Post-Soviet states

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates

File:USSR Republics numbered by alphabet.svg
Post-Soviet states
1. Template:Country data Armenia • 2. Template:Country data Azerbaijan • 3. Template:Country data Belarus • 4. Template:Country data Estonia • 5. Template:Country data Georgia • 6. Template:Country data Kazakhstan • 7. Template:Country data Kyrgyzstan • 8. Template:Country data Latvia • 9. Template:Country data Lithuania • 10. Template:Country data Moldova • 11. Template:Country data Russia • 12. Template:Country data Tajikistan • 13. Template:Country data Turkmenistan • 14. Template:Country data Ukraine • 15. Template:Country data UzbekistanScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union[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" (Template:Langx) is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet states other than Russia.

Following the transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union, post-Soviet states and the international community Template:Langx recognized Russia as the only continuator state to the Soviet Union as a whole, rather than to just the Russian SFSR including UN and UNSC membership (see agreements in Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union). The other post-Soviet states were recognized as successors only to their corresponding Union Republics and to international treaties concluded by the Soviet Union. All 12 post-Soviet states are successors of the Soviet Union, but not continuators.[2]

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 Template:Langx basis due to the belligerent nature of the 1940 Soviet annexation.[3][4] 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).[5] 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.[6][7]

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;[8] 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

In the political language of Russia and some other post-Soviet states, the term near abroad (Template:Langx) 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.[9][10][11] The concept has been compared to the Monroe Doctrine, central to American grand strategy in the 20th century.[9]

The AP Styleguide recommends avoiding the use of the shorthand "former Soviet republic(s)" unless relevant to the story.[12]

The present definition restricts the notion of post-Soviet states to the 15 former republics of the Soviet Union (USSR). A broader definition includes also all the formerly communist-bloc countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE countries), Asia, and Latin America.[5][13]

Country comparison

The 15 states may be divided into four subregions. The several de facto independent states presently lacking international recognition (read below: Separatist conflicts) are not listed separately.

Subregion Country Symbols Capital Form of
government 		Independence Area[14] Population Ethnic majority, percent Density Notes
Coat of arms Flag km2 mi2 1989 now p/km2 p/mi2
Central Asia Kazakhstan
(Republic of Kazakhstan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Kazakhstan latin.svg Template:Flagdeco Astana Unitary dominant-party
presidential republic 		16 December 1991 Template:Convert 20,075,271 39.7% Increase 71.3% Template:Convert [15][16]
Kyrgyzstan
(Kyrgyz Republic)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Kyrgyzstan.svg Template:Flagdeco Bishkek Unitary presidential
republic 		31 August 1991 Template:Convert 7,100,000 52.4% Increase 77.8% Template:Convert [17][18]
Tajikistan
(Republic of Tajikistan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Tajikistan.svg Template:Flagdeco Dushanbe Unitary presidential
republic under a dictatorship 		9 September 1991 Template:Convert 10,077,600 62.3% Increase 86.1% Template:Convert [19][20]
Turkmenistan
(formerly theScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Republic of Turkmenistan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Turkmenistan.svg Template:Flagdeco Ashgabat Unitary presidential
republic under a hereditary
dictatorship 		27 October 1991 Template:Convert 7,057,841 72.0% Increase 86.7% Template:Convert [21][22]
Uzbekistan
(Republic of Uzbekistan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg Template:Flagdeco Tashkent Unitary presidential
republic under a dictatorship 		1 September 1991 Template:Convert 37,030,884 71.4% Increase 84.6% Template:Convert [19][23]
Total Central Asia Template:Convert 76,350,229 Template:Convert
Eastern Europe Belarus
(Republic of Belarus)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Belarus (2020).svg Template:Flagdeco Minsk Unitary presidential
republic under a dictatorship 		25 August 1991 Template:Convert 9,155,978 77.9% Increase 84.9% Template:Convert [24][25]
Moldova
(Republic of Moldova)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Moldova.svg Template:Flagdeco Chișinău Unitary parliamentary
republic 		27 August 1991 Template:Convert 2,512,758 64.5% Increase 77.2% Template:Convert [26][27]
Russia
(Russian Federation)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation.svg Template:Flagdeco Moscow Federal semi-presidential
republic under a dictatorship 		12 December 1991 Template:Convert 146,171,015 81.5% Decrease 80.9% Template:Convert [28][29][30][31]
Ukraine File:Lesser Coat of Arms of Ukraine.svg Template:Flagdeco Kyiv Unitary semi-presidential
republic under martial law since 2022 		24 August 1991 Template:Convert 36,744,636 72.7% Increase 77.5% Template:Convert [32][33]
Total Eastern Europe Template:Convert 199,500,942 Template:Convert
Baltics Estonia
(Republic of Estonia)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Estonia.svg Template:Flagdeco Tallinn Unitary parliamentary
republic 		20 August 1991 Template:Convert 1,331,796 61.5% Increase 68.2% Template:Convert [34][35]
Latvia
(Republic of Latvia)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Latvia.svg Template:Flagdeco Riga Unitary parliamentary
republic 		21 August 1991 Template:Convert 1,882,200 52.0% Increase 62.6% Template:Convert [19][36]
Lithuania
(Republic of Lithuania)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Lithuania.svg Template:Flagdeco Vilnius Unitary semi-presidential
republic 		11 March 1990 Template:Convert 2,859,718 79.6% Increase 82.3% Template:Convert [19][37]
Total Baltic states Template:Convert 5,998,274 Template:Convert
South Caucasus Armenia
(Republic of Armenia)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Armenia.svg Template:Flagdeco Yerevan Unitary parliamentary
republic 		21 September 1991 Template:Convert 2,976,800 93.3% Increase 98.1% Template:Convert [38][39]
Azerbaijan
(Republic of Azerbaijan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Azerbaijan.svg Template:Flagdeco Baku Unitary semi-presidential
republic under a hereditary
dictatorship 		18 October 1991 Template:Convert 10,127,145 82.7% Increase 94.8% Template:Convert [40][41]
Georgia
(formerly theScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Republic of Georgia)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Greater coat of arms of Georgia.svg Template:Flagdeco Tbilisi Unitary parliamentary
republic 		9 April 1991 Template:Convert 3,688,600 70.1% Increase 86.8% Template:Convert [19][42]
Total South Caucasus Template:Convert 16,831,069 Template:Convert
Total former Soviet Union Template:Convert 296,582,638 Template:Convert [43]

Current leaders

Heads of state

Heads of government

Economy

The dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred against a backdrop of economic stagnation and regression within the economy of the USSR. This period marked the breakdown of the Gosplan, the state planning agency responsible for economic planning and inter-republic economic connections, exacerbating the effects on the economies of the post-Soviet states.

Most of the formerly Soviet states began the transition to a market economy from a command economy in 1990–1991 and made efforts to rebuild and restructure their economic systems, often following neoliberal shock therapy policies, with varying results. In all, the process triggered severe economic declines, with gross domestic product (GDP) dropping by more than 40% overall between 1990 and 1995.[45] 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.[46] The reconfiguration of public finance in compliance with capitalist principles resulted in dramatically reduced spending on health, education and other social programs, leading to a sharp increase in poverty and economic inequality.[47][48] The economic shocks associated with wholesale privatization resulted in the excess deaths of roughly 1 million working age individuals throughout the former Soviet bloc in the 1990s.[49][50] A study by economist Steven Rosefielde asserts that 3.4 million Russians died premature deaths from 1990 to 1998, partly as the result of the shock therapy policies imposed by the Washington Consensus.[51]

The initial transition decline was eventually arrested, 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 recovered their 1991 GDP levels.[52] According to economist Branko Milanović, in 2015 many former Soviet republics and other former communist countries still have not caught up to their 1991 levels of output, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan and Ukraine. He concluded that "only 1 out of 10 people living in 'transition' countries have seen a successful transition to capitalism and more democracy."[53][54] Commenting on Milanović's report in 2021, Kristen Ghodsee says this view is "essentially correct" and perhaps underestimates "the negative impacts of transition by focusing only on GDP, inequality and democratic consolidation" whereas Mitchell A. Orenstein says this view is "overly pessimistic" and notes that "Poland had done spectacularly well and living standards had increased in many countries."[55]

Most of the new states' constitutions define directly or indirectly the economic system of the countries parallel to the democratic transition of the 1990s, emphasising the free market economy. The average government debt in these countries is nearly 44%, but the deviation is great, because the lowest figure is close to 10% but the highest is 97%. The trend shows that the sovereign debt-to-GDP ratio in most of the countries has been rising. The constitutional background for taxation is similar. Central banks are often independent state institutions, which possess the monopoly on managing and implementing a state's or federation's monetary policy. Besides monetary policy, some of them also perform the supervision of the financial intermediary system.[56]

Change in gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices, 1991–2015[57]

Country 1991* 1996 2001 2006 2011 2015 2021 2022 Turnaround
year**
Central Asia
Template:Flagdeco Kazakhstan 100 69.3 88.5 141.4 185.7 219.0 252.3 261.1 1996
Template:Flagdeco Kyrgyzstan 100 58.9 76.1 89.6 114.4 133.9 154.5 169.6 1996
Template:Flagdeco Tajikistan 100 34.1 45.2 56.0 98.1 124.5 189.5 205.0 1997
Template:Flagdeco Turkmenistan 100 70.7 86.0 117.2 199.2 285.5 367.9 374.2 1998
Template:Flagdeco Uzbekistan 100 82.9 102.6 137.5 208.4 281.2 363.6 387.5 1996
Eastern Europe
Template:Flagdeco Belarus 100 67.9 94.0 141.5 192.5 193.9 206.0 196.7 1996
Template:Flagicon Moldova 100 45.2 45.0 62.5 74.5 83.2 104.6 98.4 1997
Template:Flagicon Russia 100 63.1 74.5 103.3 118.3 119.8 135.2 133.3 1997
Template:Flagdeco Ukraine 100 47.2 51.8 73.7 75.9 63.4 68.8 48.6 2000
Baltic states
Template:Flagdeco Estonia*** ? 105.0 143.9 212.3 203.2 222.3 281.9 278.2 ?
Template:Flagdeco Latvia 100 67.8 92.9 143.1 130.1 145.8 165.3 171.7 1993
Template:Flagdeco Lithuania 100 64.6 81.5 119.8 123.9 139.6 173.2 180.0 1995
South Caucasus
Template:Flagdeco Armenia 100 63.3 84.2 154.7 172.5 202.6 244.2 276.0 1994
Template:Flagdeco Azerbaijan 100 42.7 65.2 150.2 241.1 276.5 269.6 282.1 1996
Template:Flagicon Georgia 100 39.8 49.8 74.1 93.2 109.3 136.0 150.3 1995

*Economy of most Soviet republics started to decline in 1989–1990, thus indices for 1991 do not match pre-reform maximums.

**The year when GDP decline switched to GDP growth

***World bank publishes GDP data for Estonia only from 1995 onwards. Figures for Estonia are relative to 1995 GDP.

List of the present gross domestic product (GDP) (figures are given in 2025 United States dollars for the year 2025 according to the IMF[58])

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Country Nominal
(millions USD) 		Nominal
per capita (USD) 		PPP
(millions USD) 		PPP
per capita (USD)
Post-Soviet States 3,250,134 10,880 10,703,395 35,830
Template:Country data Armenia 26,258 8,857 74,294 25,060
Template:Country data Azerbaijan 78,870 7,604 272,100 26,235
Template:Country data Belarus 71,561 7,875 311,791 34,313
Template:Country data Estonia 45,004 32,760 68,235 49,671
Template:Country data Georgia 35,353 9,571 113,583 30,749
Template:Country data Kazakhstan 300,538 14,768 904,496 44,446
Template:Country data Kyrgyzstan 19,849 2,747 63,455 8,781
Template:Country data Latvia 45,535 24,374 83,251 44,563
Template:Country data Lithuania 89,192 30,835 165,442 57,196
Template:Country data Moldova 19,462 8,260 46,365 19,678
Template:Country data Russia 2,076,396 14,258 7,191,718 49,383
Template:Country data Tajikistan 14,836 1,432 62,656 6,048
Template:Country data Turkmenistan 89,054 13,337 186,106 27,873
Template:Country data Ukraine 205,742 6,261 690,059 20,999
Template:Country data Uzbekistan 132,484 3,514 469,844 12,462

Developmental progress

The post-Soviet states listed according to their Human Development Index scores in 2025:[59]

Very High Human Development:

High Human Development:

Medium Human Development:

Regional organizations

Template:Supranational PostSoviet Bodies

File:Commonwealth of Independent States vs EU and NATO.svg
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  CIS members
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  Members of EU & NATO
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  Other 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. Conceived as a successor organization to the USSR, it included 12 of the 15 former Soviet republics (all except the three Baltic states) by December 1993.[60] It now has nine members and one associate state (Turkmenistan). Georgia withdrew from the CIS in August 2008, while Ukraine stopped participating in May 2018. Although it was one of the founding countries of the CIS, Ukraine was never legally a member because it didn't ratify the 1993 CIS Charter.[60]
  • The three Baltic states have not sought membership in any of these post-Soviet organizations, seeking and achieving membership in the European Union 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.
  • 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 include the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC, which later merged with Eurasian Economic Union, of which Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are not members), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The last two groups only became distinct once Uzbekistan withdrew from GUAM and sought membership in EurAsEC and CSTO (from which it subsequently withdrew in 2008 and 2012, respectively).
  • Armenia, besides its membership in CIS, participates in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union.
  • Moldova and Azerbaijan participate in the CIS but otherwise mostly cooperate within regional organizations not dominated by Russia, such as GUAM and the Community of Democratic Choice.
  • Turkmenistan is an associate member of CIS, having withdrawn from full membership in August 2005,[61] and a member in the Economic Cooperation Organization; it has not sought closer integration through any of the other Western or post-Soviet organizations.
  • In 2008, Georgia notified the CIS executive bodies of its decision to leave the regional organization,[62][63] and this decision came into force 12 months after the notification date, in accordance with the CIS Charter (sec. 1, art. 9).[64]

Commonwealth of Independent States

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) consists of 10 former Soviet Republics that differ in their membership statuses. As of December 2024, 9 countries have ratified the CIS charter and are full CIS members (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), one country is an associate member (Turkmenistan), and one country left the organization (Georgia in 2009). Ukraine is a founding state of the CIS, but never became a full member state since it never ratified the CIS Charter. In 2014, Ukraine had declined its CIS chairmanship and considered withdrawal from the organization.[65]

In 1994, the CIS countries agreed to create a free trade area, but the agreements were never signed. In 2011, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine signed a free trade agreement.[66] Uzbekistan joined the free trade area in 2013.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Eurasian Economic Community

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  EAEC members
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  GUAM members
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  Other CIS members

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC), formerly the CIS Customs Union, was established by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Ukraine and Moldova had observer status in the community; however, Ukraine declared its desire not to become a full member state. Because having common borders with the rest of the community was a prerequisite for full membership, Moldova was barred from seeking it. Uzbekistan joined in 2006 during the process of merging with the Central Asian Cooperation Organization but suspended its membership in 2008.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

On 10 October 2014, after a session of the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community in Minsk, member states signed an agreement to terminate the organization which took effect 1 January 2015 with the launch of the Eurasian Economic Union.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union

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Economical integration blocs in Post-Soviet area: EU, EFTA, CEFTA and Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan created a customs union that entered into force in July 2010. Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan indicated interest in joining at the time.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Russia has been eager for Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine to join the custom union instead of the European Union, and the Moldovan break-away state of Transnistria has supported this. In 2013, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia announced plans to seek membership, but division over the issue in Ukraine led to the Revolution of Dignity after the Ukrainian government backed out of an EU Eastern Partnership in favor of the union. In 2014, voters in the Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia rejected closer ties to the EU in favor of the union.[67]

On 1 January 2012, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus established the Single Economic Space to ensure the effective functioning of a single market for goods, services, capital, and labour, and to establish coherent industrial, transport, energy, and agricultural policies.[68][69] The agreement included a roadmap for future integration and established the Eurasian Economic Commission (modelled on the European Commission).[70] The Eurasian Economic Commission serves as the regulatory agency for the Eurasian Customs Union, the Single Economic Space, and the Eurasian Economic Union.[68]

Eurasian Economic Union

File:CIS-Eurasian Economic Union.png
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
  EAEU members
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  Acceding EAEU Members
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  Other CIS Members

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic union of post-Soviet states. The treaty aiming for the establishment of the EAEU was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and came into force on 1 January 2015.[71] Treaties aiming for Armenia's and Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union were signed on 9 October 2014 and 23 December respectively. Armenia's accession treaty came into force on 2 January 2015.[72] Kyrgyzstan ratified its accession's treaty in May 2015, and it came into force in August 2015.[73][74][75][76][77][78] Moldova and Tajikistan are prospective members.[79][80]

Collective Security Treaty Organization

File:Commonwealth of Independent States CSTO vs GUAM.svg
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  CSTO members
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  GUAM members
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  Other CIS members

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". 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 joined the CSTO in 2006. On 28 June 2012, Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the CSTO.[81]

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

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NATO/CSTO

Three former Soviet states are members of NATO: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Georgia, where both public opinion and the ruling government favor NATO membership, is in the Intensified Dialogue program with NATO. Ukraine also declared joining NATO as its geopolitical goal once again in 2017 (the first time being right after the Orange Revolution and in the beginning of presidency of Viktor Yushchenko), after the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, during which the government officially declared non-alignment status and ceased to seek NATO membership.[82][83]

Other states in the Partnership for Peace and Individual Partnership Action Plan program include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

GUAM

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Four member states, 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 do not 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 State

File:Commonwealth of Independent States Union of Russia and Belarus.svg
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  Members of the Union
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  CIS members who have shown interest in becoming members of the Union
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  Other CIS members

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Union State of Russia and Belarus was originally formed on 2 April 1996 under the name Commonwealth of Russia and Belarus before being tightened further on 8 December 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 rouble as a common currency.

Other regional organizations

Economic Cooperation Organization

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  Community of Democratic Choice
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  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 for Democracy and Rights of Nations

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The post-Soviet disputed states of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria are all members of the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations which aims to forge closer integration.

Community of Democratic Choice

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". 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, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and three other countries of Eastern and Central Europe (Slovenia, Romania and North Macedonia). The Black Sea Forum (BSF) is a closely related organization. Observer countries include Armenia, Bulgaria and Poland.

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 countries also participate. In addition, the other three post-Soviet states in it are all members of GUAM.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

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  Observer state
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  Dialogue partner
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  Applicants for observer status

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 such as border demarcation, terrorism and energy.[84]

Economic cooperation organizations

  • 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 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).
  • Black Sea Economic Cooperation (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).
  • The European Union (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).

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 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Central European countries that have also joined the EU (the EU membership includes also WEU membership because they follow the Common Foreign and Security Policy and European Security and Defence Policy 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 do not 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 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (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).

Organizations in other domains

  • 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 Eastern 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 country of the former Communist bloc 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 led 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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
  • Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations

Other organizations

Apart from above, the former Soviet republics also hold membership in a number of multinational organizations such as:

Politics

Regarding political freedom in the former Soviet republics, Freedom House's 2021 report listed the following:

Similarly, the Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders in 2022 recorded the following as regards press freedom:[85]

It has been remarked that several post-Soviet states did not change leadership for decades since their independence, such as Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan until his surprise resignation in 2019,[86] and Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, until his death in September 2016.[87] 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 Emomali 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.[88] Saparmurat Niyazov in Turkmenistan ruled from independence until his death in 2006, creating a personality cult around himself.[89] His successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, has maintained a personality cult of his own that has replaced the worshipping of Niyazov.[90]

The issue of dynastical succession has been another element affecting the politics of some post-Soviet States. Heydar Aliyev, after constructing an extensive and ongoing cult of personality, handed the Presidency of Azerbaijan to his son, Ilham Aliyev. Theories about the children of other leaders in Central Asia being groomed for succession abound.[91] 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.

Post-Soviet conflicts

Template:Post-Soviet Conflicts Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

Economic, political, national, military and social problems have all been factors in separatism in the post-Soviet space. In many cases, problems due to factors such as ethnic divisions existed before the fall of the Soviet Union, and upon the fall of the union were brought into the open.[92] Such territories and resulting military conflicts have so far been:

Current self-declared states

Region Country name Template:Longitem Flag Capital Independence Recognition Area[14] Population Density
km2 mi2 p/km2 p/mi2
Eastern Europe Transnistria
(Transnistrian Moldavian Republic)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Transnistria.svg File:Flag of Transnistria (state).svg Tiraspol 2 September 1990
(from Template:Country data Moldavian SSR)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Not recognised Template:Convert 306,000 Template:Convert
South Caucasus South Ossetia
(Republic of South Ossetia –
the State of Alania)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of South Ossetia.svg Template:Flagdeco Tskhinvali 29 May 1992
(from Template:Country data Georgia (country))Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Limited Template:Convert 53,532 Template:Convert
Abkhazia
(Republic of Abkhazia)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Abkhazia.svg Template:Flagdeco Sukhumi 23 July 1992
(from Template:Country data Georgia (country))Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Template:Convert 254,246 Template:Convert
  • Template:Country data Transnistria, which is de facto independent from Moldova. It declared independence in 1990, due to its majority Russian-speaking population fearing union with Romania. A ceasefire between Transnistrian forces and Moldovan forces has been in place since 1992, enforced by the presence of Russian forces in Transnistria.[93]
  • Template:Country data South Ossetia, which is de facto independent from Georgia. The region declared its intent to seek independence in 1990, leading to a conflict which led to a ceasefire in 1992. Separatism became powerful after the election of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in 2004, and a referendum in 2006 was in favour of declaring independence. The 2008 war between Georgian forces and the separatist and Russian forces led to Russia's recognition of South Ossetia's independence.[94]
  • Template:Country data Abkhazia, which is de facto independent from Georgia. Tensions in the area broke out when Georgia sent in troops in 1992 to control groups who wanted separation. The troops and most of the Georgian and Mingrelian speaking population were forced out in 1993, and the region declared independence in 1999. The 2008 war between Georgian forces and the separatist and Russian forces led to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia's independence.[95]

Former self-declared states

Region Country name Template:Longitem Flag Capital Independence Fate Area[14] Population Density
km2 mi2 p/km2 p/mi2
Eastern Europe Gagauzia
(Gagauz Republic)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Gagauzia.svg Template:Flagicon image Comrat 19 August 1990
(from Template:Flagicon image Moldavian SSR)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Reincorporated into Moldova with
an autonomous status in 1995Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Template:Convert 134,132 Template:Convert
Crimea
(Republic of Crimea)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of Crimea.svg Template:Flagdeco Simferopol 11 March 2014
(from Template:Country data Ukraine)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Occupied by Russia before an illegal referendum and annexation 18 March 2014Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Convert 1,913,731 Template:Convert
Donetsk
(Donetsk People's Republic)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of Arms of the Donetsk People's Republic.svg Template:Flagdeco Donetsk 12 May 2014
(from Template:Country data Ukraine)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Partly occupied by Russia before sham referendums and declared "annexation" in September 2022Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Convert 2,302,444 Template:Convert
Luhansk
(Luhansk People's Republic)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:COA LPR oct 2014.svg Template:Flagdeco Luhansk 12 May 2014
(from Template:Country data Ukraine)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Template:Convert 1,464,039 Template:Convert
Tatarstan
(Republic of Tatarstan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of Arms of Tatarstan.svg Template:Flagdeco Kazan 21 March 1992
(from Template:Country data Russia)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Reincorporated into Russia
after peaceful negotiations in 1994Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Template:Convert 3,786,488 Template:Convert
South Caucasus Abkhazia
(Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Emblem of the Abkhaz ASSR (1978–1992).svg Template:Flagdeco Sukhumi 25 August 1990
(from Template:Country data Georgian SSR)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Renamed to the Republic of Abkhazia in 23 July 1992Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Convert 525,061 Template:Convert
Artsakh
(Republic of Artsakh)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of arms of Artsakh.svg Template:Flagdeco Stepanakert 6 January 1992
(from Template:Country data Azerbaijan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Disestablished in January 2024Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Convert 120,000 Template:Convert
Chechnya
(Chechen Republic of Ichkeria)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coat of Arms of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.svg Template:Flagdeco Grozny 1 November 1991
(from Template:Country data Russian SFSR)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Disestablished in 2000
after the Second Chechen WarScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Template:Convert 1,103,686 Template:Convert
Kurdish Republic of Lachin File:Coats of arms of None.svg Template:Flagicon image Lachin 20 May 1992
(from Template:Country data Azerbaijan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Disestablished in late 1992; area taken control of by ArtsakhScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Talysh-Mughan
(Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		File:Coats of arms of None.svg Template:Flagicon image Lankaran 21 June 1993
(from Template:Country data Azerbaijan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Reincorporated into Azerbaijan in August 1993Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Convert 960,000 Template:Convert

Civil wars

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Civil wars unrelated to separatist movements have occurred twice in the region:

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.

Russian population in post-Soviet states

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". There is a significant Russophone population in most of the post-Soviet states, whose political position as an ethnic minority varies from country to country.[109] 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. It maintains semi-official status in all CIS member states, because it is the organisation's official working language, but in the three Baltic states, the Russian language is not recognized in any official capacity. Georgia, since its departure from the CIS in 2009, has begun operating its government almost exclusively in the Georgian language.

Religion

While the Soviet system placed severe restrictions on religious intellectual life, traditions continued to survive. After the dissolution 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."[110]

The Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) plus Azerbaijan in the Southern Caucasus are Muslim, except for their dwindling Russian and other European minorities. The Baltic countries are historically Western Christian (Protestant and Roman Catholic), which adds another layer of pro-Western orientation to those countries, although the majority of what has been the traditionally Protestant population there (in Estonia and northern Latvia) is now relatively irreligious. The dominant religion in the other former Soviet countries (Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Armenia is Oriental Orthodox. In most countries, religiosity has increased since the Soviet collapse.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

LGBTQ rights

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". LGBT people may encounter difficulties not shared by non-LGBT residents. In Transnistria homosexuality is illegal. In some other regions, such as Russia and Ukraine, homosexual actions are legal, but there is still discrimination and bias towards the gay community. In June 2023, Estonia became the first former Soviet state to legalize same-sex marriage and joint adoption for gay couples.

Environment

The Soviet Union inherited environmental problems from the pre-Revolutionary era that it blamed on the failings and evils of capitalism.[111] The Soviet Union promoted environmental sentiments; it had a constitutional clause on environmental protection and promoted the idea that, by ending capitalism, environmental problems would cease to arise.[111][112] Some environmental strides were made, such as the banning of lead-based paint and leaded gasoline in the 20th century.[112] However, the prioritization of industrial production over environmental protection meant that many environmental issues were left to post-Soviet institutions, particularly air and water pollution in the Northern regions where industrialism was heaviest.[113] The Northern countries of Central Europe, including Poland, East Germany and Czechoslovakia formed what is referred to as the "black triangle" due to their heavy use of brown coal for energy.[113] Environmental degradation in the former Soviet Union is attributed to rapid industrialization and a lack of institutions that were able to curb pollution levels.[114] Many republics of the Soviet Union experienced soil degradation due to collective farming[113] In the 1970s, a Soviet study revealed vast technological inefficiencies in the USSR: compared to the West, the USSR created double the amount of pollutants for each product produced, and quadruple the amount of pollution for each car.[111] The Soviet regime also withheld information regarding the environmental problems facing them, and when these problems became evident to the public, authorities continued to attribute them to capitalism.[111] The Chernobyl disaster was a turning point in which the Soviets had to take responsibility for a huge environmental disaster amid pressures to disclose information regarding its causes and consequences, and this led to a broader discussion about the state of the environment as well as to concerns about nuclear energy.[111] As general unrest grew in the final years of the Soviet Union, the public began to demand environmental reform as part of their resistance to Communism. Many citizens wanted to capitalize on the political turnover to achieve an environmentalist agenda.[115] There was a push away from coal and towards cleaner forms of energy in the 1980s,[113] and 1986–1987 saw the first wave of environmental protests.[111] Village Prose literature by authors such as Valentin Rasputin fostered an environmentalist sentiment.[111] The Soviet "Green Front" was a populist environmental movement that had five subgroups: the Social-Ecological Union which promoted environmental solutions based in ecological practice, the Ecological Union which advocated for greater monitoring of pollution, the Ecological Foundation that sought to create funds through pollution taxes, the Ecological Society of the Soviet Union that called for a return to the Russian way of life that was closely connected to nature, and the All-Union Movement of Greens which was a culminating body of the four preceding groups.[111] Russian oil-drilling and the military were among the things they took issue with.[111] Critics of the Green Front opposed their effects on the chemical industry and claimed that it led to reduced commercial product availability of items such as soap, which was in very short supply in the late 1980s, and restricted access to pharmaceutical goods.[111]

It was expected that the transition to post-Soviet society would bring about environmental change from both democratic governments and NGOs, but the dissolution of the Soviet Union had both positive and negative effects on the environment. Transition brought about numerous changes that had both positive and negative environmental effects. The abandonment of croplands following dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the creation of carbon sinks.[116] Industrial activity drastically decreased, which reduced air pollution even as the economy took an upturn.[113] However, the introduction of a capitalist market caused new environmental problems: the increase in privately owned cars and the infrastructure changes to accommodate them, the increase in consumerism with no waste management to handle its byproducts, and the poorly planned construction of retail sites.[113][117] Environmental clean-up efforts by post-Soviet regimes included institutional changes through the creation of or reformation of environmental agencies, and legislative changes through the introduction of new environmental regulations and their enforcement.[113] However, some contend that the efficacy of these reforms was curtailed by economic troubles in the 1990s.[113] New environmental standards were sometimes used by governments to lower preexisting ones, and many of the post-Soviet initiatives have been criticized as "neoliberal" for their basis in free market principles and belief that the market would correct for environmental problems.[113] Technological innovation was generally directed towards "end-of-pipe" technologies, which deal with the clean-up of emissions and their byproducts rather than the reduction of emissions.[117]

Nongovernmental environmental organizations did not exist under the Soviet Union.[118] Rather, some republics had state and local institutions for environmental oversight where citizens could voice concerns, but open criticism of the state was prohibited.[118] Conservation brigades, otherwise known as druzhiny,[111] engaged in preservationist and recreational outdoor activities.[118] However, environmental damage and openings in political freedom in the 1980s led to greater grassroots activism.[118] The Chernobyl disaster of 1986, its cover-up by national, republic and local government officials, and its environmental and health effects spurred many to action.[118] General dissatisfaction with the socialist regime and a push for democratization took an environmental focus.[118] As Soviet citizens became more comfortable with the Gorbachev-era ideals of glasnost and perestroika in the late 20th century, environmentalists became more outspoken in their demands, and radical splinter groups formed in the late 1980s.[118] The opening of borders led to the spread of ideas and partnership with international environmental NGOs who were able to visit and converse with environmentalists of post-Soviet nations.[118] The conservation state institutions from the Soviet era continued to exist into the post-Soviet era but experienced difficulty getting funding due to their connection with the socialist regime in national memory.[118] New environmental NGOs had challenges receiving funding as well as organizing, and the NGOs that survived were not as influential on national decision-making as the state.[115][118] Many NGOs expressed disappointment with the lack of substantial environmental change during times of political transformation.[117] It has also been contended that environmental issues are of little importance to Russian citizens today.[115] Many former-Soviet citizens abandoned their earlier interest in the environment after the achievement of independence, while continued demands for environmental reform were suppressed.

Russia

File:Nizhnehopersky Nature Park 008.JPG
Nizhnehopersky Nature Park

Russia has an expansive amount of land which contains a high amount of natural resources and biodiversity. Protected natural areas, or zapovedniki, were created under the Soviet Union.[119] Soviet leaders attributed former pollution and environmental degradation in Russia to private enterprise and capitalism.[119] However, environmental problems arose in Russia under the Soviets because industrialization was favored over environmentalism, and there was little discussion on how to properly use resources and they were depreciated.[119] The task of environmental governance was distributed among 15 different ministries.[119] There is controversy among academics as to whether environmental destruction under the Soviet Union can be attributed more to Marxist ideology or to the industrialization push.[119]

In 1988, the Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers formed the USSR Union Republic State Committee for Environmental Control, or the Goskompriroda.[111][119] The intention of this institution was resource management and environmental testing and oversight.[111] Eventually, however, the Goskompriroda was accused of holding "entrepreneurial interests," particularly related to nuclear power.[111] The 1990s saw experiments in taxing pollution of various forms, though this was largely ineffective due to the low charge levels and inflation, as well as more areas of protected land, but there was difficulty overseeing these areas due to small budgets.[119] In 1991, the Federal Act on the Protection of the Natural Environment was passed in the independent Russian Federation, and the Goskompriroda became the Ministry of the Environment, or the Minpriroda, and developed sustainable development goals.[111][119] In 1996, Yeltsin demoted the Ministry of the Environment to the State Committee on Environmental Protection, and in 2000 Putin ended the State Committee on Environmental Protection and the Federal Forestry Service and tasked the Ministry of Natural Resources with their responsibilities.[119] In 2001, to the ire of many environmental advocates, Russia passed a law that allowed the acceptance, treatment, and storage of nuclear fuel from other nations for profit.[119] The Environmental Doctrine was passed in 2002, the Water Code was passed in 2006, and the Forest Code was passed in 2007, though these policies have been critiqued for the difficulty in enforcing them.[119] Today, Russia has a low population density with most citizens gathered in the cities, so environmental degradation is concentrated in certain areas.[119] Putin is criticized by environmental advocates for prioritizing economic gain over environmental protection, and there are high levels of greenhouse gas emissions and frequent oil spills.[119]

Ukraine

Ukraine is made up of a diverse landscape consisting of plains, temperate forest and mountains, five densely populated cities, and agricultural land that makes up 70% of the country.[120] Ukraine heavily increased industrial and agricultural production in the Soviet period, which had negative effects on the environment, as did the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.[120] Many of these issues have not been addressed post-independence due to lack of funding. Since independence, Ukraine has experienced a decrease in agricultural and industrial productivity and an increase in diseases, birth abnormalities and child mortality, claimed to have been caused at least in part from the Chernobyl disaster and from polluted water and air.[120] The number of cars in Ukraine has increased post-independence.[120] Sewage waste has increased, but there has been no increase in wastewater treatment facilities to accommodate it, diverting the waste into natural bodies of water; the Black and Azov seas have been polluted by wastewater, though this occurs less with the reduction of industry; agricultural runoff has led to decreased fish populations, particularly in the Azov Sea.[120] The damming of the Dnipro for hydroelectric power caused flooding in local and residential areas, though the river has been recovering from contamination caused by the Chernobyl disaster.[120] Radioactive waste remains from the Chernobyl accident, the uranium industry, mining and industrial processing.[120] There are numerous environmental agencies in Ukraine. In 1991, the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) was formed. It manages the environment and its resources, but it has experienced decreased funding and staff since 1996.[120] There is also the Ministry for Forestry, the State Committee on Geology and Natural Resource Use, the State Committee on Water Management, the State Committee on Land Use, the Health Ministry, the Road Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Committee on Hydrometeorology. Environmental education was also introduced into the school curriculum in the 1990s by the Ministry of Education.[120] Zelenyi svit, or "Green World", was a successful Ukrainian environmental organization whose mission was to hold the Ukrainian government accountable for their environmental failings, particularly the Chernobyl disaster, and to protect the Azov Sea through preventing construction of the Danube-Dnieper Canal.[111]

Central Asia

Proper water resource management is a significant environmental concern in the post-Soviet nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and the Karakalpakstan region, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.[121] Central Asia has an arid climate with hot summers and cold winters.[121] Once within the USSR, the Aral Sea Basin now crosses the geopolitical boundaries of these independent nations. Along with the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia nations also extract freshwater from the Syr Darya, Amu Darya and Zeravshan rivers.[121] These rivers receive the snowmelt of surrounding mountains.[121]
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the newly independent states kept their Soviet-era internal administrative structure but were unpracticed in cross-national natural resource management.[121] This has led to conflict regarding proper water allocation to meet the agricultural, industrial and consumer demands of these nations.[121] Water quality degradation, diversion and withdrawal has led to increased insecurity and conflict.[121]

Most of the water is used for irrigation of agriculture, with Uzbekistan the largest user of agricultural water.[121] Uzbekistan has double the population of its fellow nations and uses 3/5 of regional water supplies.[121] Together, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan use twice the amount of water for industrial activities used by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.[121]

The Interstate Coordinating Commission for Water Resources was formed in 1991 to allocate water from the Syr Darya and Amu Darya but has had difficulty distributing water fairly among nations due to limited funding and physical infrastructure.[121] This has led to conflict between the states.

To alleviate the stress on water resources in Central Asia, international organizations looking at the situation have advocated for creation of a river basin commission to represent each nation, equitably distribute water, and peacefully resolve conflicts.[121] It has also been suggested that each nation take responsibility by limiting its downstream environmental effects through reducing agricultural runoff, informing fellow nations of proposed actions which may impact water quality and supply, and sharing data regarding these natural water sources.[121]

Baltic states

The three Baltic countries—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania—were de facto part of the Soviet Union after WWII until they restored independence in 1991. Afterwards, they have had difficulty acquiring fuels and meeting their energy needs.[122] For this reason, they were reliant on Russian oil, and did not have the capacity to acquire fuel from other producers, which had led to frequent fuel shortages.[122] Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania primarily used fossil fuels for energy including imported gas, oil and petroleum products.[122] The Baltic states used fuels with high amounts of sulfur and pollutants, which has had a negative effect on the environment. Power plants constructed in the Baltic states under the USSR were inefficient, as they were designed to power the entire northwestern region of Soviet territory.[122] During this time, environmental monitoring and regulation were controlled at the local level, but the Baltic states had little influence over the state-managed industrial activities in their area.[122]

Concern for the environment fueled a desire for independence from the USSR.[122] Since declaring independence, the energy consumption of the Baltic states has declined due to a decrease in industrial activity, and each nation has created its own environmental oversight body: the Ministry of Environment in Estonia, the Environmental Protection Committee in Latvia, and the Environmental Protection Department in Latvia, all of which were under the legislative branch but independent from executive government.[122] Air pollution was high in the Baltic states due to the high sulfur and other pollutants emitted from their fuel sources. Water pollution was also considerable due to agricultural and industrial activity, as well as the legacy of Soviet military installations.[122] Emission charges were enacted in the Baltic states to reduce pollution levels.[122]

Estonia

Northeastern Estonia and the Narva region in particular was the site of an oil-shale industry which provided electricity and heat.[122] Estonia was the only nation to have ever had an oil-shale based energy system.[122] Mining for oil-shale caused Estonia to have the highest amounts of pollution in the Baltic states.[122] Surrounding nations pressured Estonia to reduce its emissions, but a lack of desulfurization equipment has forced Estonia to instead lower its energy production, which has hurt the nation economically.[122] Water pollution has also been considered among the worst of Estonia's environmental problems because it does not have the infrastructure to effectively treat as much sewage as is created.[122]

Latvia

Latvia produces the least amount of power and pollution and has the highest amount of forest damage of all the Baltic states.[122]

Lithuania

Lithuania is the largest producer of electricity of all three Baltic states.[122] Lithuania's land area is roughly 31% forested and is both state and privately owned.[123] Under the USSR, forest and other natural resources were state-owned and centrally managed.[123] The State determined how resources would be used and excluded the public from influencing forest policy.[123] The transition to a post-Soviet political and economic system led to privatization of forests and a market economy.[123] Today, Lithuania's forests are managed democratically and sustainably so as to preserve biodiversity and forest resources.[123]

Demographics

The Post-Soviet Union region encompasses 30 cities with populations exceeding one million residents. Russia leads with 16 such cities, including Moscow and Saint Petersburg, followed by Kazakhstan and Ukraine, each having three. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan each host one city surpassing the million-resident threshold. These major population centres play significant roles in the economic, cultural, and political dynamics of their respective countries.

Template:Largest population centres

File:Former USSR Population pyramid in 2023.svg
Population pyramid of the former USSR constituent republics in 2023

Post-Soviet nostalgia

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File:2018-05-09. День Победы в Донецке f171.jpg
People in Donetsk celebrate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on 9 May 2018.

Ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union a certain number of people (predominantly people around the age of ~ 55–80, which is most likely due to the USSR's peak performance in the time of Brezhnev) have expressed a longing for the Soviet period and its values. The level of post-Soviet nostalgia varies across the former republics. For example, certain groups of people may blend the Soviet and post-Soviet experience in their daily lives.Template:Clarify[124]

A 2009 Pew Research Center poll showed that 62% of Ukrainians felt that their lives were worse off after 1989, when free markets were made dominant.[125] A follow-up poll by Pew Research Center in 2011 showed that 45% of Lithuanians, 42% of Russians, and 34% of Ukrainians approved of the change to a post-Soviet market economy.[126]

According to July 2012 polling in Ukraine by RATING, 42% of respondents supported the formation of a unified state of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus; earlier in 2012 this support had been 48%.[127]

Polls of Russian citizens conducted by Levada Center in November 2016, 2017, and 2018 showed that a majority viewed the collapse of the USSR negatively (56%, 58%, and 66% respectively) and felt that it could have been avoided (51%, 52%, and 60% respectively). The 2018 figure of 66% who regretted the USSR's collapse was the highest since 2004.[128][129][130] A 2019 poll found that 59% of Russians felt that the Soviet government "took care of ordinary people". Joseph Stalin's favorability also hit record highs that same year.[131]

Characteristics of regionalization

File:PostSoviet Regions Map.png
Regional categorization of post-Soviet states:
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  Central Asia
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  Eastern Europe
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  Baltic states
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  Russian Federation
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
  South Caucasus

Various regional structures have emerged in the post-Soviet geography, which is fragmented in political and geopolitical terms. The first of these was the Independent State Society (CIS), which included former Soviet countries outside the Baltic countries. The failure of the CIS to meet the foreign policy needs of many post-Soviet countries has set the stage for a new regional integration. At the initiative of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, a GUAM organization was established in Strasbourg on 10 October 1997.[132] The purpose and principles of the organization were determined at the first summit of GUAM on 7 June 2001 in Yalta. The countries participating in the GUAM aimed to maintain their national independence and sovereignty and to increase their maneuverability against Russia.[133]

See also

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References

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Further reading

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External links

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Template:Authority control

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b c Area includes land and water.
  15. ↑ Population data as of 1 February 2014
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Population data as of 2015
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ a b c d e Population data as of 1 January 2014
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Population data as of 1 July 2013
  22. ↑ UN estimate
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Population data as of 1 July 2014
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Population data as of 1 January 2017
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ The Russian Federation technically achieved de facto independence from the Soviet Union after ratifying the Belavezha Accords. After the Almaty protocol, the RF took over the Soviet Union's UN membership.
  29. ↑ Population data as of 1 January 2018
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Includes the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, claimed by Ukraine
  32. ↑ Population data as of 1 April 2014
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Population data as of 1 January 2015
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Population data as of 2012
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Population data as of 31 December 2013
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ a b Holds both presidency and executive powers as the Prime Minister of Turkmenistan role was abolished.
  45. ↑ Transition: The First Ten Years – Analysis and Lessons for Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, The World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002, p. 4.
  46. ↑ GDP decline: transition and Great Depression compared, Kalikova and Associates Law Firm, Kyrgyzstan. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  47. ↑ Study Finds Poverty Deepening in Former Communist Countries, New York Times, 12 October 2000
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Privatisation 'raised death rate'. BBC, 15 January 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  53. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  56. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  57. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  58. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  59. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  60. ↑ a b Ratification status of CIS documents as of 15 January 2008 Template:Webarchive (Russian)
  61. ↑ Turkmenistan reduces CIS ties to "Associate Member", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 29 August 2005.
  62. ↑ Georgian parliament votes to withdraw from CIS on BBC News, 14 August 2008.
  63. ↑ Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on Georgia's withdrawal from CIS Template:Webarchive, 18 August 2008.
  64. ↑ Template:Usurped, 22 January 1993 (unofficial English translation).
  65. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  66. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  67. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  68. ↑ a b Ukraine cannot get observer status at Eurasian Econ Union due to Association Agreement with EU, Russia, Interfax-Ukraine (14 June 2013)
  69. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  70. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  71. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  72. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  73. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  74. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  75. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  76. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  77. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  78. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  79. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  80. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  81. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  82. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  83. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  84. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  85. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  86. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  87. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  88. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  89. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  90. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  91. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  92. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  93. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  94. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  95. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  96. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  97. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  98. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  99. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  100. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  101. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  102. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  103. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  104. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  105. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  106. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  107. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  108. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  109. ↑ Robert Greenall, Russians left behind in Central Asia, BBC News, 23 November 2005.
  110. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  111. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  112. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  113. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  114. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  115. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  116. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  117. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  118. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  119. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  120. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  121. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  122. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  123. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  124. ↑ See: Kaprans, M. (2009) Then and now: Comparing the Soviet and Post-Soviet experience in Latvian autobiographies Template:WebarchiveKeywords 2.
  125. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  126. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  127. ↑ The language question, the results of recent research in 2012, RATING (25 May 2012)
  128. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  129. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  130. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  131. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  132. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  133. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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