Russian is an East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living East Slavic languages, and is also a part of the larger Balto-Slavic languages. It was the de facto and de jure official language of the former Soviet Union. Russian has remained an official language in independent Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and is still commonly used as a lingua franca in Ukraine, Moldova, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to a lesser extent in the Baltic states and Israel.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of 20,368,759 km2 (7,864,422 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation in economic, political, and military affairs and has certain powers relating to the coordination of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security, including cross-border crime prevention.
The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union (FSU) or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they existed as Union Republics, which were the top-level constituents of the Soviet Union. There are 15 post-Soviet states in total: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Each of these countries succeeded their respective Union Republics: the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Estonian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Kazakh SSR, the Kirghiz SSR, the Latvian SSR, the Lithuanian SSR, the Moldavian SSR, the Russian SFSR, the Tajik SSR, the Turkmen SSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the Uzbek SSR. In Russia, the term "near abroad" is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet states other than Russia.
At present, there are six multi-lateral free trade areas in Europe, and one former free trade area in recent history. Note that there are also a number of bilateral free trade agreements between states and between trade blocks; and that some states participate in more than one free trade area.
Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previously operated channels in Ireland, the UK, Asia, Africa, Australia, the United States, and Canada. It is currently owned by Georgia-based media outlet Adjarasport.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, formed in 2002. The Collective Security Treaty has its origins in the Soviet Armed Forces, which was replaced in 1992 by the United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and was then itself replaced by the successor armed forces of the respective independent states.
The Eurasian Scout Region was the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Kyiv, formerly located at Gurzuf near Yalta-Krasnokamianka, Ukraine, with a branch office in Moscow. All the formerly communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Soviet Union have developed or are developing Scouting in the wake of the renaissance in the region. These include most of the successor states to the Soviet Union, in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The 1996/99 Triennial Report of the World Scout Committee/World Organization of the Scout Movement shows that WOSM is aggressively pursuing the organization of Scouting activities in the countries of the former Soviet Union, according to its own vision.
Nickelodeon was a Russian language children's television channel launched on November 15, 1998, across the Post-Soviet states.
Viju+ Sport is a television channel available in Russia and the CIS countries.
Nickelodeon Global is a specialized children's TV channel and the international version of the original American version of the channel It is operated by Paramount Networks EMEAA in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and by Paramount Networks Americas in Latin America and Brazil.
The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single market. As of 2023, it consists of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over $2.4 trillion.
Setanta Sports Philippines Limited is a pay television sports channel and over-the-top streaming service operating in the Philippines owned by Eurasian Broadcasting Enterprise Ltd.
TV Rain is an independent Russian television channel. Launched in 2010, it has been based in the Netherlands since 2023. It focuses on news, discussions, culture, politics, business reports, and documentaries. TV Rain is owned by journalist Natalya Sindeyeva. Its slogan is "Optimistic Channel."
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, also known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and the Other States (ELCROS), is a Lutheran denomination that itself comprises seven regional Lutheran denominations in Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan as well as individual congregations in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Established in its current form in 1999, ELCROS currently has about 24,050 members in more than 400 congregations within its jurisdiction.
Rank comparison chart of all armies of Post-Soviet states.
Rank comparison chart of all air forces of Post-Soviet states.
Rank comparison chart of enlisted for all armies of Post-Soviet states.
Mir, known formally as the International Television and Radio Company "Mir" is a multinational public television broadcaster, broadcasting programs in Russian and featuring programming from all the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
MEGOGO is an international OTT/VOD service based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is the largest entertainment service in Eastern Europe with over 55 million users and a catalog of about 200 thousand hours of content: movies and documentaries, cartoons, series, TV programs and shows, sports broadcasts and cultural events, travel-shows, football matches, audiobooks, podcasts etc. It also provides streams of over 4000 local and foreign TV channels. FOX, Universal, Sony, Walt Disney, MGM, Miramax, Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Blue Ant Media, Euronews, Discovery Communications, Scripps, Viacom. It is among the exclusive broadcasters of European football leagues La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, etc.
First Baltic channel was a Baltic pay television channel based on the largest Russian Channel One to broadcast its programs in the Baltic states. It was launched on 4 September 2002. The channel had also broadcast the local news programme Latvian time since June 2003. The channel was closed in Latvia on 26 October 2021 due to misinformation about COVID-19 and two other violations. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its license was revoked and the channel was effectively banned in all three Baltic States.
