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.

Role and organization

The CIS is headquartered in Minsk, Belarus. The chairman of the CIS is known as the executive secretary. All of the CIS's executive secretaries have been from Belarus or Russia. The current executive secretary is former Russian interior minister, Vladimir Rushailo.

Related Topics:
Minsk - Vladimir Rushailo

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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". However, although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely symbolic organization, possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. The most significant issue for the CIS is the establishment of a full-fledged free trade zone / economic union between the member states, to be launched in 2005. It has also promoted cooperation on democratisation and cross-border crime prevention.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - European Community - 2005

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During the 1992 Olympic Games (in Albertville and Barcelona), athletes from the CIS member states competed as the Unified Team for the last time. In other sports events in that year, such as the European Championships in football, athletes took part as representatives of the CIS. Since then, the member states have competed under their national banners.

Related Topics:
1992 - Olympic Games - Albertville - Barcelona - Unified Team

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Institutions

The CIS member states interact and coordinate through the following institutions:

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• Council of the Heads of States
• Council of the Heads of Governments
• Council of Foreign Ministers
• Council of Defense Ministers
• Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (IPA)

:Established in March 1992 as a consultative institution, the first participants were Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Between 1993 and 1996, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova also joined. Ukraine joined in 1999.

Related Topics:
1992 - Armenia - Belarus - Kazakhstan - Tajikistan - Uzbekistan - Kyrgyzstan - Russia - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Moldova - Ukraine

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: IPA sessions are held twice a year in Saint Petersburg, and are composed of parliamentary delegations of the member states. The IPA has nine permanent commissions: on legal issues; on economy and finance; on social policy and human rights; on ecology and natural resources; on defense and security issues; on culture, science, education and information issues; on foreign policy affairs; on state-building and local government; on control budget. http://www.iacis.ru/short.en.html

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• Economic Court
• Economic Council
• Executive Committee (legal successor of the Executive Secretariat)
• Council of Border Troops Commanders
• Council of Collective Security
• Interstate Bank
• Interstate Statistical Committee

Election Observation Missions

Main article: CIS election observation missions

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Since 2002 the CIS has been sending observers to elections in countries belonging to the CIS. Several of these observation missions have been extremely controversial, as their findings have been that the elections are "free and fair" only when the pro-Kremlin or ruling-party wins, and therefore has often been in contradiction with the findings of other international organizations from Western liberal-democracies - such as the OSCE, the Council of Europe, or the European Union - which normally label those same elections as having many irregularities.

Related Topics:
OSCE - Council of Europe - European Union

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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.

Related Topics:
2004 Ukrainian presidential election - Orange Revolution

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