CIS is an international association that used to be the USSR, whose tasks were to regulate cooperation between the republics that made up the Soviet Union. This is not a supranational 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 Commonwe alth formed? What is the role of certain subjects in its development? More on this later in the article. Below will also be a map of the CIS.
Establishing an organization
Ukrainian SSR, RSFSR and BSSR took part in the creation of the organization. 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 had 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 agreements, the desire to create a democratic constitutional 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 to form an international association.
Ratification of the agreement
Already on December 10, the Supreme Soviets of Ukraine and Belarus gave the document legal force. On December 12, the agreement was ratified in the Russian Parliament. The overwhelming majority (188) 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. These 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 (abbreviation stands for Commonwe alth of Independent States).
An essential condition for the formation of the association was to ensure the equality of the subjects that were previously part of the Soviet Union, and the recognition of all of them as founders. Later, Nazarbayev (the head of Kazakhstan) put forward a proposal to organize a meeting in Alma-Ata, where the CIS countries, the list of which will be given below, will continue to further discuss issues and make joint decisions.
Meeting in Alma-Ata
11 representatives of the republics that used to be 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. Representatives of Georgia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia were absent. As a result of the meeting, a declaration was signed. It outlined the principles and goals of the new Commonwe alth.
In addition, the document fixed the provision thatthat all CIS states will carry out their interaction on equal terms through coordinating institutions. The latter, in turn, were formed on a parity basis. These coordinating institutions were supposed to act in accordance with the agreement between the subjects of the CIS (the transcript is indicated above). At the same time, joint control over military-strategic facilities and nuclear weapons was maintained.
Speaking about what the CIS is, it should be said that this association did not imply a single border - each republic that was previously part of the USSR retained its sovereignty, government, and legal structure. At the same time, the creation of the Commonwe alth was the embodiment of commitment to the formation and development of a common economic zone.
CIS map
Territorially, the Commonwe alth has become smaller than the USSR. Some former republics have not expressed a desire to join the CIS. Nevertheless, the association as a whole occupied a fairly 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 with Moldova and Azerbaijan, which became the last to ratify the document on the creation of the Commonwe alth. Until that moment, they were only associate members of the association. It 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 in the Commonwe alth followscall Minsk, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, Moscow.
Organizational matters
In Minsk, at a meeting on December 30, the CIS member states signed an Interim Agreement. In accordance with it, the supreme body of the Commonwe alth was established. The Council included the heads of the subjects of the organization.
Speaking about what the CIS is, it should be said about how decision-making was regulated. Each member of the Commonwe alth had one vote. At the same time, the general decision was made by consensus.
At the meeting in Minsk, an Agreement was also signed regulating control over the Armed Forces and Border Troops. In accordance with it, each subject had the right to create his own army. In 1993, the organizational stage ended.
On January 22 of that year, the Charter was adopted in Minsk. This document has become fundamental to the organization. In 1996, on March 15, at a meeting of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Resolution 157-II of the State Duma was adopted. It determined the legal force of the results of the referendum held in 1991, March 17, regarding the preservation of the USSR. The third paragraph referred to the confirmation that the Agreement on the formation of the Commonwe alth, not approved by the Congress of People's Deputies - the highest body of state power in the RSFSR - did not and does not have legal force in relation to the termination of the further existence of the USSR.
The role of the Russian Federation in the Commonwe alth
President Vladimir Putin spoke at a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Vladimir Vladimirovich acknowledged that Russia and the CIS have approacheda certain milestone in their development. In this regard, as the president noted, it is necessary either to achieve a qualitative strengthening of the Commonwe alth and the formation on its basis of a really working regional structure with a certain influence in the world, or otherwise the geopolitical space will be "blurred", as a result of which interest in the Commonwe alth among its subjects will be irretrievably lost.
After the Russian government suffered several major political setbacks in March 2005 in political relations between the former Soviet republics (Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine), in the midst of the Kyrgyz power crisis, Putin was very categorical. He noted that all disappointments were the result of an excess of expectations. In short, the President of the Russian Federation admitted that some goals were programmed, but in reality the whole process was completely different.
Commonwe alth sustainability issues
Due to the growing centrifugal processes that took place within the CIS, the question of the need to reform the association was repeatedly raised. However, there is no consensus on the likely directions of this movement. At an informal summit in July in 2006, where the heads of the Commonwe alth subjects gathered, Nazarbayev proposed several guidelines on which to focus 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, scientific and educational fields.
As noted in a number of media outlets, skepticism about the effectiveness and viability of the Commonwe alth has also been 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 events - trade conflicts between Georgia and the Russian Federation. According to a number of analysts, Russia's sanctions against a Commonwe alth entity turned out to be unprecedented. Moreover, as many observers noted, by the end of 2005 the Russian Federation's policy towards the post-Soviet states in general and the CIS countries in particular was formed by Gazprom (the gas monopoly of the Russian Federation). The cost of the supplied fuel, according to a number of authors, was a kind of punishment and encouragement for the subjects of the Commonwe alth, depending on their political interaction with the Russian Federation.
Oil and gas relations
Speaking about what the CIS is, one cannot fail to mention the factor that unites 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 B altic countries was announced. The cost was increased to the pan-European level of $120-125/thousand m33. In September of the same year, an increase in the cost of fuel for Georgia from 2006 to $110 was announced, and from 2007 to $235.
In November 2005, the price ofgas for Armenia. The cost of supplies was to be $110. However, the Armenian leadership expressed concern that the republic would not be able to purchase fuel at such prices. Russia offered an interest-free loan that could offset the increased cost. However, Armenia offered the Russian Federation another option - as an alternative, to transfer the ownership of one of the blocks of the Hrazdan TPP, which belonged to it, as well as the entire gas transmission network in the republic. Nevertheless, despite warnings from the Armenian side about the likely negative consequences of further price increases, the republic only managed to delay the increase in prices.
For Moldova, price increases were announced in 2005. By 2007, a new cost of supplies was agreed upon. The fuel price 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 scheduled for $235.
By December 2005, a conflict broke out between Russia and Ukraine. Since January 1, 2006, prices have been raised to $160. Since further negotiations proved fruitless, Russia raised the price to $230. In some way, 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 leave the cost at the same level. But after the presidential elections for Belarus, prices were again announced to increase. After lengthy negotiations, the cost for 2007-2011 was set at$100.
The role of the subjects of the Commonwe alth in oil and gas relations
It should be noted that, among other things, during 2006, the Russian government made efforts to form a certain union on the basis of the CIS. It was assumed that the members of the Commonwe alth were to become members of the Commonwe alth, 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 suppliers of their own gas to Russian pipelines, or become a transit territory. The exchange or sale of energy transport and energy assets was supposed to be a pledge of this energy union.
Thus, for example, an agreement was reached with Turkmenistan on export deliveries of its gas via the Gazprom pipeline. On the territory of Uzbekistan, Russian companies are developing local deposits. In Armenia, Gazprom owns the main gas pipeline from Iran. An agreement was also reached with Moldova that the local gas company Moldovagaz, half of which is owned by Gazprom, will additionally issue shares, contributing gas distribution networks as payment.
Critical opinions
What is the CIS today? Analyzing the recent history of the subjects of the Commonwe alth, one cannot but pay attention to the abundance of conflicts of various levels. Known evenand military clashes - both inter- and intrastate. To this day, the problem of manifestations of national intolerance and illegal immigration remains unresolved. In addition, there are still economic conflicts between the Russian Federation on the one hand and Ukraine and Belarus on the other.
The main problem that needs to be resolved is the issue of commodity tariffs. The Russian Federation, as the largest subject of the Commonwe alth (a map of Russia and the CIS showing this is presented below), with the highest economic and military potential, has repeatedly been accused of violating a fundamental agreement, in particular, an agreement on conducting intelligence activities within the territory.
From a geopolitical point of view, the CIS today formally does not have the goal of returning in any way to the past, to a time when all currently existing sovereign states belonged first to the Russian Empire, and then to the USSR. Meanwhile, in reality, the official leadership of the Russian Federation, both in their speeches and through the media, often voices criticism of the authorities of other subjects of the Commonwe alth. Most often, members of the International Association are accused of disrespect for the past, which is common, of acting under the influence of developed Western countries (mainly the United States), as well as revanchist sentiments (in particular, presenting the events of the 2nd World War in a light that contradicts both the generally recognized world, and Soviet-Russian historiography).
