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The countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States have concluded a number of agreements among themselves in the field of citizens' mobility rights, which regulate visa-free travel, recognition of documents, cooperation in the field of employment and the common labor market.
According to the Article 5 of Belavezha Accords, the High Contracting Parties shall recognize and respect each other's territorial integrity and the inviolability of existing borders within the Commonwealth. They shall guarantee the openness of borders, freedom of movement of citizens and freedom of information within the Commonwealth. According to Article 7, the High Contracting Parties indicate that through common coordinating institutions, their joint activities will consist in coordinating foreign policy activities, cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space, common European and Eurasian markets, in the field of customs policy, in the development of transport and communication systems, cooperation in the field of environmental protection, migration policy and the fight against organized crime. [1]
The Eurasian Economic Union overlaps with the Commonwealth of Independent States.
In Bishkek on 9 October 1992, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan concluded the Agreement on visa-free movement of citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States within the territory of its participants. The Agreement entered into force on 9 October 1992. For Georgia, the agreement entered into force on 1 August 1997. On 21 July 1997, Azerbaijan sent notification of accession, but since Armenia did not agree to Azerbaijan's accession, the Agreement never entered into force for Azerbaijan. Turkmenistan withdrew in 1999. Russia withdrew in 2000. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan withdrew in 2001. In particular, the document is in force for Georgia as of 2024. [2]
Agreement on mutual recognition of visas of the participant states of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 13 November 1992. [3] Protocol on the termination of the Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Visas of the Participant States of the Commonwealth of Independent States of 13 November 1992 signed on 21 November 2014. [4] The Agreement terminated on 13 December 2019. [5]
Agreement on the Establishment of the Consultative Council on Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Population of the Participating States of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 13 November 1992. [6]
Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters (Minsk Convention) signed on 22 January 1993. As of 2025, the document is in force for Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia. Ukraine sent a notice of withdrawal on 29 December 2022 and the document ceased to be in force for Ukraine on 19 May 2024. [7]
Agreement on assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons signed on 24 September 1993. [8]
Agreement on cooperation in the field of labor migration and social protection of migrant workers signed on 15 April 1994. In particular, the document is in force for Ukraine as of 2024. [9]
Convention of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed on 26 May 1995. [10]
Agreement on Cooperation for the Formation of a Single (Common) Educational Space of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 17 January 1997. [11]
Agreement on the provision of medical assistance to citizens of the participant states of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 27 March 1997. In particular, the document is in force for Ukraine as of 2024. [12]
Convention on legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family and criminal cases (Kishinev Convention) signed on 7 October 2002 by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Georgia. As of 2025, the document is in force for Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. [13]
Agreement on mutual recognition and equivalence of documents on secondary (general) education, primary vocational and secondary vocational (specialized) education signed on 15 September 2004. [14]
Decision on the Concept of Cooperation of the Participating States of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Combating Illegal Migration signed on 16 September 2004. [15]
Agreement on cooperation in the field of professional development and retraining of specialists of the participant states of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 25 May 2007. [16]
Convention on cross-border cooperation of the participant states of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 10 October 2008. [17]
Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families of the Participating States of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 14 November 2008. In particular, the document is in force for Ukraine as of 2024. [18]
The Treaty of the participant states of the Commonwealth of Independent States on the interstate search for persons was signed on 10 December 2010 by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. [19] It was amended on 8 October 2024. [20]
Agreement on the Unified System of Registration of Third Country Nationals and Stateless Persons Entering the Territories of the Participating States of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 18 October 2011. [21]
Resolution on the Concept of the Common Migration Space of the CIS Participating States signed on 17 May 2012. [22]
Decision on the Model Agreement on Readmission signed on 23 November 2012. [23]
Agreement of the participant states of the Commonwealth of Independent States on mutual recognition of documents on higher/higher professional education signed on 31 May 2013. [24]
Agreement on Free Trade in Services, Establishment, Operations and Investment signed on 8 June 2023. [25] It is partly based on the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services and covers four modes of supply for the delivery of services in cross-border trade including the right to freely provide services on site after crossing the border with supplier present as a natural person.
At the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government held in Minsk on 28 May 2021, an agreement on cooperation in the field of promoting employment of the population of the CIS member states was signed. It is the first ever multilateral international treaty of the CIS participant states in the field of employment. The document was developed by the Advisory Council on Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Population of the CIS participating states in accordance with the Priority Measures for the formation of a common labor market and regulation of labor migration for 2017–2020. [26] [27] The agreement entered into force in 2022. On 30 May 2024 at the Commonwealth Headquarters Representatives of the CIS countries discussed cooperation on the creation of a common labor market. [28]
On 6 March 2024, representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the CIS Executive Committee finalized the work on updating the Concept of Phased Formation of a Common Labor Market and Regulation of Labor Force Migration. [29] On 29 November 2024, the CIS finally adopted an updated Concept for the phased formation of a common labor market and migration regulation. [30]
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, and is its legal successor. It covers an area of 20,368,759 km2 (7,864,422 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 246,200,194. 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 Eurasian Economic Community was a regional organisation between 2000 and 2014 which aimed for the economic integration of its member states. The organisation originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on 29 March 1996, with the treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community signed on 10 October 2000 in Kazakhstan's capital Astana by Presidents Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. Uzbekistan joined the community on 7 October 2005, but later withdrew on 16 October 2008.
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.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia formed in 2002, originally consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. 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. As of 2024, Armenia is in the process of withdrawing from the CSTO and stopped making financial contributions in May; by December, the government considered Armenia outside the CSTO.
Treaty on Free Trade Area is an international treaty on a free trade regime in goods signed by eight post-Soviet states on 18 October 2011, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of Government in St. Petersburg and entered into force on 20 September 2012. It creates Free Trade Area among Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. This treaty and other agreements within the Commonwealth of Independent States do not regulate relations with third countries, the terms of the CIS FTA allow member states to enter into the FTA agreements with other countries, as well as to join/create custom unions.
The Alma-Ata Protocols were the founding declarations and principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had agreed to the Belovezha Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and forming the CIS. On 21 December 1991, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan agreed to the Alma-Ata Protocols, formally establishing the CIS. The latter agreement included the original three Belavezha signatories, as well as eight additional former Soviet republics. Four former Soviet republics did not participate: Georgia, and the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Baltic states consider their incorporation into the USSR in 1940 as illegal.
Visitors to Armenia must obtain a visa from one of the Armenian diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries, or citizens who may obtain a visa on arrival, or citizens eligible for an e-Visa. Citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States and citizens of all Eurasian Economic Union and European Union member states may enter Armenia without a visa.
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.
Joint CIS Air Defense System is a unified system that comprises air defense units and elements of the former Soviet republics under control of the Coordination Committee on Air Defense of the Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS. Currently there are 6 de facto members of JADS: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. 70% of all expenditures of the military budget of the Commonwealth of Independent States are directed to the improvement and development of this system.
The Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States is a parliamentary assembly for delegations from the national parliaments of the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) established in 1992.
The Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States, also known as the Statutes of the Commonwealth of Independent States, is an international agreement between the states forming the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The 2023 CIS Games is the second edition of the CIS Games which took place in Belarus in 2023. Athletes from Russia and 8 other member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) competed in the games, with athletes from other nations invited.
The Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area is an international agreement on the intention to create a free trade regime in goods signed by 12 post-Soviet states on 15 April 1994, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of State in Moscow and entered into force on December 30, 1994. Article 1 indicated that this was "the first stage of the creation of the Economic Union", but on 2 April 1999 the countries agreed to remove this phrase from the agreement. Article 17 also confirmed the intention to conclude a free trade agreement in services.
The Agreement on Free Trade in Services, Establishment, Operations and Investment is an international agreement on the creation a free trade regime in services and investment signed by 7 post-Soviet states namely Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on 8 June 2023, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Sochi, Russia to partly integrate Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on the common standards of the WTO and the EAEU even without their membership in the WTO (Uzbekistan) or the EAEU. It entered into force for Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Tajikistan on 5 June 2024. It entered into force for Russia on 24 July 2024. On 14 October 2024, Armenia notified of its ratification of the Agreement and it enters into force for Armenia on 13 November 2024.
Eurasian economic integration is the process of economic integration of post-Soviet states which are geographically located in the center of the continent of Eurasia. Eurasian integration has been taking shape since 1991, originally via the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991, as noted in the World Trade Organization report. Currently, integration is primarily implemented through organizations that are open to accession by any post-Soviet countries, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Eurasian Economic Union. An economic union means the deepest stage of economic integration.
The Common Economic Space is the goal and the result of the process of economic integration of post-Soviet states envisaged by the Article 7 of the Agreement on the creation the Commonwealth of Independent States signed on 8 December 1991. According to Article 7, the High Contracting Parties indicate that through common coordinating institutions, their joint activities will consist in coordinating foreign policy activities, cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space, common European and Eurasian markets, in the field of customs policy, in the development of transport and communication systems, cooperation in the field of environmental protection, migration policy and the fight against organized crime.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly known as the Soviet Union was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. It was a founding member of the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, its UN seat was transferred to the Russian Federation, the continuator state of the USSR.
In the Soviet Union, the transition period was declared by adoption the Law of the USSR "On the bodies of state power and administration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the transition period" which was signed into law on 5 September 1991.
The Agreement on Customs Union between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus was concluded in Minsk on 6 January 1995 between the Government of the Russian Federation by Viktor Chernomyrdin and the Government of the Republic of Belarus by Sergey Ling in two original copies in the Russian and Belarusian languages, both texts being equally authentic. According to the website of the Eurasian Economic Union, “Applies to the extent not contradicting the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union of 29 May 2014”. The Depositaries are the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.
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