Unfortunately, today, when twenty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, not everyone knows which countries are part of the CIS. This is especially true of modern youth, those who were born and studied in post-Soviet Russia. For them, the USSR is a state from the pages of twentieth-century history textbooks, an unreal state of the past with which nothing connects them.
Meanwhile, the former union republics now maintain political and economic relations within the CIS - the Commonwealth of Independent States. Today, the composition of the CIS is all the countries that were formerly members of the USSR, with the exception of three Baltic states. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania now focus solely on the Western model of socio-economic and state-political development, and therefore they chose not to join the Commonwealth.
So, which countries are part of the CIS today? Firstly, it is the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus, which founded this organization in December 1991. The parties agreed to respect each other's sovereignty and develop interstate ties and relations in various spheres of society. They emphasized the fact that fraternal peoples, who used to live in one large state, should be able to freely communicate with each other, exchange experiences and honor established traditions. Further, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan joined the organization. All of these countries have ratified the main document of the CIS - the charter. One of the provisions of the charter is the country's right to withdraw from the Commonwealth with written notification of the participating countries one year before such withdrawal. In 2008, the Georgian authorities exercised this right, and in the summer of 2009, Georgia officially left the CIS. Turkmenistan participates in the work of the CIS in the role of the so-called "associate member". This means that the Turkmen side makes all necessary contributions, but has the right to vote only on those issues on which it was granted such a right by the organization. Despite the fact that Ukraine was one of the founders of the CIS, this country has not yet ratified the CIS Charter. Thus, legally, she is not a member of the organization, but actually takes part in all discussions and has an impact on the work of the Commonwealth.
Now that we’ve figured out which countries are members of the CIS, we’ll note the main agreements adopted by the organization today.
The agreement on a free trade zone is based on the principles developed by the World Trade Organization and establishes a ban on the collection of customs payments and duties by member states from citizens of other member states. The abolition of the policy of mercantilism and protectionism can bring the economic relations of the signatory states to the Agreement to a new stage.
In order to determine to which states the rules of a document apply, you need to have information about which of the CIS participants has signed it, and not just about which countries are included in the CIS.
Back in 1992, an Agreement was adopted on guarantees of the rights of citizens of the CIS member countries in the field of pension provision. It established the procedure for recording seniority and former pension contributions when calculating payments in each of the countries of the Commonwealth.
Particularly noteworthy is the Agreement on the Cooperation of CIS Members in the Fight against Illegal Migration. Thus, on the one hand, states establish a milder border crossing regime enshrined in the Customs Code of the Customs Union, and on the other, they try to prevent illegal movements through the territory of the post-Soviet space.
Now you know which countries are members of the CIS, and why this organization was created.