Subsequently, several integration associations of former Soviet republics were created on its basis. The largest of them is the Commonwealth of Independent States. CIS was created in Minsk on December 8, 1991 on the basis of an Agreement signed by the heads Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine. A little later, 8 more republican countries joined the Commonwealth: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Georgia joined in 1993. Thus, of the 15 former Soviet republics, all but three Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) became part of the CIS. In December 2005, the Georgian parliament decided to begin the country's withdrawal from the CIS. On January 25, 2006, Georgia already left the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS countries. The Georgian Foreign Ministry explained this by a change in the political regime in the country. Since Georgia has set its sights on joining NATO, it cannot be in two military associations at the same time.

The organizational structure of the CIS includes the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the Executive Secretariat of the Commonwealth, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS States, and industry cooperation bodies.

In accordance with the Treaty on the Establishment of the Economic Union (1993), the main economic goal of the CIS is the creation common market goods, services, capital, etc. To achieve this goal, it was planned to gradually and consistently form a free trade zone, customs, payment, and, in the future, currency unions.

In practice, achieving these goals has faced major obstacles. Neither politically nor economically the countries were ready for integration on a new market basis.

• “parade of sovereignties” of countries, which led to political disunity;
• deep financial, economic and social crises that affected all countries (crisis of non-payments, severance of old economic ties, collapse of the ruble zone, mutual debts, criminalization of the economy, absolute impoverishment of the population, etc.);
• similar export structure and reorientation towards trade with non-CIS countries, competition in world markets;
• an increase in transport tariffs, which, taking into account the extent of the territories, reduced the efficiency of mutual trade;
• military-political conflicts;
• poor controllability and performance discipline decisions taken at the interstate level and other factors.

Post-Soviet integration took the path of forming more compact and effective subregional associations:

Eurasian Economic Community ( EurAsEC). Members: Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Belarus (1995), Kyrgyzstan (1996), Tajikistan (1999). Observers - Ukraine and Moldova. Stage of development - free trade zone (with exceptions). In 2006, the Unified Customs Union began to operate. The issues of creating a single market for oil, gas, and transport services are being considered; transition to a single currency. In January 2006, Uzbekistan joined the EurAsEC and left GUUAM.

Union of Belarus and Russia(1996). It is planned to create a union state.

Central Asian Economic Community. The goal is to create a single economic space between the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan (1994), the Republic of Tajikistan (1998).

GUUAM- regional association of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova (1997). In fact, it has an anti-Russian orientation. In the economic aspect, it involves the creation of a trans-European-Caucasian-Asian route for transporting Caspian oil and other goods (bypassing Russian territory). In the political aspect - integration into European structures and NATO.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO)— integrates Russia, China, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and a number of observer countries India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan. On June 15, 2006, the fifth anniversary summit of the SCO was held in China. From a regional anti-terrorist forum created in 1996, this organization can turn into an economic and military-political alliance capable of serving as a counterweight to the United States and NATO in Central Asia. Chapter Russian state V. Putin noted new opportunities in economic cooperation between countries that arise in connection with the creation Business Council and the SCO Interbank Association. Vladimir Putin called actual idea the creation of the SCO Energy Club, as well as the expansion of interaction in the transport and communications sector.

Collective Security Treaty Organization ( CSTO) is a military-political union created by the former Soviet republics on the basis of the Collective Security Treaty (CST), signed in
1992 (came into force 1994). The contract is renewed automatically every five years. On April 2, 1999, the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a protocol to extend the treaty for the next five-year period, but Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to extend the treaty. In the same year, Uzbekistan joined GUAM. At the Moscow session of the CST on May 14, 2002, a decision was made to transform the CST into a full-fledged international organization - the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). In 2003, Member States ratified the Charter and Agreement on legal status CSTO.

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

The CIS was founded by the heads of the BSSR, RSFSR and Ukraine by signing on December 8, 1991 in Viskuli (Belovezhskaya Pushcha) near Brest (Belarus) the “Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States” (known in the media as the Belovezhskaya Agreement).

The document, which consisted of a Preamble and 14 articles, stated that the USSR ceased to exist as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality. However, based on the historical community of peoples, the ties between them, taking into account bilateral treaties, the desire for a democratic rule of law state, the intention to develop their relations on the basis of mutual recognition and respect for state sovereignty, the parties agreed on the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Already on December 10, the agreement was ratified by the Supreme Councils of Belarus and Ukraine, and on December 12 - by the Supreme Council of Russia. The Russian parliament ratified the document with an overwhelming majority of votes: “for” - 188 votes, “against” - 6 votes, “abstained” - 7, thereby violating Art. 104 of the Constitution of the RSFSR. Because in order to ratify the Belovezhskaya Agreement it was necessary to convene the highest body of state power - the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, since the agreement affected government structure republic and entailed changes to the constitution. In April 1992, the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR three times refused to put to a vote the ratification of the Belovezhskaya Agreement; until its dissolution in October 1993, it never ratified the document. On December 13, 1991, a meeting of the presidents of five Central Asian states that were part of the USSR took place in the city of Ashgabat: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The result was a Statement in which the countries agreed to join the organization, but subject to ensuring equal participation of the subjects of the former Union and recognition of all CIS states as founders. Subsequently, the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev proposed to gather in Almaty to discuss issues and make joint decisions.

The heads of 11 former union republics took part in the meeting, organized specifically for these purposes: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Georgia were absent from the former union republics) . The result was the signing of the Alma-Ata Declaration on December 21, 1991, which set out the goals and principles of the CIS. It established the provision that the interaction of the organization’s participants “will be carried out on the principle of equality through coordinating institutions, formed on a parity basis and operating in the manner determined by agreements between the participants of the Commonwealth, which is neither a state nor a supranational entity.” The unified command of military-strategic forces and unified control over nuclear weapons were also preserved, the parties’ respect for the desire to achieve the status of a nuclear-free and (or) neutral state, and a commitment to cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space were recorded. The fact of the termination of the existence of the USSR with the formation of the CIS was stated.

The Alma-Ata meeting was an important milestone in state building in the post-Soviet space, as it completed the process of transforming the former USSR republics into sovereign states (SSS). The last states to ratify the Alma-Ata Declaration were Azerbaijan (September 24, 1993) and Moldova (April 8, 1994), which had previously been associate members of the organization. In 1993, Georgia became a full member of the CIS.

The first years of the organization's existence were largely devoted to organizational issues. At the first meeting of the CIS heads of state, which took place on December 30, 1991 in Minsk, a “Temporary Agreement on the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States” was signed, which established the highest body of the organization, the Council of Heads of State. In it, each state has one vote, and decisions are made based on consensus. In addition, the “Agreement of the Council of Heads of State Parties of the Commonwealth of Independent States on the Armed Forces and Border Troops” was signed, according to which the participating states confirmed their legal right to create their own Armed Forces.

The organizational stage ended in 1993, when on January 22, in Minsk, the “Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States”, the fundamental document of the organization, was adopted.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is an international organization created to regulate relations between the states that were part of the USSR before it.

Creation of an organization

On December 8, 1991, the heads of Belarus and Ukraine signed the Belovezhskaya Agreement on the creation of the CIS. The document consisted of an introductory part and 14 articles. Two days after the signing of the Belovezhskaya Agreement, the Supreme Councils of Belarus and Ukraine approved the agreement, and on December 12 it was approved by the Supreme Council of Russia.

On December 21, in Almaty, a declaration was signed between the countries that were part of the CIS, which contained the main goals and reasons for the formation of the CIS, as well as its principles. The final decision was made to terminate the existence of the USSR. This meeting became important event, since it completed the process of modification of the republics former USSR to sovereign states (SSGs).

In 1993, Georgia joined the CIS, and in April 1994, Moldova joined.

The first meeting of the heads of state of the CIS took place in Minsk on December 30, 1991. On January 22, 1993, the CIS Charter, the main document of the organization, was adopted.

CIS member states

The Commonwealth includes the following countries:

• Azerbaijan;
• Armenia;
• Belarus;
• Georgia;
• Kazakhstan;
• Kyrgyzstan;
• Moldova;
• Russia;
• Tajikistan;
• Turkmenistan;
• Uzbekistan;
• Ukraine.

CIS goals

In the CIS, all participating countries have equal rights and are independent entities.

Let's consider the main goals of the CIS:

• cooperation in all areas;
• development of participants within the common economic market;
• guarantee of respect for human rights and freedoms;
• cooperation to ensure security and international peace;
• legal assistance on mutual terms;
• resolution of conflicts and disputes between participating countries peacefully.

Based on the CIS Charter, the main body of the organization is the Council of Heads of State, which deals with all issues related to the activities of the CIS. Its first chairman since 1994 was B.N. Yeltsin.

Subsequently, with the participation of the CIS, organizations were formed that had a narrower framework for common goals and problems:

• CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization);
• EurAsEC (Eurasian Economic Community);
• Customs Union;
• CES (Common Economic Space);
• Eurasian Economic Union;
• CAC (Central Asian Cooperation);
• SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization);
• Union state of Russia and Belarus.

In most of them, Russia acts as the leading force.

In 1997, the GUAM organization was created, which included Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, and in 2005 the CDC (Commonwealth of Democratic Choice) was created.

In 1995, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly was created to solve problems of cooperation between parliaments.

Military organizations of the CIS

On this moment There are two military structures within the CIS:

• The Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS was founded to pursue a unified military policy. At its disposal are the Permanent Council and ShKVS (Headquarters for Coordination of CIS Cooperation);
• CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) - founded to actively combat terrorism.

Creation of the CIS. In a difficult political situation, the leaders of the three republics that were part of the USSR - the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation (RSFSR) and Ukraine - signed on December 8, 1991 the Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and stated in this document that the "Union The USSR as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality ceases to exist."

On December 9, 1993, the Republic of Georgia joined the CIS. Currently, the Commonwealth unites 12 states - formerly union republics of the USSR (only the Baltic states - the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Republics - do not participate in the CIS).

A little over a year after the proclamation of the CIS, the Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States was adopted. The corresponding decision was made by the Council of Heads of State of the CIS on January 22, 1993 and signed by the heads of seven states - the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan; later it was joined by the Republic of Azerbaijan (September 24, 1993), the Republic of Georgia (December 9, 1993), and the Republic of Moldova (April 15, 1994).

Charter of the CIS. The Agreement on the Creation of the CIS, the Protocol thereto and the Charter of the CIS constitute set of constituent acts of the Commonwealth, Moreover, from the point of view of content and prospects, the Charter (at least for the states that have recognized it) is of paramount importance.

Legal nature of the CIS. With the development and improvement of the organizational structure of the CIS and especially with the adoption of the Charter and the implementation of its norms, the legal nature of the CIS takes on quite clear outlines.

1. The Commonwealth was created by independent states and is based on the principle of their sovereign equality, and it is this circumstance that is meant when assessing the derivative legal personality of an international organization.

2. The Commonwealth has its own Charter, which sets out the sustainable functions of the CIS, its goals and areas of joint activities of member states, and these are the features that characterize the functional legal personality of an international organization.

3. The Commonwealth has a clear organizational structure, an extensive system of bodies acting as coordinating interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental institutions (as they are qualified in individual acts of the CIS).

And although in the Charter itself only member states are referred to as subjects of international law (Part 1, Article 1), there are sufficient grounds to determine the legal nature of the CIS as a regional international organization, as a subject of international law. On December 24, 1993, the Council of Heads of State adopted a decision on certain measures to ensure international recognition of the Commonwealth and its statutory bodies. Among these measures is an appeal to Secretary General UN with a proposal to grant the CIS observer status in the UN General Assembly. This resolution was adopted by the General Assembly in March 1994.

Membership in the CIS. Specifics of membership in the CIS, according to Art. 7 and 8 of the Charter, is that they differ:

a) the founding states of the Commonwealth are the states that signed and ratified the Agreement on the Creation of the CIS and its Protocol by the time of the adoption of this Charter;

b) member states of the Commonwealth are those founding states that assume obligations under the Charter within one year after its adoption by the Council of Heads of State (i.e. before January 22, 1994);

c) acceding states are states that have assumed obligations under the Charter by joining it with the consent of all member states;

d) states with the status of an associate member are states that join the Commonwealth on the basis of a decision of the Council of Heads of State with the intention of participating in certain types of its activities on the terms determined by the agreement on associate membership.

A state's withdrawal from the Commonwealth is permitted subject to notification of such intention 12 months prior to withdrawal.

Legal regulation of joint activities. The areas of joint activities of the member states, implemented on an equal basis through common coordinating institutions, include (Article 7 of the Agreement and Article 4 of the Charter):

ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms;

coordination of foreign policy activities;

formation and development of a common economic space, customs policy;

development of transport and communication systems;

health and environmental protection;

issues of social and migration policy;

fight against organized crime;

defense policy and protection of external borders. By mutual agreement of the Member States, the list may be supplemented.

As legal framework interstate relations, multilateral and bilateral agreements are considered.

Organ system of the CIS. There are two types of bodies in the structure of the CIS:

1) bodies provided for by the Charter (statutory bodies) (Council of Heads of State, Council of Heads of Government, Coordination and Consultative Committee, Council of Foreign Ministers, Council of Defense Ministers, Council of Border Troops Commanders, Economic Court, Commission on Human Rights);

2) bodies created on the basis of agreements or by decision of the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government (other bodies) (Executive Secretariat, Council of Heads of Foreign Economic Agencies, Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy, Interstate Council for Natural and Man-Made Emergencies, Bureau of Coordination combating organized crime and other dangerous types of crimes in the CIS and many others).

States have permanent authorized representatives under the statutory and other bodies of the Commonwealth in order to maintain mutual relations, protect the interests of the representing state, participate in meetings of bodies, in negotiations, etc. According to the Regulations on such representatives, approved on December 24, 1993, representatives enjoy the territory of states that have recognized the institution of representatives, privileges and immunities granted to diplomatic agents.

On the basis of this international act, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 11, 1996 approved the Regulations on the Permanent Representation of the Russian Federation to the statutory and other bodies of the CIS. It is considered as a diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation and is located in Minsk. Along with federal regulations, the norms of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and other norms of international law are indicated as the legal basis for its activities.

» Kazakhstan is on the path to independence. »

Collapse of the USSR.

Throughout 1990 and especially 1991, among the main problems facing the USSR was the problem of signing a new Union Treaty. Work on its preparation led to the emergence of several projects that were published in 1991. In March 1991, on the initiative of M. Gorbachev, an all-Union referendum was held on the question of whether or not to exist the USSR and what it should be like. The majority of the population of the USSR voted to preserve the USSR.

But the new authorities in the union republics, formed as a result of the 1990 elections, turned out to be more determined to change than the union leadership. By the end of 1990, almost all republics of the USSR adopted Declarations of their sovereignty and the supremacy of republican laws over union laws. A situation arose that observers dubbed a “parade of sovereignties” and a “war of laws.” Political power gradually moved from the center to the republics.

At the same time, both in the center and locally, fears and fears of the uncontrollable collapse of the USSR were brewing. All this taken together gave special significance to the negotiations on the new Union Treaty. In the spring and summer of 1991, meetings of the heads of republics were held at the residence of USSR President M. Gorbachev, Novo-Ogarevo, near Moscow. As a result of long and difficult negotiations, an agreement was reached, called “9+1”, i.e. nine republics and the center that decided to sign the Union Treaty. The signing of the agreement was scheduled for August 20.

M. Gorbachev went on vacation to Crimea, to Foras, intending to return to Moscow on August 19. But, on August 19, 1991, the formation of the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP) was announced in the country, and the President of the USSR, who was in Foras, was isolated; in fact, it was an attempt at a coup. These events accelerated the collapse of the USSR.

Creation of the CIS.

In November 1991, in Novo-Ogarevo, seven republics (Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan) declared their intention to create a new interstate entity - the Union of Sovereign States (USS). The G7 leaders decided to sign a new Union Treaty by the end of 1991. Its signing was scheduled for November 25, 1991. But this did not happen either. Only M. Gorbachev put his signature, and the project itself was sent for approval by the parliaments of seven republics. It was just an excuse. In fact, everyone was waiting for the outcome of the referendum on Ukrainian independence scheduled for December 1, 1991. The population of Ukraine in December 1991 voted for the complete independence of Ukraine, thereby burying M. Gorbachev’s hopes of preserving the USSR.

The powerlessness of the center led to the fact that on December 8, 1991, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, near Brest, the leaders of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine signed the Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It talked about how “the founders of the USSR, who signed the Union Treaty of 1922, state that the USSR as a subject of international law has ceased to exist”1). This agreement annulled the 1922 Treaty on the Formation of the USSR and at the same time formed the CIS.

Then on December 13, the leaders of the republics Central Asia and Kazakhstan, at the meeting in Ashgabat, analyzed the Belovezhskaya Agreement and expressed their readiness to fully participate in the formation of a new commonwealth.

On December 21, 1991, a meeting of the leaders of the Troika, Five, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova took place in Almaty. At the Alma-Ata meeting, a Declaration was adopted on the cessation of the existence of the USSR and the formation of the CIS consisting of nine states.

Commander-in-Chief and announced his resignation from the post of President of the USSR. December 26, 1991 one of the two chambers Supreme Council The USSR, which managed to convene - the Council of Republics adopted a formal Declaration on the cessation of the existence of the USSR.

So, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist. The participants of the Alma-Ata meeting adopted a package of documents, according to which:
- the territorial integrity of the states that were part of the commonwealth was stated;
- unified command of military-strategic forces and unified control over nuclear weapons were maintained;
- the highest authorities of the CIS were created - the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government;
- the open nature of the Commonwealth was declared.