Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (in Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств (СНГ) - Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv) is a confederation or alliance consisting of 11 former Soviet Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan discontinued permanent membership as of August 26 2005 and is now an associate member.

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. At the same time they announced that the new confederation would be open to all republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as other nations sharing the same goals.

Related Topics:
Dissolution of the Soviet Union - 1991 - December 8 - Belovezhskaya Pushcha - Brest

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 12 remaining constituent republics of the USSR 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 CIS. The CIS charter stated that all the members were sovereign and independent nations and thereby effectively abolished the USSR.

Related Topics:
Mikhail Gorbachev - December 21 - 1991 - Constituent republics of the USSR - Alma-Ata - De facto - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania - September 6 - Georgia - USSR

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 in which Russian troops intervened on the side of the Shevardnadze government.

Related Topics:
December - 1993 - Shevardnadze

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 Ukraine especially, the new government has taken a clearly pro-Western stance contrasted to their predecessors' close relationship with the Kremlin. The new government of Georgia has likewise taken a pro-Western and anti-Kremlin stance. Moldova also seems to be quietly drifting toward the West, away from the CIS.

Related Topics:
Color revolutions - Eduard Shevardnadze - Georgia - Leonid Kuchma - Ukraine - Askar Akayev - Kyrgyzstan - Anti-Kremlin - Moldova

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• 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". http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/09/220903.asp
• In November 2004, the Defense Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Baramidze, told reporters that he would not be attending a council of CIS defense ministers, and that the CIS is "yesterday's history", while Georgia's future was in cooperation with NATO defense ministers. http://www.isn.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=10230
• 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.
• 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. http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11267754