ex-USSR

The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that were union republics of the Soviet Union, which emerged and re-emerged from the Soviet Union following its dissolution in 1991.

Russia is the primary ''de facto'' internationally recognized successor state to the Soviet Union after the Cold War; while Ukraine has, by law, proclaimed that it is a state-successor of both the Ukrainian SSR and the Soviet Union which remained under dispute over formerly Soviet-owned properties.

The three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – were the first to declare their independence from the USSR, between March and May 1990, claiming continuity from the original states that existed prior to their annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940. The remaining 12 republics all subsequently seceded, all 12 of which joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and most of the 12 joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). In contrast, the Baltic states focused on European Union (EU) and NATO membership. EU officials have stressed the importance of Association Agreements between the EU and post-Soviet states.

Several disputed states with varying degrees of recognition exist within the territory of the former Soviet Union: Transnistria in eastern Moldova, Abkhazia and South Ossetia in northern Georgia and Artsakh in southwestern Azerbaijan. Since 2014, the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in far eastern Ukraine have claimed independence. All of these unrecognized states except Artsakh depend on Russian armed support and financial aid. Artsakh is integrated to Armenia at a de-facto level, which also maintains close cooperation with Russia. Prior to its annexation to Russia in March 2014, which is not recognized by most countries, Crimea briefly declared itself an independent state.

In the political language of Russia and some other post-Soviet states, the term ''near abroad'' (Russian ) refers to the independent republics that emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Increasing usage of the term in English is connected to assertions of Russia's right to maintain significant influence in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the region to be a component of Russia's " sphere of influence", and strategically vital to Russian interests. The concept has been compared to the Monroe Doctrine.

Country comparison

The 15 states may be divided into four subregions. Not included in these categories are the several de facto independent states presently lacking international recognition (read below: Separatist conflicts).

Current leaders

Heads of state

File:Vahagn Khachaturyan portrait (cropped).jpg, Armenia
Vahagn Khachaturyan
President of Armenia
File:Ilham Aliyev 2020 (cropped).jpg, Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev
President of Azerbaijan
File:Lukashenko (October 2019) (cropped).jpg, Belarus
Alexander Lukashenko
President of Belarus
File:Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Estonian President Karis in Kyiv 2022 (13) (cropped).jpg, Estonia
Alar Karis
President of Estonia
File:Victory Day - Europe Day 2020 Address Photo of Salome Zourabichvili (cropped).jpg, Georgia
Salome Zourabichvili
President of Georgia
File:Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2022-06-17) (cropped).jpg, Kazakhstan
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
President of Kazakhstan
File:President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov.jpg, Kyrgyzstan
Sadyr Japarov
President of Kyrgyzstan
File:Sergio Mattarella and Latvian President Levits at the 16th Arraiolos meeting (2) (cropped).jpg, Latvia
Egils Levits
President of Latvia
File:Gitanas Nauseda crop.png, Lithuania
Gitanas Nausėda
President of Lithuania
File:Sergio Mattarella e Maia Sandu al Quirinale 2021 (8) (cropped).jpg, Moldova
Maia Sandu
President of Moldova
File:Владимир Путин (08-09-2022) 2.png, Russia
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
File:Emomali Rahmon in 2016 (cropped).jpg, Tajikistan
Emomali Rahmon
President of Tajikistan
File:Vladimir Putin and Serdar Berdimuhamedow (2022-06-10) 02 (cropped).jpg, Turkmenistan
Serdar Berdimuhamedow
President of TurkmenistanHolds both presidency and executive powers as the Prime Minister of Turkmenistan role was abolished.
File:For every act of terrorism by Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine there will be an international tribunal - address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (51940800012) (cropped).jpg, Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
File:Shavkat Mirziyoyev.jpg, Uzbekistan
Shavkat Mirziyoyev
President of Uzbekistan

Heads of government

File:Nikol Pashinyan 01 (07-04-2021).jpg, Armenia
Nikol Pashinyan
Prime Minister of Armenia
File:Ali Asadov (2019-12-17).jpg, Azerbaijan
Ali Asadov
Prime Minister of Azerbaijan
File:Roman Golovchenko (2020-09-03)(portrait).jpg, Belarus
Roman Golovchenko
Prime Minister of Belarus
File:Kaja Kallas (crop).jpg, Estonia
Kaja Kallas
Prime Minister of Estonia
File:Irakli Gharibashvili (16211044716).jpg, Georgia
Irakli Garibashvili
Prime Minister of Georgia
File:Alihan Smayilov (26074) (cropped).jpg, Kazakhstan
Älihan Smaiylov
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
File:Акылбек Жапаров (19-11-2021).jpg, Kyrgyzstan
Akylbek Dzaparov
Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan
File:Krišjānis Kariņš 2019 (cropped).jpg, Latvia
Krišjānis Kariņš
Prime Minister of Latvia
File:Ingrida Simonyte 2019 crop 2.jpg, Lithuania
Ingrida Šimonytė
Prime Minister of Lithuania
File:Natalia Gavrilița - jun 2019.jpg, Moldova
Natalia Gavrilița
Prime Minister of Moldova
File:Mikhail Mishustin (2020-07-09).jpg, Russia
Mikhail Mishustin
Prime Minister of Russia
File:Kokhir Rasulzoda (2018-04-19).jpg, Tajikistan
Kokhir Rasulzoda
Prime Minister of Tajikistan
File:Vladimir Putin and Serdar Berdimuhamedow (2022-06-10) 02 (cropped).jpg, Turkmenistan
Serdar Berdimuhamedow
President of Turkmenistan
File:Денис Шмигаль (08-12-2020) (cropped).jpg, Ukraine
Denys Shmyhal
Prime Minister of Ukraine
File:Abdulla Aripov (2019-05-30).jpg, Uzbekistan
Abdulla Aripov
Prime Minister of Uzbekistan

Economy

The dissolution of the Soviet Union took place as a result and against the backdrop of general economic stagnation, even regression. As the Gosplan, which had set up production chains to cross SSR lines, broke down, the inter-republic economic connections were also disrupted, leading to even more serious breakdown of the post-Soviet economies.

Most of the formerly Soviet states began the transition to a market economy from a command economy in 1990–1991 and made efforts to rebuild and restructure their economic systems, with varying results. In all, the process triggered severe economic declines, with gross domestic product (GDP) dropping by more than 40% overall between 1990 and 1995. This decline in GDP was much more intense than the 27% decline that the United States suffered in the wake of the Great Depression between 1930 and 1934. The reconfiguration of public finance in compliance with capitalist principles resulted in dramatically reduced spending on health, education and other social programs, leading to a sharp increase in poverty and economic inequality. The economic shocks associated with wholesale privatization resulted in the excess deaths of roughly 1 million working age individuals throughout the former Soviet bloc in the 1990s. A study by economist Steven Rosefielde asserts that 3.4 million Russians died premature deaths from 1990 to 1998, partly as the result of "shock therapy" imposed by the Washington Consensus.

The initial transition decline was eventually arrested by the cumulative effect of market reforms, and after 1995 the economy in the post-Soviet states began to recover, with GDP switching from negative to positive growth rates. A good example could be considered Armenia as its government worked on the stabilization of the economy between 1994-1995 and succeeded in decreasing the inflation rate of the country from 4 to 2 digits by 1996. By 2007, 10 of the 15 post-Soviet states had recovered and reached GDP greater than what they had in 1991. According to economist Branko Milanović in 2015, many former Soviet Republics and Warsaw Pact countries still have not caught up to their levels of output during the twilight of the Soviet era, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. He concluded that "only 1 out of 10 people living in "transition" countries have seen a successful transition to capitalism and more democracy." Commenting on Milanović's report in 2021, Kristen Ghodsee says this view is "essentially correct" and perhaps underestimates "the negative impacts of transition by focusing only on GDP, inequality and democratic consolidation" whereas Mitchell A. Orenstein says this view is "overly pessimistic" and notes that "living standards had increased in many countries."

The economic changes were in harmony with the constitutional reforms, while provisions on public finances can be identified and in some countries, a separate chapter deals with public finances. Most of the constitutions define directly or indirectly the economic system of the countries parallel to the democratic transition of the 1990s: free market economy, which sometimes complemented with the social or socially (and ecologically) oriented attribute, economic development, or only the economic rights are included as a ground for the economy. In the case of fiscal policy, the legislative, the executive and other state organs (Budget Council, Economic and Social Council) define and manage the budgeting. The average government debt in the countries is nearly 44%, but the deviation is great, because the lowest figure is close to 10% but the highest is 97%. The trend shows, that the sovereign debt ratio to GDP in most of the countries has been rising. The constitutional background for taxation is similar. The contribution to cover the finances for common needs is declared, the principle of just tax burden sharing is supplemented sometimes with special aspects. Tax revenues expose typically 15 – 19% of the GDP, and rates above 20% only rarely can be found. The state audit of the government budget and expenditures is an essential control element in public finances, and an important part of the concept of checks and balances. The central banks are independent state institutions, which possess the monopoly on managing and implementing a state's or federation's monetary policy. Besides monetary policy, some of them even perform the supervision of the financial intermediary system. In the case of price stability function, the inflation rate, in the examined area, relatively quickly dropped to below 5% by 2000. The majority of the constitutions determine the national currency, legal tender or monetary unit. The local currency exchange rate to U.S. dollar shows that drastic interventions were not necessary. National wealth or assets are the property of the state and/or the local governments, and as an exclusive property, the management and protection of them aim at serving the public interest.

Change in gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices, 1991–2015

*Economy of most Soviet republics started to decline in 1989–1990, thus indices for 1991 do not match pre-reform maximums.

**The year when GDP decline switched to GDP growth.

List of the present gross domestic product (GDP) (figures are given in 2021 United States dollars for the year 2021 according to the IMF)

Developmental progress

The post-Soviet states listed according to their Human Development Index scores in 2021.

Very High Human Development:

* : 0.890
* : 0.875
* : 0.863
* : 0.822
* : 0.811
* : 0.808
* : 0.802

High Human Development:

* : 0.773
* : 0.767
* : 0.759
* : 0.745
* : 0.745
* : 0.727

Medium Human Development:

* : 0.692
* : 0.685

Regional organizations

A number of regional organizations and cooperating blocs have sprung up since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Only organizations that are mainly (or completely) composed of post-Soviet states are listed in this section; organizations with wider memberships are not discussed. The 15 post-Soviet states are divided in their participation to the regional blocs:
* Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in December 1991. It was conceived as a successor organization to the USSR, and in December 1993 it included 12 of the 15 former Soviet republics (except the three Baltic states). It currently consists of nine of the 15 former Soviet republics, with one associate state ( Turkmenistan). Georgia withdrew from the CIS in August 2008, while Ukraine stopped participating from the CIS in May 2018.
* The three Baltic states have not sought membership in any of these post-Soviet organizations, seeking and achieving membership in the European Union and NATO instead, although their electricity and rail systems remain closely connected with former Soviet organizations. The sole exception to the above has been their recent membership in the Community of Democratic Choice.
* The Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (as well as Belarus) are members of the CIS and participate in several regional organizations that have Russia as a primary mover. Such organizations are the Eurasian Economic Community (later merged with Eurasian Economic Union, which Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are not members of), Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The last two groups only became distinct once Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM and sought membership in EurAsEc and CSTO (which it subsequently withdrew from in 2008 and 2012, respectively).
* Armenia, besides its membership in CIS participates in Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union.
* Moldova and Azerbaijan participate in the CIS but other than that they mostly cooperate within regional organizations that are not dominated by Russia. Such organizations are GUAM and the Community of Democratic Choice. Although Ukraine is one of the three founding countries of the CIS, it is legally not a member because it has never ratified the 1993 CIS Charter.Ratification status of CIS documents as of 15 January 2008
(Russian).
* Turkmenistan is an associate member of CIS (having withdrawn from full membership in August 2005)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 29 August 2005. and a member in the Economic Cooperation Organization; it has not sought closer integration in any of the other Western or post-Soviet organizations.
* In 2008, Georgia notified the CIS executive bodies of its decision to leave the regional organization,Georgian parliament votes to withdraw from CIS
on BBC News, 14 August 2008.Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on Georgia's withdrawal from CIS
, 18 August 2008. and according to the CIS Charter (sec. 1, art. 9) this decision went into force 12 months after the notification date.
22 January 1993 (unofficial English translation).

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) consists of 10 former Soviet Republics that differ in their membership status. As of December 2010, 9 countries have ratified the CIS charter and are full CIS members (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), one country (Turkmenistan) is an associate member and two countries (Georgia, Ukraine) left the organization in 2009 and in 2018. In 2014, Ukraine declined its CIS chairmanship and considered withdrawal from the organization.

In 1994, the CIS countries agreed to create a free trade area, but the agreements were never signed. On 19 October 2011, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine signed a free trade agreement. Uzbekistan joined the free trade area in 2013.

Eurasian Economic Community

The Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC), formerly the CIS Customs Union, was established by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Ukraine and Moldova have observer status in the community; however, Ukraine has declared its desire not to become a full member state. Because having common borders with the rest of the community is a prerequisite for full membership, Moldova is barred from seeking it. Uzbekistan applied for membership in October 2005, when the process of merging Central Asian Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community began; it joined on 25 January 2006. Uzbekistan subsequently suspended its membership in 2008.

On 10 October 2014 an agreement on the termination of the Eurasian Economic Community was signed in Minsk after a session of the Interstate Council of the EAEC. The Eurasian Economic Community was terminated from 1 January 2015 in connection with the launch of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia

Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan created a customs union that entered into force in July 2010. Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan indicated interest in joining at the time. Russia has been eager for Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine to join the custom union instead of the European Union, and the Moldovan break-away state of Transnistria has supported this. In 2013, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia announced plans to seek membership, but division over the issue in Ukraine led to the Revolution of Dignity after the Ukrainian government backed out of an EU Eastern Partnership in favor of the union. In 2014, voters in the Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia rejected closer ties to the EU in favor of the union.

On 1 January 2012, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus established the Single Economic Space which ensures the effective functioning of a single market for goods, services, capital and labour, and to establish coherent industrial, transport, energy and agricultural policies.Ukraine cannot get observer status at Eurasian Econ Union due to Association Agreement with EU, Russia
Interfax-Ukraine (14 June 2013) The agreement included a roadmap for future integration and established the Eurasian Economic Commission (modelled on the European Commission). The Eurasian Economic Commission serves as the regulatory agency for the Eurasian Customs Union, the Single Economic Space and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Eurasian Economic Union

The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic union of post-Soviet states. The treaty aiming for the establishment of the EAEU was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and came into force on 1 January 2015. Treaties aiming for Armenia's and Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union were signed on 9 October 2014 and 23 December respectively. Armenia's accession treaty came into force on 2 January 2015. Although Kyrgyzstan's accession treaty will not come into force until May 2015, provided it has been ratified, it will participate in the EAEU from the day of its establishment as an acceding state. Moldova and Tajikistan are prospective members.

Collective Security Treaty Organization

Seven CIS member states, namely Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Armenia, have enhanced their military cooperation, establishing the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), this being an expansion of the previous Collective Security Treaty (CST). Uzbekistan which (alongside Georgia and Azerbaijan) withdrew from the CST in 1999, joined GUAM. Then in 2005, it withdrew from GUAM and joined the CSTO in 2006. On 28 June 2012, Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the CSTO.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Three former Soviet states are members of NATO: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Georgia, where both public opinion and the ruling government favor NATO membership, is in the Intensified Dialogue program with NATO. Ukraine also declared joining NATO as its geopolitical goal once again in 2017 (the first time being right after the Orange Revolution and in the beginning of presidency of Viktor Yushchenko), after the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, during which the government officially declared neutrality and ceased to seek NATO membership.

Other states in the Partnership for Peace and Individual Partnership Action Plan program include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

GUAM

Four member states, namely Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, established the GUAM group that was largely seen as intending to counter Russian dominance in the region. Notably, these four nations do not participate in any of the other regional organizations that sprang up in the region since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (other than the CIS).

Union State

The Union State of Russia and Belarus was originally formed on 2 April 1996 under the name ''Commonwealth of Russia and Belarus'', before being tightened further on 8 December 1999. It was initiated by the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. On paper, the Union of Russia and Belarus intends further integration, beyond the scope of mere cooperation, including the introduction of the rouble as a common currency.

Other regional organizations

Economic Cooperation Organization

The Economic Cooperation Organization was originally formed in 1985 by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan but in 1992 the organization was expanded to include Afghanistan and the six primarily Muslim former Soviet republics: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations

The post-Soviet disputed states of Abkhazia, Artsakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria are all members of the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations which aims to forge closer integration.

Community of Democratic Choice

The Community of Democratic Choice (CDC) was formed in December 2005 at the primary instigation of Ukraine and Georgia, and composed of six post-Soviet states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and three other countries of Eastern and Central Europe ( Slovenia, Romania and North Macedonia). The Black Sea Forum (BSF) is a closely related organization. Observer countries include Armenia, Bulgaria, and Poland.

Just like GUAM before it, this forum is largely seen as intending to counteract Russian influence in the area. This is the only international forum centered in the post-Soviet space in which the Baltic countries also participate. In addition, the other three post-Soviet states in it are all members of GUAM.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), is composed of China and five post-Soviet states, namely Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The organization was founded in 2001, though its predecessor, the Shanghai Five grouping, has existed since 1996. Its aims revolve around security-related issues such as border
demarcation, terrorism and energy.

Economic cooperation organizations

* Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) with Moldova (it includes also non post-Soviet countries of the former Yugoslavia; previously, also included other Central European countries that left CEFTA when joining the European Union; CEFTA plays a role in Central Europe similar to what European Free Trade Association (EFTA) provides in Western Europe for non EU-members; this alliance an economical organization with strong cooperation with the European Union, for countries that do not want to participate in EurAsEC centered on Russia but that are seeking alliances to the West); even if Moldova is the only CEFTA country that is still within a weakening CIS, it no longer participates to the CSTO for most of the common security policy (but cannot join the EU because of incompatibility with WEU stability rules and the unsolved problem of Transnistria) but can still benefit from the Free Trade Area notably with Romania and Bulgaria (in the EU).
* Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) with Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkey, Albania, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Armenia (an economic organisation closely related to the SCO but more focused regionally to include also Armenia; it also aims for the harmonious development of democracy for increasing the commerce in South-East Europe and includes some EU members, so it cannot be a regional free-trade union).
* The European Union (EU) with the three Baltic countries that were the first ones to declare independence from the former USSR have never joined CIS after the collapse of USSR (it includes also now some post-communist countries in Central Europe, that have left CEFTA when entering the EU : Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia).

Political integration and security alliances

* Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SPforSEE) with Moldova (similar in structure to CEFTA, but does not focus on economy but security, for those countries that are not NATO members); this organization largely cooperates with NATO, and is related to the group of observers at Western European Union (WEU).
* The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Central European countries that have also joined the EU (the EU membership includes also WEU membership because they follow the Common Foreign and Security Policy and European Security and Defence Policy policies shared now by the EU, the WEU and all European NATO members).
* The other remaining countries are those part of the former Yugoslavia, but their recent conflict and political tensions still does not allow them to cooperate efficiently for their political integration and for their mutual security; in addition, they still do not have full sovereignty in this domain (some of them are still under surveillance by EU or NATO, as mandated by UNO). They still need to find an internal stability and they can collaborate economically with the help of other organizations focusing on economy or political cooperation and development. However a more limited cooperation for security is possible through their membership to the larger Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
* The only exception is Belarus (whose post-soviet democratic transition did not occur) that still rejects political integration, and all security alliances with NATO, OSCE, WEU or other countries in Europe other than Russia (which the process of reintegration of Belarus has been tightened in almost all domains).

Organizations in other domains

* Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) with Moldova (similar to SPforSEE, but focuses on political integration than cooperation for security, and to CEFTA but does not focus on trade).
* Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) with Moldova (closely related to SEECP).
* Central European Initiative (CEI) with Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus (and also Central and South-Western European countries in the European Union; it aims at helping Eastern European countries to reach the EU standards and cooperate politically and find a better economic development and a strong, working but more democratic legal system); it is the only regional organization where Belarus is still a member (but the political cooperation with Belarus is almost stalled, as it is the only country of the former Communist bloc country that balances in favor of stronger cooperation with Russia and against integration with EU and NATO; however Belarus remains isolated and still does not cooperate too in the SCO group led by Russia and China).
* Black Sea Forum for Partnership and Dialogue (BSF) with Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Armenia (also non post-soviet countries that are NATO members, interested in their maintaining political stability and avoiding conflicts in the region: Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, whose first two are also now EU and CEI members, using EU rules for their political development); however this organization does not focus on helping countries to join the EU, but reaching common standards and good governance and internal stability and democracy like in the CEI.
* Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations

Other organizations

Apart from above, the former Soviet republics also hold membership in a number of multinational organizations such as:

* FIBA
* FIFA
* International Ice Hockey Federation
* International Olympic Committee
* International Paralympic Committee
* Kontinental Hockey League (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Russia)
* UNESCO
* World Health Organization
* World Trade Organization

Politics

Regarding political freedom in the former Soviet republics, Freedom House's 2021 report listed the following:
* Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as "free" countries.
* Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine were listed as "partly free".
* Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were listed as "not free".

Similarly, the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders in 2022 recorded the following as regards press freedom:
* Estonia — "Good situation"
* Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova — "Satisfactory situation"
* Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine — "Problematic situation"
* Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan — "Difficult situation"
* Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkmenistan — "Very serious situation"

It has been remarked that several post-Soviet states did not change leadership for decades since their independence, such as Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan until his surprise resignation in 2019, and Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, until his death in September 2016. All of these had originally more limited terms but through decrees or referendums prolonged their stay in office (a practice also followed by Presidents Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan). Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan had likewise served as President since its independence until he was forced to resign as a result of the Kyrgyz revolution of 2005. Saparmurat Niyazov in Turkmenistan ruled from independence until his death in 2006, creating a personality cult around himself. His successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, has maintained a personality cult of his own that has replaced the worshipping of Niyazov.

The issue of dynastical succession has been another element affecting the politics of some post-Soviet States. Heydar Aliyev, after constructing an extensive and ongoing cult of personality, handed the Presidency of Azerbaijan to his son, Ilham Aliyev. Theories about the children of other leaders in Central Asia being groomed for succession abound. The participation of Akayev's son and daughter in the 2005 Kyrgyz parliamentary elections

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