
Sergei Lebedev	5 October 2007 – present

Membership

There are nine full member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Creation Agreement was the main rule book for the CIS until January 1993, when the CIS Charter was created. This charter explained that a member country must agree to the CIS Charter. New members can join if all current members agree. Countries that agreed to the Creation Agreement before the charter was made are called "Founding states," but they are not members unless they also agree to the charter.

Member states

Moldova

In 2022, Moldova began to leave many CIS agreements and planned to fully leave the CIS by the end of 2024. In 2023, Moldova stopped taking part in most CIS activities. By March 2026, Moldova officially decided to leave the CIS completely, with the exit to be finished by April 2027.

Associate member

A country can become an associate member if approved by the leaders of CIS countries. Two states, Ukraine and Turkmenistan, agreed to the CIS Creation Agreement but did not agree to the CIS Charter. Turkmenistan later changed to become an associate member in 2005.

Founding state

Ukraine helped create the CIS in 1991 but never agreed to the CIS Charter, so it remained a founding state. Ukraine kept taking part in some CIS activities until 2018 when it stopped. Ukraine has since left many CIS agreements.

Former member states

Georgia

Georgia left the CIS in 2009.

Country	Signed	Agreement ratified	Charter ratified
Armenia	21 December 1991	18 February 1992	16 March 1994
Azerbaijan	21 December 1991	24 September 1993	14 December 1993
Belarus	8 December 1991	10 December 1991	18 January 1994
Kazakhstan	21 December 1991	23 December 1991	20 April 1994
Kyrgyzstan	21 December 1991	6 March 1992	12 April 1994
Moldova	21 December 1991	8 April 1994	27 June 1994
Russia	8 December 1991	12 December 1991	20 July 1993
Tajikistan	21 December 1991	26 June 1993	14 August 1993
Uzbekistan	21 December 1991	4 January 1992	9 February 1994

Country	Signed	Agreement ratified	Charter ratified	Associate from
Turkmenistan	21 December 1991	26 December 1991	Not ratified	August 2005

Country	Signed	Agreement ratified	Charter ratified
Ukraine	8 December 1991	10 December 1991	Not ratified

Country	Signed	Agreement ratified	Charter ratified	Withdrawn	Effective
Georgia	3 December 1993	3 December 1993	19 April 1994	18 August 2008	18 August 2009

Politics

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was created to help countries that were once part of the Soviet Union work together. One big goal has been to protect people's rights and freedoms. In 1995, the CIS agreed on a treaty about human rights. This includes rights to speak and vote freely, as well as rights to jobs and education. However, some countries in the CIS, especially in Central Asia, still have trouble protecting these rights well.

The CIS also works on military matters. Some members signed a treaty in 1992 to help each other with safety and defense. This later led to the creation of a military alliance called the Collective Security Treaty Organisation in 2002. However, there have been challenges in stopping conflicts between members, showing that more work is needed to keep peace among the countries.

Main articles: Collective Security Treaty Organization, United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS, and Joint CIS Air Defense System

Economy

Standards and rules

1994 agreement signatories

Main articles: GOST and List of GOST standards

GOST standards were made by the Soviet Union to make sure products were safe and good quality. After the Soviet Union broke apart, these standards became rules for CIS countries. They are now managed by a group called the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology, and Certification.

Supranational integration initiatives, trade, and economic cooperation within CIS

Main articles: free trade agreement and free trade area

In 1993, leaders of some CIS countries signed an agreement to create an economic union. This was to help their economies grow and improve living standards.

The CIS has agreements to help countries trade freely with each other. These agreements let countries make their own deals with other nations and join custom unions. They do not control how countries trade with nations outside the CIS.

1994 Framework for Bilateral Free Trade Agreements and Freedom of Transit

Stamp of 1991–2011, the Commonwealth of Independent States

In 1994, leaders from 12 CIS countries signed an agreement to create a free trade area. This agreement started in 1994 for countries that approved it. By 2023, it was fully active for ten countries, while Russia and Turkmenistan used it for a time. No country has left the agreement.

Under this agreement, countries make trade rules with each other one at a time. The agreement started rules right away for moving goods between countries, making sure there were no unfair delays or extra costs.

1999 Protocol introducing a multilateral free trade among ten countries

On 2 April 1999, leaders from 11 CIS countries signed a change to the 1994 agreement. Turkmenistan did not join. This change started in 1999 for countries that approved it. By 2023, it was active for ten countries, but Russia had not fully started using it. No country left the change, though Azerbaijan made one exception.

This change replaced the older rules for trading between two countries with rules for all ten countries to trade together. It removed fees and restrictions on trading goods between these countries. It also set up ways to solve arguments, followed World Trade Organization rules, and made sure goods could move freely between countries.

2011 multilateral Free Trade Area Treaty among 9 countries

In 2009, work began on a new agreement to make it easier for CIS countries to trade with each other. In 2011, eight CIS countries signed this new agreement. By 2015, all eight had approved it. Azerbaijan did not join.

This agreement removes some taxes on goods but still has some exceptions that will be removed later. The same meeting also discussed how countries control their money.

2023 Agreement on Free Trade in Services among 7 countries

In June 2023, seven CIS countries signed an agreement to make it easier to trade services, start businesses, and invest in each other’s countries.

Country	Population (2021)	GDP (USD million)			GDP growth (2012)	GDP per capita				Human Development Index (2019)
Country	Population (2021)	2007	2012	2022	GDP growth (2012)	2007	2012	2020	2022	Human Development Index (2019)
Armenia	2,790,974	9,204	10,551	13,679	2.1%	2,996	3,500	4,268	4,888	0.776
Azerbaijan	10,312,992	33,049	71,043	76,123	3.8%	3,829	7,500	4,214	4,665	0.756
Belarus	9,578,167	45,275	65,685	78,276	4.3%	4,656	6,940	6,411	6,830	0.823
Kazakhstan	19,196,465	104,849	196,642	210,896	5.2%	6,805	11,700	9,122	10,240	0.825
Kyrgyzstan	6,527,743	3,802	6,197	7,543	0.8%	711	1,100	1,174	1,265	0.697
Moldova	3,061,506	4,401	7,589	8,947	4.4%	1,200	2,100	4,551	4,850	0.750
Russia	145,102,755	1,294,381	2,022,000	2,103,400	3.4%	9,119	14,240	10,127	10,890	0.824
Tajikistan	9,750,064	3,695	7,263	8,456	2.1%	526	960	859	915	0.668
Uzbekistan	34,081,449	22,355	63,622	70,452	4.1%	831	2,137	1,686	1,820	0.720

Social development of the CIS countries

The countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) often have social challenges. In some places, people feel poorer than official numbers show. For example, in Ukraine, many more people felt poor than government numbers said.

Unemployment benefits, extra money for people who have lost their jobs, vary a lot between CIS countries. Some places give more help than others, and in many spots, these benefits haven’t gone up even though everyday costs have.

Salaries also differ widely. In 2015, monthly salaries ranged from about $142 in Tajikistan to $565 in Kazakhstan. Even in places where salaries were higher, a big part of that money was spent just on food, making it hard for families to meet all their needs.

Other activities

Election monitoring

The CIS-Election Monitoring Organisation watches elections. It began in October 2002 when leaders of CIS countries made rules for fair elections. Since then, it has sent watchers to check elections in CIS countries.

Sometimes, the CIS says an election was fair even when others disagree. For example, in 2004, the CIS said the Ukrainian election was not fair, but in 2005, they said elections in Uzbekistan and Moldova were fair.

Russian language Status

Russia wants the Russian language to be an official language in all CIS countries. Right now, only Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have Russian as an official language. After the 2010 election in Ukraine, the new president said Ukraine would keep Ukrainian as its only official language.

Sports events

When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, some sports teams from the Soviet Union still had to compete in events in 1992. A team called the “Unified Team” took their place in the 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics. There was also a CIS team for football and bandy.

In 2017, a festival for traditional sports from CIS countries was held in Ulyanovsk. Sports included sambo, tug of war, and chess. In 2021, the first CIS games were held in Kazan with athletes from 9 countries. The second games were in Belarus in 2023.

Cultural events

The CIS also helps with cultural activities between its countries. In 2006, they started a fund to support education, science, and culture. This fund has helped many cultural events, like naming a “CIS Capital of Culture” each year. In 2017, Goris in Armenia was named the CIS Cultural Capital, and in 2022, Karakol in Kyrgyzstan got the title.

Demographics

About 246 million people live in the countries that belong to the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Largest cities or towns in Commonwealth of Independent States Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan
Rank		Member state	Pop.	Rank		Member state	Pop.
1	Moscow	Russia	13,149,803	11	Kazan	Russia	1,318,604
2	Saint Petersburg	Russia	5,597,763	12	Shymkent	Kazakhstan	1,246,661
3	Tashkent	Uzbekistan	3,075,232	13	Krasnoyarsk	Russia	1,205,473
4	Baku	Azerbaijan	2,300,500	14	Nizhny Novgorod	Russia	1,204,985
5	Almaty	Kazakhstan	2,275,541	15	Chelyabinsk	Russia	1,177,058
6	Minsk	Belarus	1,992,862	16	Ufa	Russia	1,163,304
7	Novosibirsk	Russia	1,633,851	17	Samara	Russia	1,158,952
8	Dushanbe	Tajikistan	1,564,700	18	Bishkek	Kyrgyzstan	1,145,044
9	Yekaterinburg	Russia	1,536,183	19	Rostov-on-Don	Russia	1,140,487
10	Astana	Kazakhstan	1,502,102	20	Krasnodar	Russia	1,138,654

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2021, according to the World Bank Group, is shown below.

Life expectancy at birth in countries of CIS since 1960

Life expectancy and [healthy life expectancy](/wiki/Healthy_life_expectancy) in countries of CIS in 2019

Elaboration by gender

Countries	2021				Historical data									COVID-19 impact
Countries	All	Male	Female	Sex gap	2000	2000 →2014	2014	2014 →2019	2019	2019 →2020	2020	2020 →2021	2021	2019 →2021	2014 →2021
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Post-Soviet organisations and initiatives outside CIS framework

Main article: Post-Soviet states

EurAsEc and EAEU

Main articles: Eurasian Economic Community, Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union, and EAEU

Common Economic Space

Main article: Eurasian Economic Space

Some countries talked about working together on trade and money. They wanted to make rules together. This idea was discussed by Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

Union State of Russia and Belarus

Main article: Union State

Organisation of Central Asian Cooperation

Main article: Central Asian Cooperation Organization

Countries in Central Asia worked together in groups. Russia later joined these groups too.

Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations

Main article: Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations

Some areas joined together to help each other. These areas include Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria.

GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development

Main article: GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development

The GUAM Organization is a group of four countries: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. They work together to support democracy and improve their economies.

Assessments and criticism

Abulfaz Elchibey, the second president of Azerbaijan, thought the CIS was too much like an old system led by Russia. He believed it did not help solve problems, such as those between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A Russian diplomat, A. Denisov, had a different view. He said the CIS allows each country to choose what it wants to join, with no pressure.

Mikhail Krotov, a Russian scientist and former leader of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, explained that the CIS was formed to help countries cooperate after the Soviet Union ended. He mentioned that Ukraine chose not to join even a simpler version of the CIS agreement.

American geopolitician Zbigniew Brzezinski thought Ukraine was important in preventing the CIS from becoming like the old Soviet Union.

Coins

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation made special coins to honor the Commonwealth of Independent States. The coins have different designs and are made from metals like copper-nickel and silver.

In 2006, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus also made special coins to celebrate 15 years of the Commonwealth of Independent States. These coins came in two different types and metals.