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CIS states

Commonwealth of Independent States
Содружество Независимых Государств
Flag of Commonwealth of Independent States
Emblem of Commonwealth of Independent States
Flag Emblem
CIS (orthographic projection).svg
Administrative center Minsk
Largest city Moscow
Official language Russian
Type Regional organization
Membership
Leaders
Russia Sergei Lebedev
 Russia
Establishment
8 December 1991
15 May 1992
• Free trade agreement signed
18 October 2011
• Free Trade Area established
20 September 2012
Area
• Total
22,100,843 km2 (8,533,183 sq mi)
Population
• 2017 estimate
282,214,245
• Density
12.77/km2 (33.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP) 2016 estimate
• Total
US$5.429 trillion
• Per capita
US$19,238
GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate
• Total
US$2.808 trillion
• Per capita
US$10,113
Currency
Time zone (UTC+2 to +12)

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS; Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств, СНГ, tr. Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv, SNG), also called the Russian Commonwealth (to distinguish it from the British Commonwealth of Nations), is a regional organization formed during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Nine out of the 15 former Soviet Republics are member states, and two are associate members (Ukraine and Turkmenistan). Georgia withdrew its membership in 2008, while the Baltic states (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia) chose not to participate.

The CIS has few supranational powers but aims to be more than a purely symbolic organization, nominally possessing coordinating powers in the realms of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. It has also promoted cooperation on cross-border crime prevention. Furthermore, eight of the nine CIS member states participate in the CIS Free Trade Area. Three organizations are under the overview of the CIS, namely the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union (alongside subdivisions, the Eurasian Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Space, which comprises territory inhabited by over 180 million people), and the Union State. While the first and the second are military and economic alliances, the third aims to reach a confederation of Russia and Belarus with a common government, flag, currency, etc.


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Wikipedia

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