What is the CIS? CIS countries - list. CIS map

CIS - formerly the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics international association, whose tasks assumed the regulation of cooperation between the republics that made up the Soviet Union. This is not a supra-state entity. The interaction of subjects and the functioning of the association provided for a voluntary basis. What is the CIS and what is its role in international relations? How was the formation of the Commonwealth? What is the role of certain subjects in its development? About this later in the article. Below is also a map of the CIS.

Formation of organization

The creation of the organization involved the Ukrainian SSR, the RSFSR and the BSSR. In 1991, on December 8, a corresponding agreement was signed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The document, which consisted of 14 articles and the Preamble, said that the USSR ceased to exist as a subject of geopolitical reality and international law. But on the basis of the historical community and ties of peoples, taking into account bilateral treaties, the desire to create a democratic lawful state, and also with intentions to develop their relations with each other on the basis of mutual respect and recognition of sovereignty, the parties present agreed on the formation of an international association.

Ratification of the agreement

On December 10, the Supreme Soviets of Ukraine and Belarus gave the document legal force. On 12 December, the agreement was ratified in the Russian Parliament. The overwhelming majority (188) of the votes were "for", "abstained" - 7, "against" - 6. The next day, on the 13th, the heads of the central Asian republics that were part of the USSR met. They were representatives of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan. As a result of this meeting, a Statement was drawn up. In it, the heads expressed their consent to join the CIS (the abbreviation - the Commonwealth of Independent States).

An inalienable condition for the formation of the association was the provision of equal rights for entities that had previously been part of the Soviet Union and recognition of all of them as founders. Later, Nazarbayev (head of Kazakhstan) proposed the organization of a meeting in Almaty, where the CIS countries , listed below, will continue to discuss issues and make joint decisions.

Meeting in Alma-Ata

11 representatives of the republics, formerly part of the USSR, arrived in the capital of Kazakhstan . They were the heads of Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. There were no representatives of Georgia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. As a result of the meeting, a declaration was signed. It set out the principles and objectives of the new Commonwealth.

In addition, the document enshrined the provision that all CIS states will carry out their interaction in equal conditions through coordinating institutions. The latter, in turn, were formed on a parity basis. These coordinating institutions had to operate in accordance with the agreement between the CIS subjects (the decoding is indicated above). At the same time, joint control over military-strategic objects and nuclear weapons was maintained.

Speaking of what the CIS is, it should be said that this union did not presuppose a single border: each republic that was part of the USSR retained its sovereignty, government, and legal structure. At the same time, the creation of the Commonwealth was the embodiment of a commitment to the formation and development of a common economic zone.

CIS map

Territorially the Commonwealth became smaller than the USSR. Some former republics have not expressed a desire to join the CIS. Nevertheless, the union as a whole occupied a rather large geopolitical space. Most of the subjects sought mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of equality, while maintaining their integrity.

It should be noted that the meeting on December 21 contributed to the completion of the transformation of the republics of the USSR into the CIS countries. The list was replenished by Moldova and Azerbaijan, which became the last to ratify the document on the creation of the Commonwealth. Until that moment, they were only associate members of the association. This was an important milestone in the state building of the entire post-Soviet space. In 1993, Georgia was included in the CIS list. Among the largest cities of the Commonwealth should be named Minsk, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, Moscow.

Organizational matters

In Minsk on December 30, the CIS member states signed the Interim Agreement. In accordance with it, the supreme body of the Commonwealth was established. The Council included the heads of the subjects of the organization.

Speaking of what the CIS is, it should be said how the decision-making process was regulated. Each subject of the Commonwealth had one voice. The general decision was made on the basis of consensus.

At the meeting in Minsk, an agreement was signed that regulates control over the Armed Forces and the Border Guard Troops. In accordance with it, each subject had the right to create his own army. In 1993, the organizational stage was completed.

On January 22 of the same year in Minsk, the Charter was adopted. This document became the foundation for the organization. In 1996, on March 15, at the meeting of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Decree 157-II of the State Duma was adopted. It determined the legal effect of the results of the referendum, held in 1991, on March 17, on the preservation of the USSR. The third paragraph referred to the confirmation that the Agreement on the formation of the Commonwealth, not approved at the Congress of People's Deputies - the supreme body of state power in the RSFSR - did not and does not have legal force with respect to the cessation of the continued existence of the USSR.

The role of the Russian Federation in the Commonwealth

At a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin spoke. Vladimir Vladimirovich acknowledged that Russia and the CIS have come to a certain point in their development. In this regard, as the President noted, it is necessary either to achieve a qualitative strengthening of the Commonwealth and the formation on its basis of a truly functioning regional structure with a certain influence in the world, or else the geopolitical space will be "blurred", so interest in the Commonwealth among its subjects Will be irretrievably lost.

After in March 2005, the Russian government suffered several significant failures in the political relations between the republics formerly constituting the USSR (Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine), at the very height of the Kyrgyz crisis, Putin's government was very categorical. He noted that all disappointments were the result of excessive expectations. To put it briefly, the president of the Russian Federation acknowledged that some goals were programmed, but in reality the entire process was completely different.

The stability of the Commonwealth

Because of the growing centrifugal processes taking place within the CIS, the issue of the need to reform the association was raised repeatedly. However, there is no unity of opinion on the probable directions of this movement. At the July informal summit in 2006, where the heads of the Commonwealth's subjects met, Nazarbayev proposed several guidelines on which to concentrate work.

First of all, the President of Kazakhstan believed that it was necessary to coordinate the migration policy. Necessary, in his opinion, is the development of common transport communications, cooperation in the fight against cross-border crime, as well as interaction in the cultural, humanitarian and scientific-educational spheres.

As noted in several media, skepticism about the effectiveness and viability of the Commonwealth was associated with a number of trade wars. In these crises, the Russian Federation was opposed by Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. The CIS, according to some observers, was on the brink of survival. This was facilitated by recent developments - trade conflicts between Georgia and Russia. According to a number of analysts, Russia's sanctions against a Commonwealth entity were unprecedented. Moreover, as noted by many observers, Russia's policy towards the post-Soviet states in general and the CIS included in the CIS in particular was formed by Gazprom (the Russian gas monopoly) by the end of 2005. The cost of fuel supplied, according to some authors, was a means of punishing and encouraging the subjects of the Commonwealth, depending on their political interaction with the Russian Federation.

"Oil and Gas Relations"

Speaking of what the CIS is, one can not fail to mention the factor uniting all subjects. They were the low cost of fuel supplied from the territory of the Russian Federation. However, in 2005, in July, a gradual increase in gas prices for the Baltic countries was announced . The cost has been increased to a pan-European level of $ 120-125 per thousand square meters. In September of the same year, it was announced that the cost of fuel for Georgia would increase from 2006 to $ 110, and from 2007 to $ 235.

In November 2005, the price of gas for Armenia was increased. The cost of deliveries was $ 110. However, the Armenian leadership expressed fear that the republic will not be able to purchase fuel at such prices. Russia offered an interest-free loan that could compensate for the increased cost. However, Armenia offered the Russian Federation another option - as an alternative to transfer ownership of one of the blocks belonging to her Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant, as well as the whole gas transmission network in the republic. Nevertheless, despite even warnings from the Armenian side about the likely negative consequences of further price increases, the republic managed to delay the increase in value only.

For Moldova, the price increase was announced in 2005. By 2007, a new cost of supply was agreed upon. The price of fuel was $ 170. By December, an agreement was reached on the supply of fuel to Azerbaijan at market value. In 2006, the price was $ 110, and by 2007, deliveries were planned at $ 235.

By December 2005, the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine flared up. Since January 1, 2006, it has been announced that the price will increase to $ 160. As further negotiations proved unsuccessful, Russia raised the price to $ 230. In some ways, Belarus had a privileged position in the gas issue. By March 2005, the Russian Federation announced an increase in prices for supplies. However, by April 4, Putin promised to keep the cost at the same level. But after the presidential elections, prices were raised again for Belarus. After lengthy negotiations, the cost for 2007-2011 was set at $ 100.

The role of the Commonwealth entities in oil and gas relations

It should be noted that along with other things, during 2006 the Russian government made efforts to form a union on the basis of the CIS. It was assumed that its members were to become the subjects of the Commonwealth, one way or another connected by a system of gas and oil pipelines, recognizing, in addition, the leading role of the Russian Federation as a monopoly supplier of energy fuel to Europe from the post-Soviet space. At the same time, neighboring countries had to either fulfill the tasks of their own gas suppliers to Russian pipelines, or become a transit territory. As a pledge of this energy union, it was intended to exchange or sell energy transport and energy assets.

Thus, for example, with Turkmenistan, an agreement was reached on the export supplies of its gas via the Gazprom pipeline. On the territory of Uzbekistan, Russian companies develop local deposits. In Armenia, Gazprom owns a gas pipeline from Iran. An agreement has also been reached with Moldova that the local gas company Moldovgaz, half of which belongs to Gazprom, will additionally issue shares, making gas distribution networks as payment.

Critical opinions

What is the CIS today? Analyzing the recent history of the subjects of the Commonwealth, it is impossible not to pay attention to the abundance of conflicts at various levels. Known even military clashes - both inter-and intra-state. To this day, the problem of manifesting national intolerance, illegal immigration remains unresolved. In addition, economic conflicts between Russia on the one hand and Ukraine and Belarus on the other are also taking place.

The main problem that needs to be resolved is the issue of commodity tariffs. Repeatedly Russia as the largest Commonwealth entity (the map of Russia and the CIS showing this is presented below), which has the highest economic and military potential, was accused of violating the fundamental agreement, in particular, the agreement on conducting intelligence activity inside the territory. From a geopolitical point of view, the CIS today has not formally the goal to return in any way to the past, at a time when all sovereign states that existed at the time were first related to the Russian Empire, and then to the USSR. Meanwhile, in fact, the official leadership of the Russian Federation, both in their speeches and through the media, often voices criticism of the power of other subjects of the Commonwealth. More often than not, members of the International Association are accused of contempt for the past, which is common, in actions influenced by developed Western countries (the United States mainly), as well as revanchist sentiments (in particular, the presentation of the events of World War II in a light that contradicts both the universally recognized world , And Soviet-Russian historiography).