States within the CIS. How to cross the border. Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS

CIS. Beautiful emblem

CIS - Commonwealth Independent States- abbreviation of the name of the new union of the former union republics of the USSR, which became independent states after the collapse in 1991 Soviet Union

The formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) occurred on December 8, 1991 as a result of the signing of a corresponding agreement in Viskuli (Brest region, Belarus) by the heads of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

Azerbaijan
Armenia
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Moldova
Russia
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan

Members of the CIS are those states that, within 1 year (from January 22, 1993 to January 22, 1994), assumed the obligations arising from the Charter adopted on January 22, 1993 by the Council of Heads of State. Ukraine and Turkmenistan have not signed the Charter

In addition, in the CIS Charter there is the concept of a founding state of the CIS. The founding state of the CIS is considered to be the state whose parliament ratified the Agreement on the Creation of the CIS dated December 8, 1991 and the Protocol to this Agreement dated December 21, 1991. Turkmenistan has ratified these documents. Ukraine has only ratified the Agreement. Thus, Ukraine and Turkmenistan are founders of the CIS, but not its members

The protocol of December 21, 1991 was also not ratified by the parliaments of Russia and Ukraine, and on March 5, 2003, the State Duma Committee of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on CIS Affairs came to the conclusion that the Russian Federation is de jure not a founding state of the CIS and a member state

All this confirms the well-known truth - the law that wherever you turn the drawbar, it will come out

History of the creation of the CIS

1991, December 8 - the heads of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus Kravchuk, Yeltsin and Shushkevich signed an agreement on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of the CIS (Beloveshsky Agreement)
1991, December 10 - The agreement was ratified by the parliaments of Belarus and Ukraine

Ratification is giving legal force document (for example, an agreement) with its approval by the relevant authority of each of the parties. That is, ratification is the agreement of the state to comply with the terms of the treaty.

1991, December 12 - Agreement ratified Supreme Council RF
1991, December 13 - meeting in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) of the heads of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. who expressed consent for their countries to join the CIS
1991, December 21 - in Almaty, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine adopted the Declaration on the goals and principles of the CIS and signed the Protocol to the agreement on the creation of the CIS

Protocol
to the Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States, signed on December 8, 1991 in Minsk by the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation (RSFSR), Ukraine
The Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation (RSFSR), the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and Ukraine on an equal basis and as High Contracting Parties form the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States comes into force for each of the High Contracting Parties from the moment of its ratification.
Based on the Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States and taking into account the reservations made during its ratification, documents regulating cooperation within the Commonwealth will be developed.
This Protocol is integral part Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Done in Almaty on December 21, 1991 in one copy in Azerbaijani, Armenian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Moldavian, Russian, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek and Ukrainian languages. All texts are equally valid. The original copy is kept in the archives of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, which will send a certified copy of this Protocol to the High Contracting Parties

1991, December 30 - in Minsk, at another meeting of the heads of state of the CIS, the supreme body CIS - Council of Heads of State
1992, October 9 - CIS TV channel “Mir” was created
1993, January 22 - the CIS Charter was adopted in Minsk
1993, March 15 - Kazakhstan was the first of the post-Soviet republics to ratify the CIS Charter
1993, December 9 - The CIS Charter was ratified by Georgia
1994, April 26 - Moldova was the last of the post-Soviet republics to ratify the CIS Charter
1999, April 2 - the CIS Executive Committee was created
2000, June 21 - The CIS Anti-Terrorism Center was created
2008, August 14 - The Georgian Parliament decided to withdraw the country from the CIS
2009, August 18 - Georgia officially ceased to be a member of the CIS

CIS goals

Economic Cooperation
Cooperation in the field of ecology
Cooperation in the field of ensuring the rights and freedoms of CIS citizens
Military cooperation

The unified command of military-strategic forces and unified control over nuclear weapons, issues of defense and protection of external borders are resolved jointly

Cooperation in the development of transport, communications, energy systems
Cooperation in the fight against crime
Cooperation in migration policy

Governing bodies of the CIS

Council of Heads of State of the CIS
Council of Heads of Government of the CIS
CIS Executive Committee
Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS
Council of CIS Defense Ministers
Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the CIS countries
Council of the United Armed Forces of the CIS Countries
Council of Commanders of Border Troops of the CIS Countries
Council of Heads of Security Agencies of the CIS Countries
Interstate economic council CIS
Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS

On October 28, 2016, a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was held in Minsk. Leader of Belarus Lukashenko: “...the critical mass of accumulated issues is causing us in Belarus to have an alarming mood about the prospects of...the CIS...Justified criticism has intensified in our countries due to dissatisfaction with both the pace and practical results development of integration. We are hearing alarming signals from business... it is worth taking a critical look at the legal framework of the CIS. Over the past 25 years, we have signed an incredible amount of decisions, treaties and agreements. Are they all relevant and necessary today? I really want that during Russia’s chairmanship in 2017 we will be able to get clear answers: in the name of what has integration been carried out all these years and what goal is ultimately being pursued?”

What does the expression Goal like a falcon mean?
What does the expression “unlucky person” mean?
What does the expression hair on end mean?

Any Russian uses such concepts as Russia and the Russian Federation in his speech, giving them an equivalent meaning.

Status of Ukraine in the CIS. Dossier

But what in reality - are these two names identical or do they have any differences? Every Russian who respects himself and his homeland should know the answer to this question, so let’s try a detailed comparison.

Russian Federation was formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when the heads of the Soviet republics adopted a resolution on the termination of the existence of such a union and the formation of a new one - the CIS, that is, the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The fundamental document of the country is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which specifies legal status this power is a sovereign state, in other words, it has strictly defined territorial boundaries. In addition, on the territory Russian Federation there is a permanent resident population, and power is strictly divided into legislative, executive and judicial.

The state governing body of the Russian Federation is the Government of the Russian Federation, the rights, responsibilities and powers of which are enshrined in legislative level.

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, sovereignty is widespread throughout the Russian Federation, that is, government bodies have the right to independently make decisions, regardless of the opinions of the governments of other countries.

In addition, the Russian Federation, being a sovereign (independent) state, has the right to accept various free political decisions concerning the external situation in the world.

Russia is the second name of the Russian Federation, which, according to Article 1, Chapter 1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, has the same legal status.

This means that these two names are identical in relation to each other. In other words, no matter what name is used in official documents or speech of any person, they mean the same thing - a country that has its own status as a separate and independent state.

Having studied this issue in more detail, we can say that both the Russian Federation and Russia are two names of one state.

Consequently, they can be equally used in official documents. This provision is enshrined at the legislative level in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which is a fundamental document that dominates all other acts, laws, regulations and documents.

Conclusions TheDifference.ru

Russian Federation and Russia are two names of the same state;
The identity, that is, equality, of these names is enshrined in the most important official document country - the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Participation of Azerbaijan in the CIS and settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Mountainous Karabakh

Seid's SM-Assoc. Department of History of Peoples of Turkey and of Eastern Europe Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University

In the second half of the 80s, the Soviet Union began an economic, political and ideological crisis that contributed to the collapse of the USSR.

On November 14, 1991, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan attempted to create a “sovereign state union” in New York. But no one except Gorbachev signed the contract. On December 8, 1991, the head of the three Slavic republics, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus signed the agreement on Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Belarus), creating the Community of Independent States (CIS) (December 4, 1997).

By the end of 1991, the presidents of nine republics, including Azerbaijan, expressed a desire to join the CIS. On December 21 in Ashgabat, 11 countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan - joined the Treaty (December 4, 1991, December 50).

On this day, 11 republics officially announced the dissolution of the USSR. However, the Parliament of Azerbaijan did not ratify this Treaty, and only on September 24, 1993, Azerbaijan joined the CIS.

On January 22, 1993, at a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS in Minsk, the CIS Charter was adopted, which consists of 45 articles.

In accordance with the provisions, the following bodies in the world are the heads of state of the CIS, the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Foreign Ministers - the Council of Defense Ministers, the Commanders of the Border Troops, the Interparliamentary Chambers of the CIS, the Economic Court.

On May 15, 1992, in Tashkent, countries (except Azerbaijan and Georgia) signed an agreement on collective security.

Azerbaijan did not join the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and cannot join the CIS Collective Security Agreement (9).

On December 23-24, 1993, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, who spoke about the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan (8) at a joint meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Prime Ministers of the CIS in Ashgabat.

On May 4 and 5, 1994, a meeting was held with representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

The initiator of this meeting was the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly (7, Department international relations, Presidential Meetings, 1997, January-March, pp. 90-91). The result of the meeting was a ceasefire protocol in Bishkek, which stopped the massive bleeding on the territory of Azerbaijan. However, the current position of “no war, no peace” cannot serve to achieve final peace in the region.

Since the day of its speech in the CIS, Azerbaijan has raised the issue of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh at all CIS meetings and gatherings.

Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, in connection with Azerbaijan’s accession to the CIS, said: “We are creating certain conditions for economic development, to gain the opportunity to ensure the independence of Azerbaijan, to demonstrate that the Commonwealth declares that Armenia is an aggressor towards our country” (1).

Due to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan did not participate in the political and economic structures of the CIS on all issues.

This especially concerns the issue of general protection of the external borders of the CIS. At the beginning of 1995, at a meeting of the commanders of the border troops of Azerbaijan, the CIS announced the seizure of 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan by Armeniey. On February 1995, a meeting of the Council of Heads of the CIS countries was held in Almaty and on February 10 it adopted the Convention on the Protection of the External Borders of the Border Forces of the CIS Member States (9 ) Azerbaijan refused to sign the document for the above reason and made a statement about the inadmissibility of this Convention.

In July 1997, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev made his first official visit to the Russian Federation, and that this visit can be considered a turning point in the history of Russian-Azerbaijani relations (1, 224). In 1997, Russia and Armenia signed a friendship agreement providing for military cooperation (4 since 1997, December, No. 50). Even though these countries indicated that the treaty was not directed against a third country, it was against the interests of Azerbaijan.

Relations between Azerbaijan and other members of the commonwealth in Azerbaijan were also ambiguous.

During this period, he puts territorial demands of Turkmenistan against Baku for the supply of Azerbaijani oil fields"Azeri" and "Chirag". (4 since 1997, December 50).

With other countries Central Asia the relationship was stable. However, on August 28, 1995, at the Bishkek summit of Turkic-speaking countries, where Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev proposed mentioning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the final declaration of the countries of Central Asia, it was not supported by Azerbaijan (4, 1995, September 2, No. 32).only in 1996 Relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have improved.

CIS Executive Secretary Ya. Yarov visited Baku in 1999. He proposed that CIS observers be included in the process of resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

However, this proposal was rejected by the leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan (August 4, 1999, August 6).

On January 25, 2000, the next CIS summit took place in Moscow (9). V. Putin was elected Chairman of the Council of Ministers. New stage in the history of the CIS begins with the election of Putin to this post. Russia's position is changing for the better and the official visit of the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin to Baku on January 9, 2001 confirms this (7, f. 2941, op.1, 897, f.

250-270). From that moment on, Azerbaijan began to announce the intensification of the role of Russia, which is one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in Minsk. During an official visit in 2001, President of the Russian Federation V. Putin supported the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan. During this period, the leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the development and strengthening of relations with the CIS countries in general and, in particular, with the Russian Federation.

In May 2001, Secretary of the Russian Security Council V. Rushailo made an official visit to Azerbaijan (4, 2001, May 16, No. 90). During the visit, the dispute in Gorskiy Karabakh was discussed. The conflict has a negative impact not only on Azerbaijan, but also on the entire Caucasus. Russia is also interested in peace in the Caucasus, since only peace in the Caucasus can create the preconditions for economic development.

In April 2001, at the seventh summit of the leaders of Turkish-speaking countries and Turkey, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev in Istanbul emphasized Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan (3, p.

However, in May 2001, a meeting of the countries of the world participating in the Collective Security Treaty in the CIS took place in Yerevan; Turkish-speaking countries expressed their readiness to cooperate with Armenia (May 6, 2001, 31). At meetings and conferences of the CIS, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh konflikt was repeatedly discussed. September 15-16, 2004 in the capital of Kazakhstan in Astana, at a meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the participation of the Russian president.

The co-chairs of Minsk also took part in the negotiations. At the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS in Kazan (August 26, 2005), he was again confirmed in this position in Azerbaijan (September 2, 2004, No. 38).

The conflict is one of the “frozen conflicts”. However, any country participating in the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict must understand that Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani land and autonomy - can only be a part of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani President I. Aliyev has repeatedly stated in his speeches: “We are ready to provide the Armenians living in Karabakh with the status of high autonomy, we are ready to ensure their security, including international organizations.” (5, p. 104).

In our opinion, this conflict will be difficult to resolve without serious assistance from international organizations.

We must also respect peaceful political resolution of conflicts while respecting the protection of human rights and civil liberties in the region.

For Azerbaijan, it is important to participate in the CIS and other international and regional organizations with the aim of a peaceful solution for the development of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan konflikta.Economicheskoe to let it in in the coming time effective solution this conflict.

Abbasbeyli A., Hasanov A. Azerbaijan in the system of international and regional organizations. Baku, Azerneshr, 1999, 256 pages.

3. “Renaissance - XXI century”, 2001, issue. 39

4. “Mirror” for 1992-2001.

We are discussing Karabakh. Baku: Society for Humanitarian Research, Reconstruction Foundation, 2006, 333 p.

7. Current archive of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic for the period 1997-2001.

eighths www.aliyevheritage.org

ninth www.ec-cis.org.

tenths www.eurasianet.org.

In Article 79 of the FCF, Russia has the right to participate in intergovernmental associations and transfer part of its powers in accordance with international treaties, but under two conditions:

Firstly, this should not lead to restrictions on human rights and freedoms;

second, they should not oppose the constitutional system of the Russian Federation.

The participation of the Russian Federation in the composition of December 8, 1991 meets similar conditions.

Which countries are part of the CIS?

Community of Independent States. The CIS is defined as an interstate entity with coordination powers. Currently, the CIS joins 12 countries - former allies Republic of the USSR (only three Baltic states do not participate in the CIS).

The legal nature of the CIS is characterized by the following characteristics:

created by independent states based on the principle of their sovereign equality;
has its own Charter, establishing the stable functions of the CIS, its goals and areas of joint action of member states;
has a clear organizational structure, a diversified system of bodies that act as coordinating interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental
institutions.

CIS goals— participation of member states in political life; economic, humanitarian, cultural and others; balanced economic development; supporting human rights by helping citizens communicate and socialize freely.

CIS provided eight balls general activities Member States:

ensuring human rights and freedoms;
foreign policy coordination;
participation in the creation of a single economic space;
cooperation in the development of transport and communication systems;
public health protection and environment;
social and immigration policy;
fight against organized crime;

8) participation in defense policy and protection of external borders.
In case of security threats, CIS members together use of armed forces.

In the structure of the CIS, special bodies : Council of Heads of State, Council of Heads of Government, Council of Foreign Ministers, etc.

For the participation of parliaments, an interparliamentary assembly was created with its center in St. Petersburg. The permanent bodies of the CIS are located in Minsk and Moscow. The working language in the Commonwealth is Russian.

Refusal from CIS is free.- Only 12 months before release is a written statement of this intention from the state required.

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Moldova does not want to leave the CIS

Moldova does not want to leave the CIS. As RIA Announcements reports, this was announced on Wednesday at a meeting of the Moldovan government.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

The Cabinet of Ministers rejected the initiative of a group of opposition deputies of the Moldovan parliament to secede the republic from the CIS.

Earlier it was reported that Moldova will support Russia’s entry into the World Trade Company (WTO), said Prime Minister of the Republic Vasily Tarlev.
“Moldova will support Russia’s accession to the WTO,” he said on Friday at a joint press conference with the permanent IMF representative in Moldova, Johan Mathiesen.

“We will be pragmatists, acting based on the state interests of the republic,” Tarlev noted.

“We wish the Russian Federation to join the World Trade Company soon, we support this process, and the Russian Federation’s accession to the WTO will benefit not only it, but also other countries, including Moldova,” the Prime Minister said.

At the same time, he emphasized that when joining the WTO it is necessary to comply with the main principles and norms of the organization.

Tarlev did not specify what he meant, but it was previously noted that Moldova wants to resolve the problems it has had with Russia in the supply of wine and crop products, as well as review the issue of levying VAT on Russian gas supplied to Moldova (according to WTO rules, VAT should be charged from the consumer side, and not vice versa).
The Prime Minister noted that “Moldova will make all legitimate efforts that fit into the rules of state, regional and international legislation to resolve these problems.”

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It's easier to name the countries former USSR, which left or were not part of the CIS are the Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), and Georgia left the CIS.

Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan - sort of like that

interstate association, formed by Belarus, Russia and Ukraine; In the Agreement on the Creation of the CIS, signed on December 8, 1991 in Minsk, these states stated that the USSR, in conditions of deep crisis and collapse, was ceasing to exist, and declared their desire to develop cooperation in political, economic, humanitarian, cultural, etc.

areas. On December 21, 1991, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan joined the Agreement and signed, together with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the Declaration on the Goals and Principles of the CIS in Almaty.

In 1993, the CIS Charter was adopted, which provides for areas of joint activity of states: ensuring human rights and freedoms, coordination foreign policy activities, cooperation in the formation of a common economic space in the development of transport and communication systems, protection of public health and the environment, issues of social and immigration policy, the fight against organized crime, cooperation in defense policy and the protection of external borders.

Along with full members, the CIS may have associate members participating in certain types of CIS activities.

Some states are represented at meetings of the CIS heads of state as observers. The CIS bodies have been created: the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Interstate Economic Council, the Interparliamentary Assembly centered in St. Petersburg, etc.

The permanent body of the CIS is the Coordination and Advisory Committee in Minsk.

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES (CIS), community former republics Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Established in accordance with the agreement signed on December 8, 1991 in Viskuli (the seat of the government of Belarus) by the leaders of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as well as the protocol to the said agreement, which was signed on December 21, 1991 in the city.

Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) by the leaders of 11 republics of the former USSR: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan), Moldova (Moldova), Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

In December 1993, Georgia joined the CIS. Of the former republics of the USSR, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were not included in the CIS. In August 2005, Turkmenistan ceased permanent membership and is currently an associate member of the CIS. According to the CIS Charter (approved by the heads of member states in January 1993), the Commonwealth is not a state and does not have supranational powers. It is based on the principles of sovereign equality of all its members, each of which is an independent and equal subject international law.

Goals of the Commonwealth: – cooperation between member states in political, economic, legal, cultural, environmental, humanitarian and other fields, cooperation in ensuring international peace and security, as well as achieving disarmament; – creation of a common economic space, ensuring interstate cooperation and integration in the interests of comprehensive and balanced economic and social development of the member states; – mutual assistance in order to create peaceful conditions the lives of peoples, ensuring collective security; – peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts between participating countries; – assistance to citizens of member states in free communication, contacts and movement throughout the territory of countries that are members of the Commonwealth.

Relations between the CIS member states are based on the principles of respect for the sovereignty, self-determination and territorial integrity of countries and non-interference in their foreign policy and internal affairs, inviolability existing borders, non-use of force and resolution of disputes by peaceful means, as well as the rule of international law.

The total territory of the states that are part of the CIS (excluding the territory of Turkmenistan) is 21.6 million.

EREPORT.RU

sq. km. , population – St. 275 million people (2006). The headquarters of the Commonwealth is located in Minsk (Belarus). In the CIS countries approx. 10% of the world's industrial potential and almost 25% of the world's proven reserves natural resources. The working language of the CIS is Russian. The Commonwealth has its own official symbols and flag. History of the formation of the CIS.

The initial agreement on the creation of the CIS was signed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on December 8, 1991 by the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk.

They announced the termination of negotiations organized by the President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to conclude a new union treaty, which was intended to reform the USSR.

Gorbachev called the Belovezhskaya Agreement unconstitutional and stated that only the Congress of People's Deputies had the right to dissolve the Soviet Union.

However, on December 10, the decision to create the CIS was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Supreme Council of Belarus, and on December 12 by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation. The 1922 treaty on the creation of the USSR was declared terminated. On December 13, after two days of negotiations in Ashgabat (the capital of Turkmenistan), the heads of state of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan announced their desire to join the newly created Commonwealth, and similar intentions were expressed by Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - regional international organization(international treaty), designed to regulate cooperative relations between countries that were formerly part of the USSR.

The CIS is not a supranational entity and operates on a voluntary basis. Countries: Azerbaijan Armenia Belarus Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Ukraine Presidents of countries, also in order: Ilham Aliyev Serzh Sargsyan Alexander Lukashenko Nursultan Nazarbayev Roza Otunbaeva (acting

) Marian Lupu (acting) Dmitry Medvedev Emomali Rahmon Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Islam Karimov Viktor Yanukovych

Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia

The formation of the CIS was an event that was intended to “compensate” for the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a voluntary agreement that reunited countries and nations that, culturally and economically, in many ways continued to develop as a single whole.

In all CIS countries, except Russia, Russian has the status of a second state or official language.

Reasons for the formation of the CIS

The Commonwealth of Independent States was proclaimed on December 8, 1991 in the notorious Belovezhskaya Pushcha. At that time, the founders of the new formation were Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich.

Later, all other countries of the former USSR, except Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, joined the organization; The last on the list to join was Georgia, which became part of the CIS only in 1993.

The agreement specified the reasons for the formation of the organization:

Historical community of countries and peoples - members of the Commonwealth;
The desire to build a democratic legal society;
The intention of the participating countries to develop in a single economic, cultural and political space.

At the same time, the historical community affected not only the period of existence of the USSR: previously these same territories were part of the Russian Empire. Countries Central Asia and Transcaucasia, precisely as part of the empire, gained statehood and adopted European culture in its Russian version.

Operation

During the entire existence of the organization, the CIS countries have implemented a number of common projects. Thus, a significant event was the formation of the Free Trade Zone, which immediately replaced two hundred documents regulating trade relations between CIS countries. Members of the Commonwealth exercise joint command of their armed forces, regulate their nuclear programs, migration policies, etc.

However, the CIS is not any kind of state entity, not even a confederation: each country has its own legislation, its own currency, and economic priorities (at least formally). In addition to full participants, Mongolia and Afghanistan have observer status in the CIS. The first has particularly close ties with the countries of the former USSR - it was unofficially called the “sixteenth Soviet republic.”

The second is a deeply backward country in all areas with semi-feudal orders, but which had an unsuccessful attempt to build socialism and join the Eastern bloc. Countries also wished to join the CIS former Yugoslavia, however, these statements have not yet been put into practice.

Criticism

The CIS countries, at first glance, are friendly states with very close contacts. However, various kinds of contradictions within the Commonwealth persist. Among protracted conflicts you can specify Nagorno-Karabakh, Chechen (including the formation of the unrecognized state of Ichkeria), Transnistria. Among the newer ones are the destruction of Ukraine and Georgia’s secession from the CIS.

CIS in its current state is often criticized as a corrupt entity whose goal is not development, but the suppression of its member countries, including Russia. Most CIS countries are developing as “raw materials appendages” of the developed world, led by authoritarian and totalitarian leaders - former participants in large organized crime groups; and an attempt by one or another country to leave this system, even while maintaining membership in the CIS, results in retaliatory aggressive actions by the remaining members.

However, there are also relatively successful examples of development in the CIS countries - these include Kazakhstan and Belarus. These are the richest, most developed and stable members of the CIS, but relations with Belarus have Russian leadership far from ideal.

What is the 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's creation

The CIS is a 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 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. The same step recognized that the Soviet Union, as public education, ceased to exist. This is how the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was born.

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

Five days after the meeting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, about the intention to join the Commonwealth on equal rights The heads of five Central Asian states also stated. The main postulates of the organization’s activities were declared by its members on December 21, 1991 in Alma-Ata. The last countries 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 a single free trade zone within the Commonwealth was created by eight members of the organization.

CIS countries: list

On this moment The organization has 9 members. Which countries are part of the CIS today?

According to the organization's Charter, 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) never completed this formality. Therefore, purely legally (according to papers), they cannot be considered members of the CIS.

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

Russia.
Belarus.
Armenia.
Azerbaijan.
Moldova.
Kazakhstan.
Kyrgyzstan.
Tajikistan.
Uzbekistan.

Two more states (Turkmenistan and Ukraine) have “observer” status in this organization.

In 2009, due to the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia left the Commonwealth. In the fall of 2014, the process of leaving the CIS was initiated in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

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

Structure and main goals of the CIS activities

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

The activities of an international organization are based on the principle of equality of its participants. TO the most important goals CIS activities include the following:

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

Russia has been closely cooperating with the Commonwealth since the very first year of the organization's existence. Moreover, it 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.

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

Finally...

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

According to information from the current charter of the organization, its members are the founding countries that signed and ratified the Agreement on the Creation 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 subsequently assumed the obligations prescribed in this charter.

Each new membership in the CIS must receive the approval of all other states already part of the organization.

Currently, 10 states are members of the Commonwealth:
- Azerbaijan;
- Armenia;
- Belarus;
- Kazakhstan;
- Moldova;
- Russia;
- Tajikistan;
- Turkmenistan (but with a special status);
- Uzbekistan.

Other states that were 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 as an associate member;
- Ukraine since March 19, 2014, according to the decision of the RNBO, is no longer a member of the Commonwealth;
- Georgia, previously former member CIS, withdrew from the organization on August 14, 2008, then (during the time of President Mikheil Saakashvili) the Georgian parliament unanimously decided to withdraw from the Commonwealth;
- Mongolia currently participates in the CIS as an independent observer.

Afghanistan, which was never part of the USSR, declared its desire to join the CIS in 2008 and is currently listed as an observer in the Commonwealth.

The goals pursued by the formation of the organization

The most important principle of the organization of the Commonwealth is that all its member countries are completely self-sufficient and independent. The CIS is not a separate state and does not have supranational powers.

TO organizational goals CIS include:
- more dense states in political, economic, environmental, humanitarian, cultural and other areas;
- provision guaranteed rights and freedoms of people living in the CIS;
- cooperation in the field of peace and security on the planet, as well as the achievement of general complete disarmament;
- provision of legal assistance;
- resolution of disputes on a peaceful basis.

The highest body regulating the activities of the CIS is the Council of Heads of State, in which each member country has its own representative. It meets twice a year, with Council members coordinating future cooperation and activities.

(CIS) is an international organization founded in 1991 that does not have supranational powers. The CIS includes 11 of the 15 former union republics of the USSR as participants.

Instructions

The reason for the emergence of this organization in the international legal field is the collapse of the USSR and in its space 15 new sovereign states, closely connected in the political, economic, and humanitarian spheres, due to their existence for centuries within the same framework. The deep integration of the republics predetermined the objective interest of new subjects of international law in cooperation in various fields, politics, culture on the basis of equal cooperation and respect for each other’s sovereignty.

The CIS was founded on 8 1991, when the heads of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the so-called. The “Belovezhskaya Agreement”, the text of which stated the abolition of the Soviet Union and the formation on its basis of a new form of interstate cooperation of the former Soviet republics. This document is the “Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States,” and by 1994, 8 more states – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – had ratified it and joined the CIS.

On December 21, 1991, the heads of 11 who attended the Alma-Ata summit signed a declaration on the goals and principles of the CIS and a protocol to the agreement on the creation of the CIS. In 1993, the CIS charter was adopted in Minsk, the main regulatory document organizations that regulate it. According to Art. 7. of this charter, the CIS participants are divided into founding states and member states of the Commonwealth. The founders of the CIS are the countries that ratified the agreement on its creation dated December 8, 1991 and the protocol to the agreement dated December 21, 1991. The member states of the CIS are those of its founders that accepted the obligations of the charter. The Charter was ratified by 10 of the 12 CIS members, with the exception of Ukraine and Turkmenistan.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania initially refused to participate in the CIS, choosing integration. Ukraine, being one of the co-founders and participant of the CIS, refused to ratify the CIS charter, and is not legally a member of the commonwealth. In 2009, under the influence of events in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia withdrew from membership in the CIS.

Thus, as of 2014, 11 states are members of the CIS: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. All of the above states are members of the CIS, except Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

a political union (interstate association) of most countries that, until 1991, were republics within the USSR.

CIS members: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia (until August 2009), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Turkmenistan, which left the CIS as a full member in August 2005, has the status of an associate observer member.

In a number of CIS structures (coordinating committees of the presidential offices on statistics, railways etc.) Mongolia participates as an observer. The agreement on the formation of the CIS (also known as the “Belovezhskaya Agreement”) was signed on December 8, 1991 at the Viskuli residence near Brest (Belarus) by the highest leaders of Russia (B. Yeltsin), Belarus (S. Shushkevich) and Ukraine (L. Kravchuk) .

“The Commonwealth of Independent States, consisting of the Republic of Belarus, the RSFSR, and Ukraine,” said the statement by the leaders of the three countries, “is open to accession by all member states of the USSR, as well as for other states that share the goals and principles of this agreement.”

The appeal proclaimed that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a subject of international law would cease to exist.

On December 21, at a meeting in Almaty, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan joined the Agreement, adopting the Declaration on the Goals and Principles of the CIS, which stated the demise of the USSR and the need to resolve related problems.

In October 1993, Georgia became a full member of the CIS (on August 14, 2008, the Georgian parliament adopted a unanimous decision on Georgia’s withdrawal from the organization; on October 9, 2008, the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS countries adopted a formal decision to terminate Georgia’s membership in the Commonwealth from August 2009 G.).

On January 22, 1993, the CIS Charter was adopted, providing for the following areas joint activities states: ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms; coordination of foreign policy activities; cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space, pan-European and Eurasian markets, customs policy; cooperation in the development of transport and communication systems; health and environmental protection; issues of social and migration policy; fight against organized crime; cooperation in the field of defense policy and protection of external borders (Article 4 of the Charter).

The Charter was not ratified by Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Moldova, which formally does not allow them to be considered members of the Commonwealth, but Ukraine took an active part in the CIS.

The Commonwealth is not a state and does not have supranational powers (Article 1 of the Charter), but rather is a type of “soft” confederation. According to the initiators of its proclamation, the Commonwealth became an option for a peaceful “divorce” of the former republics of the Soviet Union and prevented the development of events according to the bloody “Yugoslav scenario”.

On the intention to enter the CIS in different years declared by both unrecognized self-proclaimed republics and independent states (in 1991, 1992, 1996, 2006 - Abkhazia, in 1993 - Nagorno-Karabakh, in 1991–94, 2006 - Transnistria, in 1992, 1994 - Crimea, February 1995

Republic of Serbian Krajina in Croatia, in April 1999 - Yugoslavia). However, such declarations had no practical continuation.

The highest authority of the CIS is the annual meeting of the heads of participating countries. To resolve issues of economic interaction, meetings of the heads of government of the CIS countries are regularly convened. Parliamentary Assembly The CIS (headquartered in St. Petersburg) unites the efforts of the legislative bodies of its member states in creating legal mechanisms for economic and political integration within the Commonwealth. Executive agency The CIS is located in the capital of Belarus, Minsk, and is headed by the CIS executive secretary, appointed by agreement of all members of the Commonwealth (since 2007 - Sergei Lebedev).

Within the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was created, which included Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. For some time, Uzbekistan suspended its membership in this military-political union, but subsequently resumed it.

One of the instruments of economic integration is the Eurasian Economic Union (Eurasian Economic Union), created by a number of CIS countries. Another structure created within the CIS is the Union State of Belarus and Russia.

The 16-year experience of the existence of the Commonwealth of Independent States is still the subject of lively discussions, both in public opinion participating countries and outside the CIS.

The CIS member states still have serious territorial problems. Azerbaijan insists on the return of illegally, from its point of view, Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia, Moldova retains serious problems with Transnistria, which declared its independence.

The fact that the Commonwealth does not have real mechanisms for resolving territorial conflicts convinces opponents of the CIS of its ineffectiveness. On the other hand, it was the CIS that became the institution that was able to stop the bloodshed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia when it brought in peacekeeping forces there.

Thanks to the Commonwealth, regular contacts between heads of state, heads of government, parliamentarians, and the military, it was largely possible to preserve and even restore the economic and transport ties that existed during the USSR, and to coordinate positions in energy, industrial and agricultural policy, and in the social and cultural spheres.

Significant role in integration processes Russia and Kazakhstan play in the CIS countries. They were the ones who initiated the creation of the Eurasian economic union and the Eurasian Bank.

In addition to official meetings of the heads of the CIS countries, alternately held in the capitals of the states presiding over the Commonwealth (the last one was held in Dushanbe in 2007), informal summits of the leaders of the republics are also practiced. On February 22, 2008, at the initiative of Russian President V. Putin, such a meeting took place in Moscow.

Source: Great Current Political Encyclopedia

CIS COUNTRIES

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional international organization (international treaty) designed to regulate cooperative relations between countries that were formerly part of the USSR. The CIS is not a supranational entity and operates on a voluntary basis.

The CIS includes following countries:
1. Azerbaijan
2. Armenia
3. Belarus
4. Kazakhstan
5. Kyrgyzstan
6. Moldova
7. Russia
8.Tajikistan
9. Uzbekistan
10.Ukraine

Citizens from countries that are part of the CIS use a simplified procedure for obtaining a “Work Permit” on the territory of the Russian Federation. To carry out labor activities, these citizens only need to obtain a “Work Permit” - to work in commercial organizations, or Patent - for work with private individuals.
To the employer, upon hiring foreign citizens to work from the CIS countries, there is no need to obtain a “Permit to attract and use foreign workers,” which greatly simplifies the procedure for hiring these citizens.

CIS - GENERAL INFORMATION

Agreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on December 8, 1991 by the leaders of the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The parties to the Agreement stated that the USSR as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality ceases to exist. The Contracting Parties formed the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Agreement formulates the main directions and principles of cooperation, defines the scope of joint activities, implemented on an equal basis through the common coordinating institutions of the Commonwealth.

The Contracting Parties guaranteed the fulfillment of international obligations arising for them from treaties and agreements former Union SSR. The protocol to the agreement on the creation of the CIS was signed by the heads of eleven states on December 21, 1991 in Almaty. It is an integral part of the Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth, signed on December 8, 1991, and determines that all these eleven countries form the CIS on an equal basis (Georgia joined the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1993 in accordance with the Decision of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS).

Alma-Ata Declaration signed on December 21, 1991 by the leaders of eleven states. The document notes commitment to the goals and principles of the Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and states that the interaction of the Commonwealth participants will be carried out on the principle of equality through coordinating institutions formed on a parity basis. The commitment to cooperation in the creation and development of a common economic space, pan-European and Eurasian markets was confirmed. The member states of the Commonwealth guaranteed, in accordance with their constitutional procedures, the fulfillment of international obligations arising from treaties and agreements of the former USSR.

Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States adopted by the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth on January 22, 1993 in Minsk. The Charter of the Commonwealth defines the conditions for membership of states in the CIS, formulates the goals and principles of interstate cooperation, interaction in the economic, social and legal fields, inter-parliamentary relations, and enshrines the sovereign equality of all its members. It is emphasized that the CIS states are independent and equal subjects of international law. A state that shares the goals and principles of the Commonwealth and has accepted the obligations contained in the CIS Charter by joining it with the consent of all member states can become a member of the Commonwealth.

The member states of the Commonwealth build their relationships in accordance with the principles of respect for sovereignty and independence, the inviolability of state borders, the territorial integrity of states, non-use of force or threat of force, non-interference in internal affairs, the supremacy of international law in interstate relations, taking into account the interests of each other and the Commonwealth as a whole .

Rules of procedure of the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government The Commonwealth of Independent States was approved by the Decision of the Council of Heads of State on May 17, 1996. The decision was signed by the presidents of all CIS member states. The rules of procedure determine the procedure for the work of the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth, the organization of their meetings, as well as the procedure for the preparation and adoption of documents submitted for their consideration.

Symbols of the Commonwealth of Independent States. On January 19, 1996, the heads of state adopted the Decision on the Regulations on the flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Decision on the Regulations on the emblem of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

CIS. Beautiful emblem

CIS - Commonwealth of Independent States - an abbreviation of the name of the new association of former union republics of the USSR, which became independent states after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991

List of CIS member countries (2016)

Azerbaijan
Armenia
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Moldova
Russia
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan

In addition, in the CIS Charter there is the concept of a founding state of the CIS.

The founding state of the CIS is considered to be the state whose parliament ratified the Agreement on the Creation of the CIS dated December 8, 1991 and the Protocol to this Agreement dated December 21, 1991. Turkmenistan has ratified these documents. Ukraine has only ratified the Agreement. Thus, Ukraine and Turkmenistan are founders of the CIS, but not its members

All this confirms the well-known truth - the law that the drawbar, where you turn, comes out there

History of the creation of the CIS

1991, December 8 - the heads of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus Kravchuk, Yeltsin and Shushkevich signed an agreement on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of the CIS (Beloveshsky Agreement)
1991, December 10 - The agreement was ratified by the parliaments of Belarus and Ukraine

Ratification is the giving of legal force to a document (for example, a contract) by approval by the appropriate authority of each of the parties. That is, ratification is the state’s agreement to comply with the terms of the treaty.

1991, December 12 - The agreement was ratified by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation
1991, December 13 - meeting in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) of the heads of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. who expressed consent for their countries to join the CIS
1991, December 21 - in Almaty, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine adopted the Declaration on the goals and principles of the CIS and signed the Protocol to the agreement on the creation of the CIS

Protocol
to the Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States, signed on December 8, 1991 in Minsk by the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation (RSFSR), Ukraine
The Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation (RSFSR), the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and Ukraine on an equal basis and as High Contracting Parties form the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States comes into force for each of the High Contracting Parties from the moment of its ratification.
Based on the Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States and taking into account the reservations made during its ratification, documents regulating cooperation within the Commonwealth will be developed.
This Protocol is an integral part of the Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Done in Almaty on December 21, 1991 in one copy in Azerbaijani, Armenian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Moldavian, Russian, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek and Ukrainian languages. All texts are equally valid. The original copy is kept in the archives of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, which will send a certified copy of this Protocol to the High Contracting Parties

1991, December 30 - in Minsk, at another meeting of the CIS heads of state, the highest body of the CIS was established - the Council of Heads of State
1992, October 9 - CIS TV channel “Mir” was created
1993, January 22 - the CIS Charter was adopted in Minsk
1993, March 15 - Kazakhstan was the first of the post-Soviet republics to ratify the CIS Charter
1993, December 9 - The CIS Charter was ratified by Georgia
1994, April 26 - Moldova was the last of the post-Soviet republics to ratify the CIS Charter
1999, April 2 - The CIS Executive Committee was created
2000, June 21 - The CIS Anti-Terrorism Center was created
2008, August 14 - The Georgian Parliament decided to withdraw the country from the CIS
2009, August 18 - Georgia officially ceased to be a member of the CIS

CIS goals

Economic Cooperation
Cooperation in the field of ecology
Cooperation in the field of ensuring the rights and freedoms of CIS citizens
Military cooperation

The unified command of military-strategic forces and unified control over nuclear weapons have been preserved, issues of defense and protection of external borders are being resolved jointly

Cooperation in the development of transport, communications, energy systems
Cooperation in the fight against crime
Cooperation in migration policy

Governing bodies of the CIS

Council of Heads of State of the CIS
Council of Heads of Government of the CIS
CIS Executive Committee
Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS
Council of CIS Defense Ministers
Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the CIS countries
Council of the United Armed Forces of the CIS Countries
Council of Commanders of Border Troops of the CIS Countries
Council of Heads of Security Agencies of the CIS Countries
Interstate Economic Council of the CIS
Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS

On October 28, 2016, a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was held in Minsk. Leader of Belarus Lukashenko: “...the critical mass of accumulated issues is causing us in Belarus to be alarmed about the prospects of...the CIS...Justified criticism has intensified in our countries due to dissatisfaction with both the pace and practical results of the development of integration. We are hearing alarming signals from business... it is worth taking a critical look at the legal framework of the CIS. Over the past 25 years, we have signed an incredible amount of decisions, treaties and agreements. Are they all relevant and necessary today? I really want that during Russia’s chairmanship in 2017 we will be able to get clear answers: in the name of what has integration been carried out all these years and what goal is ultimately being pursued?”

What does the expression Goal like a falcon mean?
What does the expression “unlucky person” mean?
What does the expression hair on end mean?

At the beginning of the holiday season, the question of choosing a destination for summer holiday occupies many residents of Russia. In this regard, the question is: “Is Abkhazia part of Russia?” is asked more and more often.

Background

During the Soviet Union, Abkhazia was part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. But the local population was unhappy with this, periodically demanding separation from Georgia.

At the end of the 80s of the last century, this discontent escalated into an armed conflict, during which people died in Sukhumi.

On August 25, 1990, Abkhazia declared independence. In response, Georgia sent troops into the territory of the republic. Russia became a mediator between the warring parties. In 1994, a ceasefire agreement was signed, and peacekeeping troops controlled the situation.

Over the years, Georgia has tried more than once to return lost territory. But the Abkhaz Republic remained independent.

Abkhazia on the map

Today's situation

Today the Republic of Abkhazia is unrecognized state. Its independence is recognized by 5 UN member countries. These include: Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru and Tuvalu.

Map of the Republic of Abkhazia

Many Russians are confident that Abkhazia is part of Russia. Their confidence is based on several facts:

You can enter there using an internal passport.
Russians do not need visas to enter.
90% of Abkhazians are citizens of the Russian Federation.
The currency of the republic is the Russian ruble.

However, Abkhazia is a separate state. Its statehood is confirmed by its own coat of arms, flag and anthem, as well as the existence of border controls between neighboring countries.

How to cross the border

The checkpoint for crossing the interstate border is located on the Psou River, not far from Adler. Russian citizens do not need a visa to enter. There are no restrictions on the time they can stay in the country.

When crossing the Russian-Abkhazian border, a Russian citizen presents one of the following documents:

Border crossing rules

General passport.
International passport.
Diplomatic or service passport.
Sailor's passport.

Citizens serving in Russian army, present command permission and a vacation certificate (in which Abkhazia is indicated as the place of arrival).

To travel with children, you need a birth certificate with proof of citizenship or a passport (for children over 14 years old). A minor citizen traveling without parents must have permission to leave the Russian Federation from at least one of the parents, which indicates the timing and direction of the trip, certified by a notary. When a child travels with one of the parents, consent to travel from the other is not required.

Tourists wishing to enter the country by car should have a license and registration certificate for the car. If the car belongs to another person, the driver must have a general power of attorney, certified by a notary and allowing travel outside the Russian Federation.

Georgian authorities consider Abkhazia to be Georgian territory occupied by Russia. Therefore, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not recommend that citizens of the Russian Federation who have a mark on crossing the Abkhaz border in their international passport use this document to travel to Georgia.

In November 2014, the presidents of the Abkhaz Republic and Russia signed the Treaty on Alliance and Strategic Partnership. Paragraph 2 of Article 4 of this document states that Russia will help strengthen the international ties of the neighboring republic and promote the official recognition of its independence by other countries. This indicates that the small Caucasian republic will not become part of the Russian Federation, remaining an independent state.