The Commonwealth of Independent States, or the CIS, was founded on December 8, 1991, when the leaders of the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine signed an establishment agreement. Two weeks later, on December 21, 1991, the leaders of eight Soviet Republics - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - signed the protocol to the agreement and so joined the CIS on the basis of sovereign equality. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania chose not to join the regional organisation, while Georgia joined it later, in 1993.
On August 18, 2008, Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to the CIS Executive Committee, informing it of Georgia's decision to withdraw from the CIS. On October 9, 2008, in Bishkek, at the CIS Foreign Ministers Council's meeting that was presided by Kyrgyzstan, a resolution was adopted on Georgia's membership which stipulated that the country's withdrawal would come into effect 12 months after written notification was sent to the custodian of records of the CIS. In accordance with the CIS Charter, on August 18, 2009, Georgia officially ceased to be a member of the regional organisation.
The CIS Charter was adopted at the organisation's summit on January 22, 1993, in Minsk. Ukraine and Turkmenistan chose not to ratify the charter and therefore are not members of the CIS, but are instead considered to be founding and participating countries. Turkmenistan changed its CIS standing to associate member at the CIS summit in Kazan on August 26, 2005.
In accordance with its charter, the Commonwealth of Independent States pursues the following goals:
• Partnership in political, economic, environmental, humanitarian, cultural and other sectors;
• Comprehensive and balanced economic and social development of the member states within the common economic space, interstate cooperation and integration;
• Securing rights and basic freedoms in accordance with generally recognised principles and standards of international law and the regulations for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE);
• Partnerships among the member states in providing international peace and security, the implementation of effective measures to reduce arms and military expenditures, as well as the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and the eventual attainment of general and complete disarmament;
• Providing assistance to the citizens of the member states in free communication, contacts and travel within the commonwealth;
• Providing mutual legal assistance and maintaining partnership in other matters of legal relations;
• Peaceful settlement of disputes and conflicts between the CIS member states.
The CIS has grown into a regional interstate organisation comprising equal independent states, and is recognised by the international community. The CIS operates coordination mechanisms in all sectors of interstate cooperation, and is distinguished by the flexibility of its methods and formats of international partnership. The methods for developing interstate and intergovernmental ties allow for a consideration of the member states' different levels of readiness for integration and provide opportunities for each country to be involved in various sectors of partnership to the extent deemed reasonable for and consistent with their national interests.
Integration of the CIS member states is accomplished through its charter and executive bodies: the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Economic Council, the Council of Defence Ministers, the Council of Commanders-in-Chief of Frontier Troops, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and the Economic Court.
The Council of Heads of State is the supreme body of the CIS which handles and solves any key issues related to the member states and their interests.
The Council of Heads of Government coordinates cooperation of the member states' executive bodies in the economic, social and other areas of their common interests, and meets to discuss the major issues of the member states' economic, humanitarian, social and military partnership. It also agrees draft documents to be submitted for consideration to the Council of Heads of State.
The Council of Foreign Ministers is a major executive body which ensures cooperation in the CIS member states' foreign policy relating to matters of mutual interest and adopts decisions during the periods between the meetings of the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government.
The Economic Council is a major executive body ensuring the implementation of the decisions adopted by the CIS Council of Heads of State and the Council of Heads of Government in establishing a free trade zone; it also works on other issues related to social and economic cooperation. The Economic Council is comprised of deputy prime ministers of the CIS member states.
The council also includes the Economic Commission based at the Moscow office of the CIS Executive Committee. The commission is comprised of plenipotentiary representatives from the CIS member states except for Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The commission ensures thorough development of and considers the draft documents drawn up by the Executive Committee and the social and economic branches. It coordinates the member states' positions on various matters.
The Council of Defence Ministers is a body operating within the Council of Heads of State, in charge of the CIS member states' military policy and military organisation. The council is made up of the defence ministers of the CIS member states, except for Moldova, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.
The Council of Commanders-in-Chief of Frontier Troops is a body within the Council of Heads of State in charge of coordinating and guarding the CIS member states' borders and ensuring stability. The council is comprised of the commanders-in-chief of frontier troops, some other plenipotentiary representatives of the member states, and the chairman of the Council's Coordinating Service, with Azerbaijan having observer status.
The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly holds inter-parliamentary consultations. The assembly discusses issues related to the CIS member states' cooperation and develops joint proposals for the activities of national parliaments. The assembly was established and operates in accordance with the agreement on the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of March 27, 1992, and the Convention of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of May 26, 1995. The assembly's activities are carried out by the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.
The Economic Court was established to fulfill the obligations as set forth by economic agreements and treaties signed by the CIS member states through settling disputes arising in economic relations. The court is comprised of an equal number of judges from each member state involved in the agreement of the CIS Economic Court. Initially, the court comprised eight members, while now it has five judges, representing Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
The Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives of Member States under the CIS Charter and Other Bodies is a permanent body of the CIS which ensures the member states' interaction in matters of mutual interest between the sessions of the Executive Committee, the Council of Heads of Government and the Council of Foreign Ministers. It discusses and puts forward proposals on prospects and priority goals for the CIS, develops agendas for the sessions of the Executive Committee, the Council of Heads of Government and the Council of Foreign Ministers, and supervises the implementation of tasks set by the CIS charter bodies. The council includes representatives from all 11 member states of the commonwealth.
Along with the aforementioned bodies, over 70 branch partnership bodies and organisations have been launched in the commonwealth to expand the member states' cooperation and supervise activities in major economic and social sectors, partnering on humanitarian issues, combating crime and terrorism, and working in a variety of other fields.
The Executive Committee is the commonwealth's joint executive, administrative and coordinating body which works continually at its headquarters based in Minsk and at the branch office in Moscow.
Russia's Sergei Lebedev has served as the chairman and the executive secretary of the Executive Committee since October 2007.
The committee's representatives participate in major meetings and forums held by the United Nations, the European Community, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Economic Commission for Europe, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Association of East Asian Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Organisation of American States, and other international organisations.
In March 1994, the CIS was granted observer status by the United Nations General Assembly; this was a significant event in the commonwealth's history. On April 19, 1994, the CIS was granted observer status by the United Nations Conference on Trade.
At the CIS summit in Dushanbe on October 5, 2007, the participants adopted the concept for the further development of the CIS and a plan of action for its implementation. The documents were signed by all member states excluding Turkmenistan and served as a new direction for the development of the CIS, defining certain practical steps.
The CIS member states have been actively working to implement the plan of action for the further development of the CIS. At the summit of the Council of Heads of State held on October 10, 2008, in Bishkek, participants adopted the provision for the member states' national coordinators and the provision of the countries' chairmanship in the commonwealth, in an effort to increase the efficiency of the organisation's activities. At this summit, a decision was also made to announce that 2010 would be the Year of Science and Innovations. The participants agreed on establishing a permanent council of finance ministers to analyse the global financial crisis and come up with appropriate proposals to handle its consequences. The countries' leaders also approved a draft strategy for the economic development of the CIS through 2020, which was adopted at the summit of the Council of Heads of Government on November 14, 2008, in Chisinau. At the meeting of the Council of Heads of State held on May 22, 2009, participants adopted a plan of action to implement the first stage of the strategy scheduled from 2009 through 2011.
On November 20, 2009, the Council of Heads of State met in Yalta to adopt the guidelines for the CIS member states' long-term partnership in innovation, which were approved by the CIS Economic Council on September 11, 2009. The council made another significant step toward developing the economic cooperation by adopting the agreement on the CIS member states' joint measures to handle the negative effects of the global financial crisis and by approving the plan of action for implementing those joint measures to counter the consequences of the global financial and economic downturn from 2009 through 2010.
On March 19, 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued an executive order, appointing Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as Russia's national coordinator for CIS affairs. The commonwealth also appointed national coordinators for CIS affairs in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, with Ashgabat choosing not to sign the provision for national coordinators.
The summit of the Council of Heads of State held in Chisinau on October 9, 2009, became another important step in the further development of the CIS and in increasing its efficiency. During the summit, participants approved the revised version of the procedural framework for the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Foreign Ministers and the Economic Council. They also adopted the provision on the CIS organisations of branch partnership.
At the summit, participants also signed an address of the CIS member states' leaders to the CIS and the rest of the world over the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. The year 2010 was announced as the Year of the Veterans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, held under the slogan "This Was Our Common Victory," with the decision made to support veteran organisations.
In accordance with the decision made at the summit, Russia took over the chairmanship in the CIS bodies from Moldova starting from January 1, 2010. The Russian side developed the concept for the Russian Federation's chairmanship in the CIS for 2010 and the plan of action for its implementation. The documents were officially introduced to the CIS member states at the summit in Chisinau on October 9, 2009.
On March 26, 2010, the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers held a session in Moscow, where the participants deemed it reasonable to hold a class at schools across the CIS member states prior to May 9, 2010, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany and to continue this in the following years.
At this summit, participants also signed an address of the CIS member states' leaders to the commonwealth's WWII veterans and those who worked on the home front on the anniversary of the victory. They also discussed the priorities for partnership in the humanitarian sector for 2011 through 2012. A decision was also made to recognise 2011 as the Year of Cultural and Historic Heritage, while the year 2012 was announced to be the Year of Sports and Healthy Lifestyles in the CIS. The member states' leaders signed the agreement on extending Sergei Lebedev's term as the executive committee chairman and executive secretary, with his current term expiring on October 5, 2010.
The next session of the CIS Council of Heads of State is scheduled for December 10, 2010 in Moscow.