CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Countries 2022

The intergovernmental organization of post-Soviet republics in Eurasia is known as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The CIS encourages economic, military, and political cohesion among its citizens.

The group has considerable influence in commerce, banking, security, and even lawmaking. It is commonly (and unsurprisingly) mistaken with the Commonwealth of Nations, a comparable organization of former British colonies.

The CIS now consists of nine full member nations and one observer state. Additional “founding nations” signed the initial agreement to join the CIS in 1991 or 1992 but did not agree to ratify the charter.

A founder state, Turkmenistan, has been classed as an associate state since 2005 and remains a member of the organization.

After Russia invaded Ukraine’s Donbass region in 2014, Ukraine withdrew from the CIS and became an associate member in 1994.

Georgia, the only full member of the Commonwealth of Independent States to quit the organization, did so in 2008 when Russia invaded, igniting a conflict between the two countries.

The following countries are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States:

*Indicates a founding member state.

Forming a federal federation of sovereign countries

It was originally envisaged in 1991 as a looser substitute for the Soviet Union, splitting into 25 former Soviet countries at the time. CIS When the Belovezh Accords were signed on December 8, 1991, they set down the foundation of the CIS, known as the Central Asian Republics (or CIS) today.

On December 23, 1991, the Alma-Ata Protocols ended the Soviet Union’s existence and founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Also See: CARICOM Countries 2022

Size, scope, and role of the CIS

While it may be seen as a looser international alliance than the United Nations or the European Union, the CIS has not considered a sovereign state as it formerly was, as the Soviet Union. Over 23 million km2 (9 million mi2) of land is covered by the CIS territory, which has over 300 million people.

The CIS also administers various subsidiary organizations: the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which permits a form of free-trade agreement between CIS countries; the Union State, which develops closer economic and military linkages between Russia and Belarus; and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance involving numerous CSI countries.

Eight members agreed to join CISFTA (Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area) in 2012.