Russia's near abroad countries: a list and a brief description. CIS countries and their capitals - map, list, in English Capitals of countries included in the CIS

- Azerbaijan;
- Armenia;
- Belarus;
- Kazakhstan;
- Moldova;
- Russia;
- Tajikistan;
- Turkmenistan (but in a special status);
- Uzbekistan.

Other states formerly part of the USSR have the following relations with the Commonwealth:
- at the summit on August 26, 2005, Turkmenistan announced its participation in the CIS...

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What is CIS? What are the goals of this international organization? And how close is cooperation in the "Russia - CIS countries" system? This will be discussed in this article.

History of the organization

CIS is voluntary international organization in Eurasia, created with the aim of strengthening cooperation between states. The abbreviation stands for "Commonwealth of Independent States". Which states are members of the CIS? Countries that were once part of former USSR formed the backbone of this international organization.

The leaders of three countries - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus took part in the creation of the organization. The corresponding agreement was signed by them in Belovezhskaya Pushcha in December 1991. By the same step, it was recognized that the Soviet Union, as public education, ceased to exist. And so the Commonwealth was born. Independent States(CIS).

Countries were part of this organization on the principle of a common ...

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Question: what countries are included in the CIS and their capitals?

CIS stands for Commonwealth of Independent States. All states that are members of the CIS are independent entities. Goals: cooperation in various fields - political, economic, etc.

List of CIS countries (CIS countries and their capitals)

Belarus - the capital city of Minsk

Kazakhstan - the capital is Astana

Moldova - the capital of Chisinau

Russia - capital Moscow

Uzbekistan is the capital of Tashkent

Ukraine is the capital Kyiv

What else is known:

The CIS includes: the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Uzbekistan and Ukraine. In August 2005, Turkmenistan withdrew from the full members of the CIS and received the status of an associate observer member....

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What countries are included in the CIS?

The CIS includes most of the countries that were part of the USSR. For 2014 the CIS includes following countries:
Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Ukraine is a de facto member of the CIS, but has not signed the CIS Charter. On May 26, 2014, Ukraine announced that it was starting the procedure for withdrawing from the CIS.

Turkmenistan also did not sign the CIS Charter, but announced its participation in the CIS structures as an "associate member".

Georgia left the CIS in 2009 after the war with Russia. Thus, from the countries that were part of the USSR, the CIS did not include: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Georgia.

The Commonwealth of Independent States was founded in Minsk in 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, and aimed to consolidate the principles of economic and political cooperation between the countries that were members of the Union. The Baltic countries did not take part in the creation of the CIS. The current state of the CIS is ambiguous, and the prospects for the development of the CIS...

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INSTRUCTIONS

The reason for the appearance of this organization in the international legal field is the collapse of the USSR and the formation of 15 new sovereign states, closely connected in the political, economic, humanitarian spheres, due to the existence of centuries within the same country. The deep integration of the republics predetermined the objective interest of new subjects international law in cooperation in various fields of economy, politics, culture on the basis of equal cooperation and respect for each other's sovereignty. The CIS was founded on December 8, 1991, when the heads of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the so-called. "Belovezhskaya agreement", in the text of which the abolition of Soviet Union and education based on it new form interstate cooperation of former Soviet republics. This document was called the "Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States", and by 1994 it was ratified and entered the CIS...

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How many countries are included in the CIS?

The CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) includes 12 countries. Among them:

1. Azerbaijan
2. Armenia
3. Belarus
4. Georgia
5. Kazakhstan
6. Kyrgyzstan
7. Moldova
8. Russia
9. Tajikistan
10. Turkmenistan
11. Uzbekistan
12. Ukraine

Ukraine is not de jure a member state of the CIS, since it has not ratified the charter of the organization, although it belongs to the states-founders and states-participants of the Commonwealth.

AT this moment Turkmenistan participates in the organization as an “associate member”

Mongolia participates as an observer in some structures of the CIS.

In the future, the composition of the CIS members may change:
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced his desire to withdraw from the CIS
In 2008, he announced his desire to join the CIS ...

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The international organization of the CIS, created in 1991 by the three former republics of the USSR, still regulates relations between neighboring states. This community of states was created on a voluntary basis and serves as a supranational entity. If at creation the CIS included only 3 countries, namely: the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus, now the number of states entering the commonwealth has increased significantly. This year marks 22 years since the signing of the agreement by the heads of the allied states. The countries included in the CIS have their own structural economic and political units, but they are still members of the commonwealth, which originates from Belovezhskaya Pushcha (it was there that the significant signing of the document by the three countries took place).

CIS member countries

The former Soviet republics, of which there were 15 during the Soviet Union, still maintain ties within the CIS. They do not include the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), which were once also included ...

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Unfortunately, today, when twenty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, not everyone knows which countries are included in the CIS. This applies in particular to today's youth, to those who were born and studied in post-Soviet Russia. For them, the USSR is a state from the pages of the history textbooks of the twentieth century, an unreal state of the past, with which nothing connects them.

Meanwhile, the former Soviet republics now maintain political and economic relations within the framework of the CIS - the Commonwealth of Independent States. Today, the composition of the CIS is all the countries that were previously part of the USSR, with the exception of the three Baltic states. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania now focus exclusively on the Western model of socio-economic and state-political development, and therefore they chose not to join the Commonwealth.

So, which countries are part of the CIS today? Firstly, these are the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus, which founded this organization in ...

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Created on December 8, 1991, the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, according to its charter, is a regional international organization. Within the framework of this friendly association, relations are regulated and cooperation between the states that were part of the USSR takes place.

Which states are part of the CIS

According to the information from the current charter of the organization, its members are the founding countries that signed and ratified the Agreement on the establishment of the CIS of December 8, 1991 and the Protocol to it (December 21 of the same year) by the time the charter was signed. And the current members of the organization are those countries that later assumed the obligations prescribed in this charter.

Each new membership in the CIS must be approved by all other states that are already part of the organization.

Currently, 10 states are members of the Commonwealth:
- Azerbaijan-
- Armenia-
- Belarus -
-...

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Related article

Ukraine changed its mind about leaving the CIS. On October 13, Kyiv announced that the question of leaving the Commonwealth was no longer on the table. According to Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Grinevetsky, it is inexpedient for the republic to withdraw from the CIS from the point of view of economic interests.

Earlier, the Parliament of Ukraine registered a draft law "On the suspension of the agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States." Its initiators were Svoboda deputies Alexei Kaida and Alexander Mirny.

AiF.ru tells what the CIS organization is now.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional international organization designed to regulate cooperative relations between states that were previously part of the USSR.

The organization was founded on December 8, 1991, when the heads of the RSFSR (Boris Yeltsin), Belarus (Stanislav Shushkevich) and Ukraine (Leonid Kravchuk) signed in...

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AT current year the list of countries where you can go to Europe and neighboring countries without a visa has changed a bit, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the detailed list and conditions for entry into the territory of visa-free European states and neighboring countries for Russian citizens, the duration of stay and the required documents and fees, special conditions for visiting.

Visa-free European countries for Russians in 2016, updated and expanded list.

Montenegro, a country with common cultural roots and traditions, is rightfully considered one of the most popular European countries for entry into which a visa is not required and the citizens of Russia have a sea. To enter the country you need a foreign passport with a valid period of at least three months after crossing the borders of the republic. The period of stay in the territory is up to 30 days, upon return, it should be borne in mind that a fee is charged at the airport.

The next country on the list of European countries with visa-free entry on a passport is Serbia, the most ...

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What is CIS? What are the goals of this international organization? And how close is cooperation in the "Russia - CIS countries" system? This will be discussed in this article.

History of the organization

The CIS is a voluntary international organization in Eurasia, created to enhance cooperation between states. The abbreviation stands for "Commonwealth of Independent States". Which states are members of the CIS? The countries that were once part of the former USSR formed the backbone of this international organization.

The leaders of three countries - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus took part in the creation of the organization. The corresponding agreement was signed by them in Belovezhskaya Pushcha in December 1991. By the same step, it was recognized that the Soviet Union, as a state entity, ceased to exist. And so the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was born.

Countries were part of this organization on the principle common history, common roots and closeness of cultures. And the main goal of the future organization was declared to be the desire to develop and deepen relations between young sovereign countries.

Five days after the meeting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the heads of five states also announced their intention to join the Commonwealth on equal terms Central Asia. The main postulates of the organization's activities were declared by its members on December 21, 1991 in Alma-Ata. The last to join the organization were Georgia (in 1993) and Moldova (in 1994). And in January 1993, the Charter, the main document of this Eurasian organization, was approved in Minsk.

An important date in the development of cooperation between members of the organization was October 18, 2011. It was on this day that eight members of the organization created a single free trade zone within the Commonwealth.

CIS countries: list

At the moment, the organization has 9 members. What countries are included in the CIS today?

According to the Charter of the organization, only those countries that have ratified the agreement on its creation are considered members of the CIS. It is worth noting that some of the participating countries (in particular, Russia and Ukraine) have not carried out this formality. Therefore, purely legally (according to papers), they cannot be considered members of the CIS.

The member countries of the organization are listed below. All of them, to a greater or lesser extent, have contributed to the development of this structure. So, the CIS countries (list):

1. Russia.
2. Belarus.
3. Armenia.
4. Azerbaijan.
5. Moldova.
6. Kazakhstan.
7. Kyrgyzstan.
8. Tajikistan.
9. Uzbekistan.

Two more states (these are Turkmenistan and Ukraine) have the status of "observers" in this organization.

In 2009, in connection with the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia Georgia leaves the Commonwealth. In the fall of 2014, the process of withdrawing from the CIS was also initiated in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Among other things, the desire to join the organization was expressed by those states that had nothing to do with the USSR. In particular, we are talking about Mongolia and Afghanistan. Today these countries are observers in separate bodies of the Commonwealth.

The structure and main goals of the CIS

The modern structure of the Commonwealth is represented by several dozen different bodies. All important decisions are discussed and adopted at the Council of Heads of the CIS countries. To date, the head this Council is Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The activity of an international organization is based on the principle of equality of its members. The main objectives of the CIS activities include the following:

• close economic, political and cultural interaction between countries;
• monitoring the observance of human rights in all states;
• providing mutual legal assistance;
• promoting the peaceful settlement of all conflicts and disputes between the CIS member states.

Russia has been closely cooperating with the Commonwealth since the very first year of the organization's existence. Moreover, she is one of the three founders of the CIS.

Cooperation in the Russia-CIS system is carried out in the following areas:

• industry;
• building complex;
• transport system and communications;
• science and higher education;
• trade and finance;
• military defense complex;
• security issues and the fight against terrorism.

Russia has introduced a visa-free regime with all CIS countries. Russia's annual trade turnover with the Commonwealth states is approximately $50 billion. As part of the activities of the organization, close cultural ties between its members are also maintained, which have developed over many years of a common history.

Finally...

The Commonwealth of Independent States is an international organization of a regional scale. Members of the CIS are countries that were previously part of the USSR. This international organization was established in December 1991 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, immediately after the collapse of a powerful superpower.

Ukraine changed its mind about leaving the CIS. On October 13, Kyiv announced that the question of leaving the Commonwealth was no longer on the table. As reported Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Sergei Grinevetsky, it is inexpedient for the republic to leave the CIS from the point of view of economic interests.

Earlier, the Parliament of Ukraine registered a draft law "On the suspension of the agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States." His .

AiF.ru tells what the CIS organization is now.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional international organization designed to regulate relations of cooperation between states that were formerly part of the USSR.

The organization was founded on December 8, 1991, when heads of the RSFSR (Boris Yeltsin), Belarus (Stanislav Shushkevich) and Ukraine (Leonid Kravchuk) signed in Viskuli ( Bialowieza Forest, Belarus) "Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States" (known in the media as the Belovezhskaya Agreement).

The document, which consisted of Preambles and 14 articles, stated that the USSR had ceased to exist as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality. However, based on the historical community of peoples, ties between them, taking into account bilateral agreements, the desire for a democratic rule of law, the intention to develop their relations on the basis of mutual recognition and respect for state sovereignty, the parties agreed to form the Commonwealth of Independent States.

On December 13, 1991, in the city of Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), a meeting was held between the presidents of five Central Asian states that were part of the USSR: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The outcome of the meeting was a Statement in which the countries agreed to join the organization, but subject to equal participation of the subjects of the former Union and the recognition of all CIS states as founders.

On December 21, 1991, the heads of 11 former Soviet republics: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine signed the Alma-Ata Declaration, which set out the goals and principles of the CIS. A protocol to the agreement on the creation of the CIS was also signed.

The last state to ratify the agreement on the creation of the CIS was Moldova (April 8, 1994), which had previously been an associate member of the organization.

At the first meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth, which took place on December 30, 1991 in Minsk, the Interim Agreement on the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States was signed, according to which the supreme body of the organization, the Council of Heads of State, was established. In it, each state has one vote, and decisions are made by consensus. In addition, the "Agreement of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Armed Forces and Border Troops”, according to which the participating states confirmed their legal right to create their own armed forces.

The organizational stage ended in 1993, when on January 22 in Minsk the “Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States”, the founding document of the organization, was adopted.

On October 18, 2011, eight member states of the Commonwealth - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan - signed an agreement on a free trade zone, which replaced more than a hundred bilateral agreements regulating the free trade regime in the Commonwealth.

Countries - members of the CIS:

Observer countries:

• Mongolia
• Afghanistan

CIS principles:

• interaction between the members of the organization is carried out on the principle of equality through coordinating institutions formed on a parity basis and acting in the manner determined by agreements between the members of the Commonwealth, which is neither a state nor a supranational entity;
• unified command of military-strategic forces and unified control over nuclear weapons;
• respect of the parties for the desire to achieve the status of a nuclear-free and (or) neutral state;
• commitment to cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space.

CIS goals:

The goals of the organization are:

• cooperation in the political, economic, environmental, humanitarian, cultural and other fields;
• comprehensive development of the participating states within the framework of the common economic space, interstate cooperation and integration;
• ensuring human rights and freedoms;
• cooperation in providing international peace and security, achieving general and complete disarmament;
• mutual legal assistance;
• peace resolution disputes and conflicts between member states of the organization.

To spheres joint activities participating States include:

• ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms;
• coordination of foreign policy activities;
• cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space, customs policy;
• cooperation in the development of transport and communications systems;
• health and environment;
• issues of social and migration policy;
• combating organized crime;
• cooperation in the field of defense policy and protection of external borders.

Statutory bodies of the CIS:

Bodies of branch cooperation of the CIS:

CIS budget

The approved budget of the CIS bodies for 2014 is 817 million rubles. The largest contribution to the budget falls on the share of the Russian Federation - 521 million rubles. The contribution of Ukraine is 84 million rubles, Kazakhstan - 63, Belarus - 37.

As reported by AiF.ru Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Konstantin Zatulin, the principle of forming the budget of the CIS bodies corresponds to " specific gravity economies of the Commonwealth countries.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), also referred to as the "Russian Commonwealth", is a regional organization whose member countries are former Soviet republics formed during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The CIS is a free association of states. Although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely symbolic organization and nominally has coordinating powers in trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. The CIS also promotes cooperation in cross-border crime prevention. Some of the CIS members formed the Eurasian Economic Community in order to create a full-fledged common market.

History of the CIS

The organization was founded on December 8, 1991 by the Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine when the leaders of the three countries met in nature reserve Belovezhskaya Pushcha, located 50 km north of Brest in Belarus, and signed an agreement on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of the CIS as the successor to the USSR.

At the same time, they announced that the new alliance would be open to all the republics of the former Soviet Union, and other countries sharing the same goals. The Charter of the CIS states that all its members are sovereign and independent states, and thus, in fact, the Soviet Union was abolished.

On December 21, 1991, the leaders of eight other former Soviet republics - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - signed the Alma-Ata protocol and joined the CIS, bringing the number of participating countries to 11. Georgia joined the CIS two years later in December 1993.

Between 2003 and 2005, three CIS member states experienced a change of governments in a series of color revolutions: Eduard Shevardnadze was overthrown in Georgia; Viktor Yushchenko was elected in Ukraine; and Askar Akaev was overthrown in Kyrgyzstan. In February 2006, Georgia withdrew from the Council of CIS Defense Ministers due to the fact that "Georgia has taken a course towards joining NATO, and it cannot be part of two military structures at the same time", but it was still a full member of the CIS until August 2009 year, and withdrew from the CIS a year after the official announcement of the withdrawal immediately after the war in South Ossetia in 2008. In March 2007, Igor Ivanov, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, expressed doubts about the usefulness of the CIS, stressing that the Eurasian Economic Community was becoming a more competent organization, bringing together major countries CIS. Following Georgia's withdrawal from the CIS, the presidents of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan missed the CIS meeting in October 2009, each having their own problems and disagreements with the Russian Federation at the time.

In May 2009, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine joined the Eastern Partnership, a project initiated by the European Union (EU).

Membership in the CIS

The Establishment Agreement remained the main founding document of the CIS until January 1993, when the CIS Charter was adopted. The Charter fixed the concept of membership: a member country is defined as a country that ratifies the CIS Charter. Turkmenistan has not ratified the Charter and has changed its status in the CIS to associate member as of August 26, 2005 in order to comply with the UN recognized status of international neutrality. Although Ukraine was one of the three founding countries and ratified the Agreement Establishing the CIS in December 1991, that country also did not ratify the CIS Charter because it did not agree that Russia was the sole successor to the Soviet Union. At the same time, Ukraine is not officially considered a member of the CIS, although in fact it is a member.

Official members of the CIS

States that have not ratified the CIS Charter

On March 14, 2014, a draft law on withdrawal from the CIS after the annexation of Crimea to Russia was submitted to the Parliament of Ukraine.

Although Ukraine was one of the three founding countries and ratified the Agreement Establishing the CIS in December 1991, Ukraine did not actually ratify the CIS Charter. In 1993 Ukraine became an "Associate Member" of the CIS.

Former member countries of the CIS

CIS Executive Secretaries

Human rights in the CIS

Since its inception, one of the main tasks of the CIS has been to serve as a forum for discussing issues related to the socio-economic development of the newly independent states. To achieve this goal, the Member States agreed on the promotion and protection of human rights. Initially, efforts to achieve this goal consisted of only declarations of good will, but on May 26, 1995, the CIS adopted the Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Even before 1995, the protection of human rights was guaranteed by Article 33 of the CIS Charter, which was adopted in 1991, and the established Human Rights Commission was located in Minsk, Belarus. This was confirmed by the decision of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS in 1993. In 1995, the CIS adopted a human rights treaty that includes civil and political as well as social and economic human rights. This treaty entered into force in 1998. The CIS Treaty was modeled after the European Convention on Human Rights, but lacks strong mechanisms for the implementation of human rights. The CIS treaty defines very vaguely the powers of the Commission on Human Rights. The charter of the Commission on Human Rights, however, is used in the CIS member states as a solution to problems, which gives the Commission the right to interstate as well as individual communications.

The CIS Treaty offers a number of valuable innovations not found in other organizations. Especially regional human rights treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights in terms of the human rights it protects and the remedies. It includes a combination of social and economic rights and rights in vocational education and citizenship. It also offers the opportunity in the countries of the former Soviet Union to deal with human rights issues in a more familiar cultural environment.

However, CIS members, especially in Central Asia are still among the most backward countries in terms of human rights in the world. Many activists point to the 2005 Andijan events in Uzbekistan, or the personality cult of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov in Turkmenistan, to show that there has been little to no improvement in human rights since the collapse of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. The consolidation of power by President Vladimir Putin has led to a steady decline in the modest progress of the past years in Russia. The Commonwealth of Independent States continues to face significant challenges in achieving even basic international standards.

Military structures of the CIS

The CIS Charter determines the activities of the Council of Defense Ministers, which is empowered to coordinate military cooperation between the CIS member states. To this end, the Council develops conceptual approaches to the issues of military and defense policy of the CIS member states; develops proposals aimed at preventing armed conflicts on the territory of the Member States or with their participation; gives expert opinions on draft treaties and agreements related to issues of defense and military developments; brings issues related to proposals and initiatives to the attention of the Council of CIS Heads of State. Also important is the work of the Council on the convergence of legal acts in the field of defense and military construction.

An important manifestation of the integration processes in the field of military and defense cooperation between the CIS member states is the creation in 1995 of a joint CIS air defense system. Over the years, the number of servicemen of the joint air defense system of the CIS has doubled along the western European border of the CIS and 1.5 times on the southern borders.

CIS related organizations

CIS Free Trade Area (CISFTA)

In 1994, the CIS countries "agreed" to create a free trade zone (FTA), but never signed the corresponding agreements. An agreement on a CIS FTA would unite all members except Turkmenistan.

In 2009, a new agreement was signed to start the creation of the CIS FTA (CISFTA). In October 2011, a new free trade agreement was signed by eight of the eleven prime ministers of the CIS countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine at a meeting in St. Petersburg. As of 2013, it has been ratified by Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Armenia, and is valid only between these states.

The free trade agreement eliminates export and import duties on a number of goods, but also contains a number of exemptions that will eventually be removed. An agreement was also signed on the basic principles of foreign exchange regulation and foreign exchange control in the CIS countries at the same meeting in October 2011.

Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC)

The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) emerged from the customs union between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan on March 29, 1996. It was named EurAsEC on October 10, 2000, when Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed the relevant agreement. The EurAsEC was formally created when the treaty was finally ratified by all five member states in May 2001. Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine have observer status. The EurAsEC is working to create a common energy market and explore more effective use waters in Central Asia.

Organization of Central Asian Cooperation (CACO)

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan formed the CACO in 1991 as the Central Asian Commonwealth (CAC). The organization continued its work in 1994 as the Central Asian economic union(CAPS), in which Tajikistan and Turkmenistan did not participate. In 1998, it became known as the Central Asian Economic Cooperation (CAEC), which marked the return of Tajikistan. On February 28, 2002, it was renamed to its current name. Russia joined the CACO on May 28, 2004. On October 7, 2005, it was decided between the member states that Uzbekistan would join the Eurasian Economic Community and that the organizations would be merged.

The organizations joined on January 25, 2006. It is not yet clear what will happen to the status of current CACO observers who are not observers in the EurAsEC (Georgia and Turkey).

Common Economic Space (SES)

After a discussion on the creation of a single economic space between the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, an agreement in principle was reached on the creation of this space after a meeting in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow on February 23, 2003. The Common Economic Space envisaged the creation of a supranational commission on trade and tariffs, which is based in Kyiv, will initially be headed by a representative of Kazakhstan and will not be subordinate to the governments of the four countries. The ultimate goal will be regional organization, which will be open to accession for other countries as well, and may eventually even lead to a single currency.

On May 22, 2003, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) voted with 266 votes and 51 against in favor of creating a joint economic space. However, most believe that Viktor Yushchenko's victory in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election was a significant blow to the organization: Yushchenko showed a renewed interest in Ukraine's membership in the European Union, and such membership would be incompatible with membership in the single economic space. Yushchenko's successor Viktor Yanukovych declared on April 27, 2010 "Ukraine's entry into Customs Union Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is not possible today, as the economic principles and laws of the WTO do not allow to do this, and we are developing our policy in accordance with the principles of the WTO.” Ukraine at that time was already a member of the WTO, while the rest of the CIS countries were not.

Thus, in 2010, the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia was created, and the creation of a single market was envisaged in 2012.

Organization of the collective security(CSTO)

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or simply the Tashkent Treaty first started as the CIS Collective Security Treaty, which was signed on May 15, 1992 by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the city of Tashkent. Azerbaijan signed the treaty on September 24, 1993, Georgia on December 9, 1993, and Belarus on December 31, 1993. The treaty entered into force on April 20, 1994.

The Collective Security Treaty was signed for a period of 5 years. On April 2, 1999, only six members of the CSTO signed a protocol to extend the treaty for another five-year period, while Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to sign it and withdrew from the treaty; together with Moldova and Ukraine, they formed a more pro-Western, pro-American group known as "GUAM" (Georgia, Uzbekistan/Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova). The organization was named CSTO on October 7, 2002 in Tashkent. Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed General Secretary new organization. During 2005, CSTO partners held several joint military exercises. In 2005, Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM, and on June 23, 2006, Uzbekistan became a full member of the CSTO, and its membership was officially ratified by Parliament on March 28, 2008. The CSTO is an observer organization on General Assembly United Nations.

The CSTO Charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to refrain from the use of force or the threat of force. Signatories cannot join other military alliances or other groups of states, while aggression against one signatory will be perceived as aggression against all. To this end, the CSTO annually conducts military command exercises of the CSTO members in order to be able to improve cooperation within the organization. Large-scale military exercises of the CSTO were held in Armenia and were called "Frontier-2008". They involved a total of 4,000 military personnel from all 7 CSTO member countries to conduct operational, strategic and tactical exercises with an emphasis on further improving the efficiency of the elements of collective protection of CSTO partners.

May 2007 general secretary CSTO Nikolai Bordyuzha invited Iran to join the CSTO, "CSTO is open organization. If Iran is willing to act in accordance with our charter, we will consider joining." If Iran joined the CSTO, it would be the first state outside the former Soviet Union to become a member of the organization.

On October 6, 2007, the CSTO members agreed to significantly expand the organization, in particular, to introduce the ability to create peacekeeping force CSTO, which could be deployed under a UN mandate or without it in the CSTO member states. The expansion will also allow all members to purchase Russian weapons at the same price as in Russia. CSTO signed an agreement with Shanghai Organization Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Tajik capital Dushanbe to expand cooperation on issues such as security, crime and drug trafficking.

On August 29, 2008, Russia announced its intention to seek CSTO recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, three days after official recognition these republics by Russia. On September 5, 2008, Armenia assumed the chairmanship of the CSTO during the CSTO meeting in Moscow, Russia.

In October 2009, Ukraine refused to allow the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center to conduct anti-terrorist exercises on its territory because the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits the stationing of foreign military units on its territory.

The largest military exercise ever conducted by the CSTO, involving up to 12,000 troops, was held between September 19 and 27, 2011 in order to increase readiness and coordination in the field of anti-destabilization methods in order to counter any attempts at popular uprisings, such as the Arab Spring.

CIS Observer Mission

The CIS Election Observation Organization is an election observation body that was formed in October 2002, following a meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which adopted the Convention on Standards for Democratic Elections, voting rights and freedoms in the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. CIS-EMO sent election observers to CIS member countries; CIS observers endorsed many of the elections, which were heavily criticized by independent observers.

The democratic nature of the final round of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election that followed the Orange Revolution and brought the former opposition to power was fraught with irregularities, according to CIS observers, while the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found no significant problems. This was the first time that the CIS monitoring team challenged the legitimacy of the elections, saying they should be considered illegitimate. On March 15, 2005, in connection with this fact, Ukraine suspended its participation in the CIS election observation organization.

The CIS praised the 2005 parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan as "legitimate, free and transparent", while the OSCE described the Uzbek elections as "significantly inconsistent with OSCE commitments and other international standards democratic elections."

The Moldovan authorities refused to invite CIS observers to the 2005 Moldovan parliamentary elections, a move that was heavily criticized in Russia. Many dozens of observers from Belarus and Russia were stopped at the Moldovan border.

CIS observers followed the 2005 parliamentary elections in Tajikistan and eventually declared them "legal, free and transparent." The same elections were described by the OSCE as not meeting international standards for democratic elections.

Shortly after the CIS Observers hailed the 2005 Kyrgyz parliamentary elections as "well organized, free and fair", large-scale and often violent demonstrations erupted across the country in protest, in which the opposition announced fraud in the parliamentary elections. The OSCE reported that the elections did not meet international standards in many areas.

International observers from the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly said that the 2010 local elections in Ukraine were well organized, while the Council of Europe identified a number of problems with the new electoral law approved just before the elections, and the administration of US President Barack Obama criticized the conduct elections, stating that they "did not meet the standards of openness and fairness."

Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS

The Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS, which began its work in March 1995, is an advisory parliamentary wing of the CIS, created to discuss the problems of parliamentary cooperation. The Assembly held its 32nd plenary meeting in St. Petersburg on 14 May 2009. Ukraine participates in the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS, while Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan do not participate.

The status of the Russian language in the CIS

Russia has repeatedly called for the Russian language to receive official status in all CIS member states. So far, Russian is an official language in only four of these states: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Russian is also considered an official language in the region of Transnistria, as well as in the autonomous region of Gagauzia in Moldova. Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow-backed presidential candidate in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, has announced his intention to make Russian the second official language in Ukraine. However, Viktor Yushchenko, the winner, did not. In early 2010, in connection with his election to the presidency, Yanukovych announced (March 9, 2010) that "Ukraine will continue to consider the Ukrainian language as the only state language."

Sports events of the CIS

At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, its sports teams were invited to or qualified for various sporting events in 1992. The unified CIS team competed at the winter Olympic Games and the 1992 Summer Olympics, and the CIS football team participated in Euro 1992. The CIS bandy team played several friendly games in January 1992 and made its last public appearance in 1992 at the Russian Government Cup, where it also played against the new Russian national bandy team. The 1991-1992 bandy championship of the Soviet Union was renamed the CIS championship. Since then, CIS members have competed against each other separately in international sports.

Economic indicators of the CIS countries

United Nations Statistics Division and CIA data

The countries of the near abroad of Russia were formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992. There are 14 in total. These include those that were former Soviet socialist republics. Later they became Each of them differs in spiritual, cultural, political directions. In economic terms, they are independent from Russia, but they are trading partners, on a par with European countries. It is worth noting that before the collapse of the USSR, such a term as "the near abroad" did not exist.

Near Abroad: features of the concept

It is noteworthy that some neighboring countries have no borders with the Russian Federation. These include 6 post-Soviet Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and others). Moreover, there are countries in the world that border on Russia, but are not part of the "near abroad", for example, Poland, China, Norway, Finland, etc. Based on the above, it becomes clear that this is not the case. geographical location states. The main factor here is the political situation, because for about 70 years the countries of the near abroad were one whole.

List of countries

Baltic countries:

• Lithuania is the largest Baltic state in terms of area (65.3 thousand km 2). The capital is the city of Vilnius. By type of government - parliamentary - about 3 million people.
• Latvia is located in the northern part of Europe. It has common borders with the state - about 64.6 thousand km 2. The population is just under 2 million people. The capital is the city of Riga.
• Estonia is the smallest state among the Baltic countries (the area is more than 45 thousand km 2). The capital is the city of Tallinn. It has borders with Russia, Latvia and Finland. The population is about 1.3 million people.

The continuation of the list will consist of the following states, the description of which can be found below in the article.

• Azerbaijan.
• Ukraine.
• Belarus.
• Kazakhstan.
• Georgia.
• Moldova is located in the southeastern part of Europe. It has common borders with Romania and the state - almost 34 thousand km 2. About 3.5 million people live in this area.
• Armenia is a country of the Caucasus. The capital is Yerevan. The area is about 30 thousand km 2. long time was in a military conflict with Azerbaijan. The population is about 3 million people.

Near abroad countries (list of former republics of Central and Central Asia):

• Uzbekistan borders on five states: Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. It occupies a territory with an area slightly less than 450 thousand km 2. The number of inhabitants is almost 32 million people.
• Turkmenistan is a country that has access to the Caspian Sea. The capital is the city of the state - about 490 thousand km 2, the population is more than 5 million people.
• Tajikistan is located in Central Asia. It occupies an area of ​​142 thousand km 2. More than 8.5 million people live here permanently. The capital is Dushanbe.
• Kyrgyzstan is a country located in Central Asia. It has borders with China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Kazakhstan. The capital is the city of Bishkek. The population is about 6 million people, the area is slightly less than 200 thousand km 2.

Azerbaijan

Among the countries of the near abroad, one can note the State is located in the Eastern Transcaucasia and is washed by the waters of the Caspian Sea. Its territory is 86.6 thousand km 2, and the population is more than 9 million people. According to these two parameters, Azerbaijan is the largest Transcaucasian state. The capital is the city of Baku.

AT last years This republic has significantly increased the economic level. This is especially noticeable when comparing other neighboring countries. The oil and gas industries are the most developed here. Azerbaijan has not only a land border with the Russian Federation, but also a sea border. In 1996, in accordance with an agreement between these countries, the Baku-Novorossiysk route was built to transport oil. And in 2006, a Trade Representation of Russia was opened in the Azerbaijani capital.

Belarus

The list of "countries of the near abroad of Russia" is replenished by the Republic of Belarus. This state is located in Eastern Europe. The capital is Minsk. The territory is more than 200 thousand km 2, and the population is about 9.5 million inhabitants. It borders with the Russian Federation on the eastern side. Most of all, in terms of economic indicators, Belarus is well known in mechanical engineering and agriculture. And the most important foreign trade partner is Russia. In addition, these two countries have strong military, political and economic relations. The Embassy of Belarus is not only in Moscow, but also in other Russian cities.

Georgia

The Russian Federation also has diplomatic relations with such a neighboring country as Georgia. This state is located in Western Transcaucasia and is washed by the waters of the Black Sea. From the eastern and northern parts it borders on Russia. The territory is about 70 thousand km 2, and the population is more than 3.7 million people. The capital is the city of Tbilisi. The food, light and metallurgical industries are most developed here. After the collapse of the Union in 1992, Russia and Georgia signed the Sochi Treaty.

Kazakhstan

The Republic of Kazakhstan is also on the list of "Nearest Abroad Countries". It has close relations with the Russian Federation. Its population is more than 17.7 million inhabitants, and the territory is 2.7 million km 2. The capital is Astana. In second place after Russia in terms of economic indicators among all post-Soviet countries. It has a land and sea border with the Federation along the Caspian Sea. Same as above listed countries, in 1992 an agreement was signed on diplomatic relations between the countries.

Ukraine

Of all the neighboring countries, Ukraine is closest to Russia. These two states have common borders. The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv. The territory is more than 600 thousand km 2, and the population is 42.5 thousand inhabitants. This country is industrial-agrarian. Heavy industry, metalworking and mechanical engineering are widely developed. Since 2014, hostilities have been taking place in the eastern part of the state, which have led not only to a decrease in the population, but also in the level of the economy.

That's all the countries of the near abroad. The list of countries in full with a brief description is given above.