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The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union (FSU) ^[1][2][3] or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its breakup in December 1991. They were also referred to as the Newly Independent States (NIS), not withstanding that the Baltic states consider themselves to have resumed their pre-World War II sovereignty upon their separation from the Soviet Union.^[4])

Post-Soviet states in English alphabetical order:
1. Armenia; 2. Azerbaijan; 3. Belarus; 4. Estonia;
5. Georgia; 6. Kazakhstan; 7. Kyrgyzstan; 8. Latvia;
9. Lithuania; 10. Moldova; 11. Russia; 12. Tajikistan;
13. Turkmenistan; 14. Ukraine; 15. Uzbekistan

States and geographical groupings

Typical groupings of the post-Soviet states:
     Russia      Central Asian states      Eastern European states      Baltic states      Transcaucasian states

The 15 post-Soviet states are typically divided into the following five groupings. Each of these regions has its own common set of traits, owing not only to geographic and cultural factors but also to that region's history in relation to Russia. In addition, there are a number of de facto independent, but internationally unrecognized states (see the section Separatist conflicts below).

Economy

Population trends 1970-2007: USSR and FSU^[5]

GDP (in US$) 1970-2007: USSR and FSU^[6]

The collapse of the Soviet Union took place as a result and against the backdrop of general economic stagnation, even regression. As the Gosplan, which had deliberately set up production chains to cross SSR lines, broke down, the inter-republic economic connections were also disrupted, leading to even more serious breakdown of the post-Soviet economies.

Most of the formerly Soviet states began the transition to a market economy in 1990-1991 and made efforts to rebuild and restructure their economic systems, with varying results. The process triggered a severe transition decline, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropping by more than 40% between 1990 and 1995.^[7] This decline in GDP was much more intense than the 27% decline that the United States suffered in the wake of the Great Depression between 1930 and 1934.^[8] The reconfiguration of public finance in compliance with the principles of market economy resulted in dramatically reduced spending on health, education and other social programs, leading to a sharp increase in poverty.^[9]

The initial transition decline was eventually arrested by the cumulative effect of market reforms, and after 1995 the economy in the post-Soviet states began to recover, with GDP switching from negative to positive growth rates. By 2007, 10 of the 15 post-Soviet states had reached GDP greater than what they had in 1991.^[10] Only Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan had GDP significantly below the 1991 level. The recovery in Russia was marginal, with GDP in 2006-2007 just nudging above the 1991 level. This could be perceived as failure of capitalism to improve the standard of living in Russia, and combined with the aftershocks of the 1998 economic crisis it led to a return of more interventionist economic policies by Putin's administration.

Change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in constant prices, 1991-2007^[10]

*The year when GDP decline switched to GDP growth.

Regional organizations

     CIS members      States that joined EU and NATO      Other EU and/or NATO members

A number of regional organizations and cooperating blocs have sprung up since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Only organizations that are mainly (or completely) composed of post-Soviet states are listed in this section; organizations with wider memberships are not discussed. The 15 post-Soviet states are divided in their participation to the regional blocs:

• Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine founded the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in December 1991. It was conceived as a successor organization to the USSR, and as of December 1993 it included 12 of the 15 former Soviet republics (except the three Baltic states).^[11]

• The three Baltic states have not sought membership to any of these post-Soviet organizations, seeking and achieving membership in the European Union and NATO instead (only 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.

• The Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, 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 EurAsEc (merged with CACO), CSTO, and the SCO. The last two groups only became distinct once Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM and sought membership in EurAsEc and CSTO.

• Armenia besides its membership in CIS participates in CSTO only.

• Ukraine, Moldova, 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.^[11]

• Turkmenistan is an associate member of CIS (having withdrawn from full membership in August 2005)^[12] and a member in the Economic Cooperation Organization; it has not sought closer integration in any of the other Western or post-Soviet organizations.

• Georgia notified (on August 18, 2008) the CIS executive organs of its decision to leave the regional organization,^[13][14] and according to the CIS Charter (sec. 1, art. 9) this decision will come into force 12 months after the notification date.^[15]

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) consists of 12 former Soviet Republics that differ in their membership status. As of September 2008, 9 countries have ratified the CIS charter and are full CIS members (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), one country (Turkmenistan) is an associate member, one country (Georgia) has declared its decision to leave the CIS, and one country (Ukraine) is a founding and participating country, but legally not a member country.

Eurasian Economic Community

     EAEC members      GUAM members      Other CIS members

The Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC) was established by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, having grown out of the CIS Customs Union. Ukraine and Moldova have observer status in the community, however Ukraine has declared its desire not to become a full member state. Because having common borders with the rest of the community is a prerequisite for full membership, Moldova is thus barred from seeking it. Uzbekistan applied for membership in October 2005 [1], when the process of merging CACO and the Eurasian Economic Community began; it joined on 25 January 2006.

Collective Security Treaty Organization

     CSTO members      GUAM members      Other CIS members

Seven CIS member states, namely Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Armenia, have enhanced their military cooperation, establishing the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), this being an expansion of the previous Collective Security Treaty (CST). Uzbekistan which (alongside Georgia and Azerbaijan) withdrew from the CST in 1999, joined GUAM. Then in 2005 it withdrew from GUAM and currently it is again seeking closer ties with Russia (thus in 2006 it has joined EurAsEc and later CSTO). CSTO and EurAsEc are closely related organizations.

GUAM

Four member states, namely Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova established the GUAM group that was largely seen as intending to counter Russian dominance in the region. Notably, these four nations don't participate in any of the other regional organizations that sprang up in the region since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (other than the CIS).

Union of Russia and Belarus

     Members of the Union      CIS members who have shown interest in becoming members of the Union      Other CIS members

The Union of Russia and Belarus was originally formed on April 2, 1996 under the name Commonwealth of Russia and Belarus, before being tightened further on December 8, 1999. It was initiated by the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. On paper, the Union of Russia and Belarus intends further integration, beyond the scope of mere cooperation, including the introduction of the ruble as a common currency.

Other regional organizations

Economic Cooperation Organization

     Community of Democratic Choice      Economic Cooperation Organization

The Economic Cooperation Organization was originally formed in 1985 by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan but in 1992 the organization was expanded to include Afghanistan and the six primarily Muslim former Soviet republics: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Community of Democratic Choice

The Community of Democratic Choice (CDC) was formed in December 2005 at the primary instigation of Ukraine and Georgia, and composed of six post-Soviet states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and three other countries of Eastern Europe (Slovenia, Romania and the Republic of Macedonia). The Black Sea Forum (BSF) is a closely related organization.

Just like GUAM before it, this forum is largely seen as intending to counteract Russian influence in the area. This is the only international forum centered in the post-Soviet space in which the Baltic states also participate. In addition, the other three post-Soviet states in it are all members of GUAM.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation:      Member state      Observer state

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), is composed of China and five post-Soviet states, namely Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The organization was founded in 2001, though its predecessor, the Shanghai Five grouping, has existed since 1996. Its aims revolve around security-related issues.

Post-Soviet states are also members in the following organisations in Balkans and Black Sea regions (but those organisations are not centred with Russia as the main mover)

For economic cooperation

• Central European Free Trade Agreement (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 EFTA provides in Western Europe for non EU-members; this alliance an economical organization with strong cooperation with the European Union, for countries that don't want to participage 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 can't 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).
• Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) with Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Armenia (an economic organisation closely related to the SCO but more focused regionally to include also Armenia; it also aims for the hamonious development of democracy for increasing the commerce in South-East Europe and includes some EU members, so it can’t be a regional free-trade union).
• The European Union (EU) with the three Baltic countries that were the first ones to declare independence from the former USSR and have never joined CIS after the collapse of USSR (it includes also now some post-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, that have left CEFTA when entering the EU : Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia)

For political integration and security alliances

• Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SPforSEE) with Moldova (similar in structure to CEFTA, but does not focus on economy but security, for those countries that are not NATO members ); this organization largely cooperates with NATO, and is related to the group of observers at Western European Union (WEU).
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), for Baltic countries, Poland, and Central European countries that have also joined the EU (the EU membership includes also WEU membership because they follow the CFSP and ESDP policies shared now by the EU, the WEU and all European NATO members).
• The other remaining countries are those part of the former Yugoslavia, but their recent conflict and political tensions still does not allow them to cooperate efficiently for their political integration and for their mutual security; in addition, they still don't have full sovereignty in this domain (some of them are still under surveillance by EU or NATO, as mandated by UNO). They still need to find an internal stability and they can collaborate economically with the help of other organizations focusing on economy or political cooperation and development. However a more limited cooperation for security is possible through their membership to the larger (and weaker) OSCE.
• The only exception is Belarus (whose post-soviet democratic transition did not occur) that still rejects political integration, and all security alliances with NATO, OSCE, WEU or other countries in Europe other than Russia (which the process of reintegration of Belarus has been tightened in almost all domains).

In other domains than free trade and security

• Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) with Moldova (similar to SPforSEE, but focuses on political integration than cooperation for security, and to CEFTA but does not focus on trade).
• Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) with Moldova (closely related to SEECP).
• Central European Initiative (CEI) with Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus (and also Central and South-Western European countries in the European Union; it aims at helping Central European countries to reach the EU standards and cooperate politically and find a better economic development and a strong, working but more democratic legal system); it is the only regional organization where Belarus is still a member (but the political cooperation with Belarus is almost stalled, as it is the only Central European country that balances in favor of stronger cooperation with Russia and against integration with EU and NATO ; however Belarus remains isolated and still does not cooperate too in the SCO group lead by Russia and China).
• Black Sea Forum for Partnership and Dialogue (BSF) with Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Armenia (also non post-soviet countries that are NATO members, interested in their maintaining political stability and avoiding conflicts in the region: Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, whose first two are also now EU and CEI members, using EU rules for their political development); however this organization does not focus on helping countries to join the EU, but reaching common standards and good governance and internal stability and democracy like in the CEI.
• (None of these organizations are incompatible with the policy required for accessing EU membership in the domain of political cooperation and development).
• Merging the CEI and BSF is desired by Central European countries, that are members of both (often in addition to EU with stronger objectives) that would like to simplify the development process, and also members of the Council of Europe that federates (but at very slow pace) all European efforts of political cooperation and development through the various regional organizations).

Politics

Regarding political freedom in the former Soviet republics, Freedom House's 2006 report listed the following:

• Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine as "free" countries

  In Freedom House's listing for 2005, Ukraine was listed as "partly free."

• Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova were listed as "partly free"

• Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and four Central Asian nations (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan) were listed as "not free"—while Turkmenistan in particular received the worst freedom ratings possible and was listed as one of the eight most repressive regimes in the year.

Similarly, the Worldwide Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, recorded the following as regards press freedom:

• A good situation in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
• Noticeable problems in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Tajikistan
• A difficult situation in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
• A very serious situation in Turkmenistan

It has been remarked that several post-Soviet states have not changed leadership since their independence, such as Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan and Islom Karimov in Uzbekistan. All of these had originally more limited terms but through decrees or referendums prolonged their stay in office (a practice also followed by Presidents Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and Emomalii Rahmon of Tajikistan). Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan had likewise served as President since its independence until he was forced to resign as a result of the Kyrgyz revolution of 2005. Saparmurat Niyazov in Turkmenistan ruled from independence until his death in 2006, creating a personality cult around himself.

The issue of dynastical succession has been another element affecting the politics of some post-Soviet States, with Ilham Aliyev becoming President of Azerbaijan after the death of his father Heydar Aliyev, and theories about the children of other leaders in Central Asia also being groomed for succession. [2] The participation of Akayev's son and daughter in the 2005 Kyrgyz parliamentary elections boosted fears of dynastic succession being used in Kyrgyzstan as well, and may have contributed to the anti-Akayev climate that led to his overthrow.

Separatist conflicts

Most military conflicts in the post-Soviet space have had to do with the separatist desires of territories with different ethnic or religious demographics than the majority of the state they're officially recognized as part of.

Such territories and resulting military conflicts have so far been:

• Chechnya, where separatists have been seeking independence from Russia. This conflict has bled over into North Ossetia-Alania, Dagestan and Ingushetia at times, with one example being the Beslan school attack.
• Transnistria, de facto independent from Moldova
• Abkhazia and South Ossetia, de facto independent from Georgia, and Adjara has been seeking higher level of autonomy.
• Nagorno-Karabakh, de facto independent from Azerbaijan.

Out of these regions, only one has been fully reincorporated into their respective countries. Adjara was reincorporated into Georgia and the conflict there has ended peacefully. Separatist leader Aslan Abashidze fled to Russia where he was granted asylum.

Chechnya has been involved in two wars, caused by the separatist forces' desire to make it independent from Russia, and conflict between the separatists and the federalists still continues. Currently, Chechnya's official position is as a republic that is part of the Russian Federation. At the same time there still exists a self-proclaimed separatist government not recognized by any state. (However, Georgia recognised Ichkeria briefly in the 1990s.)

There is a separatist movement within Dagestan, members of which fought on the side of the Chechen rebels during the raid of September, 1999. However, that attack was quickly repelled by the Russian Armed Forces with the help of some locals who considered the Chechen attack an invasion rather than a liberation.

Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the other hand, have achieved de facto independence which is only recognized (for Abkhazia and South Ossetia) by Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela; a Russian military presence also exists in all three of these territories. Nagorno-Karabakh has likewise achieved a de facto independence, with Armenian troops having control of all the territory and even of neighboring parts of Azerbaijan. In 1994 these four regions have made an agreement of mutual assistance, and their leaders have in several occasions reiterated such pledges. [3] [4] [5]

The separatist conflicts are sometimes called "Frozen conflicts" since mass bloodshed has subsided, but sentiments and opinions continue to be passed down to new generations.

Civil wars

Civil wars unrelated to separatist movements have occurred twice in the region:

• The Georgian Civil War between the forces of Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Eduard Shevardnadze. The war ended after Russian forces intervened in support of Shevardnadze's government, which in turn agreed to join the Commonwealth of Independent States.
• The Tajikistan Civil War that lasted between 1992 and 1997.

Colour revolutions

Since 2003, a number of (largely) peaceful "colour revolutions" have happened in some post-Soviet states after disputed elections, with popular protests bringing into power the former opposition.

• The Rose Revolution in Georgia, leading to the fall from office of Eduard Shevardnadze.
• The Orange Revolution in Ukraine, bringing into power Viktor Yushchenko.
• The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, leading to the resignation of Askar Akayev.

Russian population in post-Soviet states

There is significant Russophone population in most of the post-Soviet states, whose political position as an ethnic minority varies from country to country.^[16] While Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, in addition to Russia, have kept Russian as an official language, the language lost its status in other post-Soviet states after the end of the Soviet Union.

Religion

While under the Soviet system, religious intellectual life was eliminated, traditions continued to survive. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Islamic movements have emerged alongside ethnic and secular ones. Vitaly Naumkin gives the following assessment. "Throughout the time of change, Islam has served as a symbol of identity, a force for mobilization, and a pressure for democracy. This is one of the few social disasters that the church has survived, in which it was not the cause. But if successful politically, it faces economic challenges beyond its grasp."^[17]

See also

• Russophone#Russian population in post-Soviet states
• Eastern bloc
• Russification
• Anti-Russian sentiment
• OSCE countries statistics
• Operation Provide Hope
• Near abroad

References

External links

• Candid photos of the Eastern Bloc September-December 1991, in the last months of the USSR
• Discovering The Centuries-Old State Tradition, professor Pål Kolstø, University of Oslo
• Former Soviet war zones |The hazards of a long, hard freeze, The Economist, August 19, 2004
• 4 enclaves' post-Soviet fate in limbo, The Seattle Times, August 20, 2006
• Are Independence Referendums First Step Toward Kremlin's 'Historical Revanchism'?, Radio Free Europe, September 15, 2006