The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

. It was formed following the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation in economic, political and military affairs and has certain powers relating to the coordination of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. It has also promoted cooperation on cross-border crime prevention. As the Soviet Union disintegrated,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

signed the Belovezh Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring that the Union had effectively ceased to exist and proclaimed the CIS in its place. On 21 December, the Alma-Ata Protocol was signed. The

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

(

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

and Lithuania), which regard their membership in the Soviet Union as an illegal occupation, chose not to participate.

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

withdrew its membership in 2008 following the

Russo-Georgian War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

formally ended its participation in CIS statutory bodies in 2018, although it had stopped participating in the organization much earlier. Eight of the nine CIS member states participate in the

CIS Free Trade Area Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free-trade area among Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Five CISFTA participants, all except Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldo ...

. Three organizations originated from the CIS, namely the

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treaty has ...

, the

Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of some post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The Treaty on the Eurasian Econo ...

(alongside subdivisions, the

Eurasian Customs Union The Eurasian Customs Union (EACU; russian: Таможенный союз ЕАЭС, Tamozhenyi soyuz) was a customs union consisting of all the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. The customs union was a principal task of the Eurasia ...

and the Eurasian Economic Space); and the

Union State The Union State,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва Расі́і і Белару́сі, Sajuznaja dziaržava Rasii i Bielarusi, links=no. or Union State of Russia and Belarus,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва, Sajuznaja dziar� ...

. While the first and the second are military and economic alliances, the third aims to reach a

supranational union A supranational union is a type of international organization that is empowered to directly exercise some of the powers and functions otherwise reserved to states. A supranational organization involves a greater transfer of or limitation of ...

and

with a common government, currency, and so on.

Names in other languages

Member and associate states languages

*Armenian: Անկախ պետությունների Համագործակցություն (ԱՊՀ), ''Ankakh petut’yunneri Hamagortsakts’ut’yun'' (''APH'') *Azerbaijani: Müstəqil Dövlətlər Birliyi (MDB), ''Мүстәгил Дөвләтләр Бирлији'' (''МДБ'') *Belarusian: Садружнасць Незалежных Дзяржаў (СНД), ''Sadružnasć Niezaležnych Dziaržaŭ'' (''SND'') *Kazakh: Täuelsız Memleketter Dostastyğy (TMD), Тәуелсіз Мемлекеттер Достастығы (ТМД) *Kyrgyz: Көзкарандысыз мамлекеттердин шериктештиги (КМШ), ''Közkarandısız mamleketterdin şerikteştigi'' (''KMŞ'') *Romanian: Comunitatea Statelor Independente (CSI) *Tajik: Иттиҳоди Давлатҳои Мустақил (ИДМ), ''Ittihodi Davlathoi Mustaqil'' (''IDM'') *Turkmen: Garaşsyz Döwletleriň Arkalaşygy (GDA), ''Гарашсыз Дөвлетлериң Аркалашыгы'' (''ГДА'') *Uzbek: Mustaqil Davlatlar Hamdoʻstligi (MDH), ''Мустақил Давлатлар Ҳамдўстлиги'' (''МДҲ'')

Former member and associate states languages

*Georgian: დამოუკიდებელ სახელმწიფოთა თანამეგობრობა (დსთ), ''Damouk’idebel Sakhelmts’ipota Tanamegobroba'' (''DST'') *Ukrainian: Співдружність Незалежних Держав (СНД), ''Spivdruzhnist' Nezalezhnykh Derzhav'' (''SND'')

Regional languages

*Avar: Эркенаб Пачалихъазул Гьудуллъи (ЭПГь), ''Erkenab Pachalikh'azul Hudull'i'' (''EPH'') *Bashkir: Бойондороҡһоҙ Дәүләттәр Берләшмәһе (БДБ), ''Boyondorokhoz Dəuləttər Berləshməhe'' (''BDB'') *Buryat: Тусгаар Уласуудай Хамтын Нүхэрлэл (ТУХН), ''Tusgaar Ulasuuday Khamtyn Nyherlel'' (''TUKhN'') *Chechen: Лааме Пачхьалкхийн ДоттагӀалла (ЛПД), ''Laame Pachkhalkhiyn Dottaghalla'' (''LPD'') *Chuvash: Пӑхӑнман Патшалӑхсен Пӗртуслӑхне (ППП), ''Pǎhǎnman Patshalǎkhsen Pĕrtuslǎkhne'' (''PPP'') *Gagauz: Baamsız Devletlär Topluluu (BDT) *Kalmyk: Угаһар Орн-нутгүд Ханьцҗ Көдллһн (УОХК), ''Ugaḥar Orn-nutgùd Han'cz̦̆ Kôdllḥn'' (''UOHK'') *Karachay-Balkar: Бойсунмагъан Къралланы Бирлиги (БКъБ), ''Boysunmaghan Kharllany Birligi'' (''BKhB'') *Komi-Zyrian: Асшӧр Государствояслӧн Содружество (АГС), ''Asshör Gosudarstvoyaslön Sodruzhestvo'' (''AGS'') *Kumyk: Бойсынмайгъан Пачалыкъланы Бирлик (БПБ), ''Boysınmayğan Paçalıqlanı Birlik'' (''BPB'') *Lezgian: Ачух тир Гьукуматдин Дуствал (АГьД), ''Achukh tir Hukumatdin Dustval'' (''AHD'') *Mengrelian: ზოხორინელი სახენწჷფოეფიშ წორომაჸალობა (ზსწ) *Ossetian: Хӕдбар Паддзахӕдты Ӕмбалад (ХПÆ), ''Khædbar Paddzakhædty Æmbalad'' (''KhPÆ'') *Rusyn: Сполоченство Незалежных Штатів (СНШ), ''Spolochenstvo Nezalezhnykh Shtativ'' (''SNSh'') *Tatar: Бәйсез Дәүләтләр Берлеге (БДБ), ''Bəysez Dəylətlər Berlege'' (''BDB'') *Udmurt: Независимой Кунъёслэсь Содружествозэс (НКС), ''Nezavisimoy Kunyosles' Sodruzhestvozes'' (''NKS'') *Veps: Ripmatomiden Valdkundoiden Ühtnend (RVÜ) *Yakut: Тутулуга Суох Государстволар Түмсүүлэрэ (ТСГТ), ''Tutuluga Suokh Gosudarstvolar Tymsyylere'' (''TSGT'')

Other languages

*Estonian: Sõltumatute Riikide Ühendus (SRÜ) *Finnish: Itsenäisten Valtioiden Yhteisö (IVY) *Hungarian: Független Államok Közössége (FÁK) *Latvian: Neatkarīgo Valstu Sadraudzība (NVS) *Lithuanian: Nepriklausomų Valstybių Sandrauga (NVS) *Mongolian: Тусгаар Улсуудын Хамтын Нөхөрлөл (ТУХН), ''Tusgaar Ulsuudyn Khamtyn Nökhörlöl'' (''TUKhN'') *Polish: Wspólnota Niepodległych Państw (WNP) *Swedish: Oberoende staters samvälde (OSS) *Urdu: آزاد ریاستوں کی دولت مشترکہ

History

Background

RIAN archive 848095 Signing the Agreement to eliminate the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States

The CIS as a shared

Russophone This article details the geographical distribution of Russian-speakers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the status of the Russian language often became a matter of controversy. Some Post-Soviet states adopted policies of derussi ...

social, cultural, and economic space has its origins with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

, which was replaced in 1917 by the

Russian Republic The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic. in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Russi ...

after the February Revolution earlier that year. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

, the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

became the leading republic in the

(USSR) upon its creation with the 1922

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

and Declaration of the Creation of the USSR along with

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Укр�