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Post-Soviet states

The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union (FSU)[1] 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" (Russian: ближнее зарубежье, romanizedbližneye zarubežye) is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet states other than Russia.

Following the end of the Cold War, the international community de facto recognized Russia as the successor state to the Soviet Union as a whole, rather than to just the Russian SFSR. In contrast, the other post-Soviet states were recognized as successors only to their corresponding Union Republics. However, Russia's status as the sole legitimate successor in this capacity has been disputed by Ukraine, which has proclaimed by law that it is the successor state to both the Ukrainian SSR and the Soviet Union as a whole.[2][3][4] The question of whether Russia or Ukraine succeeded the Soviet Union in 1991 arose due to a comprehensive dispute between the two countries over what had been collective Soviet state-owned properties.[5][6][7]


The Union Republics of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) were the first to break away from the Soviet Union by proclaiming the restoration of their national independence in 1990; they cited legal continuity from the original Baltic states, asserting that Baltic sovereignty had continued on a de jure basis due to the belligerent nature of the 1940 Soviet annexation.[8][9] Subsequently, the 12 remaining Union Republics seceded, with all of them jointly establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and most of them later joining the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On the other hand, the three Baltic states pursued a policy of near-total disengagement with the Russian-dominated post-Soviet sphere, instead focusing on integrating themselves with the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).[10] They successfully attained NATO membership and were granted EU membership in 2004. Since the 2000s, many EU officials have stressed the importance of establishing EU Association Agreements with the other post-Soviet states. Ukraine and Georgia have actively sought NATO membership due to increasingly hostile Russian interference in their internal affairs.[11][12]


Due to the post-Soviet conflicts, several disputed states with varying degrees of international recognition have emerged within the territory of the former Soviet Union. These include: Transnistria, an unrecognized Russian-backed state in eastern Moldova; and Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two partially recognized Russian-backed states in northern Georgia. The United Nations (UN) has historically considered Russian-backed states in the "near abroad" to be illegitimate and instead views them as constituting Russian-occupied territories. The aftermath of Ukraine's Maidan Revolution saw the emergence of Russian-backed states in Ukraine in 2014: the Republic of Crimea in southern Ukraine briefly proclaimed independence before being annexed by Russia in 2014;[13] and the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, both located in Ukraine's Donbas, were occupied and subsequently declared independence in 2014 before being formally annexed by Russia in 2022, amidst the broader Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Name[edit]

In the political language of Russia and some other post-Soviet states, the term near abroad (Russian: ближнее зарубежье, romanizedblizhnee zarubezhe) refers to the independent republics that emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Increasing usage of the term in English is connected to assertions of Russia's right to maintain significant influence in the region.[14][15][16] Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the region to be a component of Russia's exclusive "sphere of influence", and strategically vital to Russian interests.[16] The concept has been compared to the Monroe Doctrine, central to American grand strategy in the 20th century.[14]


The AP Styleguide recommends avoiding use of the shorthand "former Soviet republic(s)" unless relevant to the story.[17]

The post-Soviet states listed according to their Human Development Index scores in 2021:[63]


Very High Human Development:


High Human Development:


Medium Human Development:

Russia and Ukraine founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in December 1991. It was conceived as a successor organization to the USSR, and in December 1993 it included 12 of the 15 former Soviet republics (except the three Baltic states).[64] It currently consists of nine of the 15 former Soviet republics, with one associate state (Turkmenistan). Georgia withdrew from the CIS in August 2008, while Ukraine stopped participating from the CIS in May 2018.

Belarus

The three Baltic states have not sought membership in any of these post-Soviet organizations, seeking and achieving membership in the and NATO instead, although their electricity and rail systems remain closely connected with former Soviet organizations. The sole exception to the above has been their recent membership in the Community of Democratic Choice.

European Union

The Central Asian states of , Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (as well as Belarus) are members of the CIS and participate in several regional organizations that have Russia as a primary mover. Such organizations are the Eurasian Economic Community (later merged with Eurasian Economic Union, which Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are not members of), Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The last two groups only became distinct once Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM and sought membership in EurAsEc and CSTO (which it subsequently withdrew from in 2008 and 2012, respectively).

Kazakhstan

besides its membership in CIS participates in Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Armenia

and Azerbaijan participate in the CIS but other than that they mostly cooperate within regional organizations that are not dominated by Russia. Such organizations are GUAM and the Community of Democratic Choice. Although Ukraine is one of the three founding countries of the CIS, it is legally not a member because it has never ratified the 1993 CIS Charter.[64]

Moldova

Turkmenistan is an associate member of CIS (having withdrawn from full membership in August 2005) and a member in the Economic Cooperation Organization; it has not sought closer integration in any of the other Western or post-Soviet organizations.

[65]

In 2008, notified the CIS executive bodies of its decision to leave the regional organization,[66][67] and according to the CIS Charter (sec. 1, art. 9) this decision went into force 12 months after the notification date.[68]

Georgia

(CEFTA) with Moldova (it includes also non post-Soviet countries of the former Yugoslavia; previously, also included other Central European countries that left CEFTA when joining the European Union; CEFTA plays a role in Central Europe similar to what European Free Trade Association (EFTA) provides in Western Europe for non EU-members; this alliance an economical organization with strong cooperation with the European Union, for countries that do not want to participate in EurAsEC centered on Russia but that are seeking alliances to the West); even if Moldova is the only CEFTA country that is still within a weakening CIS, it no longer participates to the CSTO for most of the common security policy (but cannot join the EU because of incompatibility with WEU stability rules and the unsolved problem of Transnistria) but can still benefit from the Free Trade Area notably with Romania and Bulgaria (in the EU).

Central European Free Trade Agreement

(BSEC) with Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkey, Albania, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Armenia (an economic organisation closely related to the SCO but more focused regionally to include also Armenia; it also aims for the harmonious development of democracy for increasing the commerce in South-East Europe and includes some EU members, so it cannot be a regional free-trade union).

Black Sea Economic Cooperation

The (EU) with the three Baltic countries that were the first ones to declare independence from the former USSR have never joined CIS after the collapse of USSR (it includes also now some post-communist countries in Central Europe, that have left CEFTA when entering the EU : Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia).

European Union

Latvia and Lithuania as "free" countries.

Estonia

Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine were listed as "partly free".

Armenia

Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were listed as "not free".

Azerbaijan

Demographics of Armenia

Demographics of Azerbaijan

Demographics of Belarus

Demographics of Estonia

Demographics of Georgia

Demographics of Kazakhstan

Demographics of Kyrgyzstan

Demographics of Latvia

Demographics of Lithuania

Demographics of Moldova

Demographics of Russia

Demographics of Tajikistan

Demographics of Turkmenistan

Demographics of Ukraine

Demographics of Uzbekistan

Soviet Empire

Border states (Eastern Europe)

Russian world

Russian irredentism

Eastern Bloc

Frozen conflict

New Union Treaty

Operation Provide Hope

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe statistics

Russification

Russophilia

Russophobia

Second World

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

. Kundu, Nivedita Das. Indian Foreign Affairs Journal; New Delhi Vol. 5, Iss. 3, (Jul–Sep 2010): 324–337.

"Geopolitical and Economic Significance of Central Eurasia: Indian Perspective"

September–December 1991, in the last months of the USSR

Candid photos of the Eastern Bloc

from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives

New Directions Post-Independence

from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives

Post-Soviet Russia and its Neighbor States

professor Pål Kolstø, University of Oslo

Discovering The Centuries-Old State Tradition

The Economist, 19 August 2004

Former Soviet war zones |The hazards of a long, hard freeze

The Seattle Times, 20 August 2006

4 enclaves' post-Soviet fate in limbo

Radio Free Europe, 15 September 2006

Are Independence Referendums First Step Toward Kremlin's 'Historical Revanchism'?