Post-Soviet states

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The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as former Soviet republics, are the independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its breakup in December 1991. Excluding the Baltic states, they were also referred to as the Newly Independent States (NIS).

Post-Soviet states in 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
Post-Soviet states in 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

Contents

[edit] States and geographical groupings

The 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.

Typical groupings of the post-Soviet states:      Russia      Central Asia      Eastern Europe/Western CIS      Baltic states      Transcaucasia
Typical groupings of the post-Soviet states:
     Russia      Central Asia      Eastern Europe/Western CIS      Baltic states      Transcaucasia

In addition, there are a number of de-facto independent, but internationally unrecognized states, see below.

[edit] Economy

 The factual accuracy of this section is disputed.
Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.(March 2008)
See also: Economy of Russia

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, most of the former Soviet republics adopted market economy as their new economic system. The inter-republican economic connections were broken, gross domestic product in all former Soviet republics (excluding the Baltic states) immediately went down, totaling only 40 percent of its 1991 volume. Inflation was also rampant. By 2004, only the Baltic states, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan had reached higher gross domestic products greater than the ones they had in 1991. In Russia itself, the perceived failure of capitalism to improve lifestyle culminated in the 1998 Russian economic crisis, which was followed by a return to more interventionist economic policies by the government.

[edit] Regional organizations

Former Soviet states:      CIS member states      EU and NATO member states      associate CIS member state
Former Soviet states:      CIS member states      EU and NATO member states      associate CIS member state

A number of international organizations and cooperating blocs have sprung up in the region since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The countries are divided in their participation to these blocs:

  • 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 organisations). The sole exception to the above has been their recent membership in the Community of Democratic Choice.
  • Turkmenistan, besides its membership in the Economic Cooperation Organization and its observer status in the CIS (it withdrew as a full member in 2005), has not sought closer integration in any of the other Western or post-Soviet organizations.
  • Armenia besides CIS participates in CSTO only.
  • Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan do participate in the CIS but other than that (same as the Baltic states) they mostly participate in regional organizations that don't involve Russia: Such organizations are GUAM and the Community of Democratic Choice.
  • On the other hand, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participate in several 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.

In this section those organizations are mentioned which are mainly (or completely) composed of post-Soviet states. Organizations with much wider memberships are not discussed.

[edit] Exclusively post-Soviet membership

[edit] Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) consists of 11 of the 15 former Soviet Republics - the 4 exceptions are the Baltics and Turkmenistan. It has been said to have been created to "allow a civilized divorce" between the republics, but its members have since signed a number of documents promoting closer cooperation instead. Turkmenistan is the only former Soviet state that was a member of CIS but eventually withdrew.

     GUAM member states      CSTO member states
     GUAM member states      CSTO member states

[edit] 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).

[edit] Collective Security Treaty Organization

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.

[edit] Eurasian Economic Community

Eurasian Economic Community:      member states      observer status
Eurasian Economic Community:      member states      observer status

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.

[edit] Central Asian Cooperation Organization

Central Asian Cooperation Organization:      member states      observer status
Central Asian Cooperation Organization:      member states      observer status

The Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO) was first initiated by all five Central Asian nations in 1991 as the Central Asian Commonwealth. Later Turkmenistan followed a policy of isolation, withdrawing from participation in all regional forums. Tajikistan joined in 1998 while Russia joined the (now renamed) CACO in 2004. In the end of 2005 it was decided between the member states that Uzbekistan will join the Eurasian Economic Community and that both organizations will merge.

[edit] Union of Russia and Belarus

Union of Russia and Belarus
Union of Russia and Belarus

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.

Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia have all at some point been interested in joining the Union. Nine years ago, a Ukrainian politician claimed Ukraine would join the Union "in three years at most." Ukraine has not joined.

[edit] Primarily post-Soviet membership

[edit] Economic Cooperation Organization

     Community of Democratic Choice      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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Shanghai Cooperation Organization:      Member state      Observer state
Shanghai Cooperation Organization:      Member state      Observer state

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (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.

[edit] Other regional organizations

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

  • For economic cooperation, the post-soviet countries have joined either :
    • 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 incompatiblity with WEU stability rules and the unsolved problem of Transnistry) 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 regionaly 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 independance from the former USSR and have never joined CIS after the collapse of USSR (it includes also now some post-soviet countries in Central Europe or former Yugoslavia, that have left CEFTA when entering the EU : Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungaria, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia)
  • For political integration and security alliances, the post-soviet European countries have joined either :
    • 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 efficently 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 which the process of reintegration of Belarus has been tightened in almost all domains).
  • For political cooperation, development, and mutual assistance (in other domains than free trade and security), the post-soviet countries have joined either :
    • 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).

[edit] Politics

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

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

It has been remarked that several post-Soviet states have not changed leadership since their independence, such as Islom Karimov in Uzbekistan and Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan. All of these had originally more limited terms but through decrees or referendums prolonged their stay in office (a practice also followed by President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus). 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.

[edit] 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.

v • d • e
Conflicts in the

Former Soviet Union

Such territories and resulting military conflicts have so far been:

Out of these regions, only two have 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. The Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic was swiftly suppressed with the rise of Heydar Aliyev. Its leader Colonel Alakram Alekper Gumbatov was arrested. The region is now integrated in Azerbaijan, but divided up into separate rayons and has no autonomy.

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.

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 however unrecognized by any other country in the world — a Russian military presence 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. Since 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.

It should be noted that at the time of the dissolution of the USSR, the United States government recognized as legitimate the pre-Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact 1933 borders of the country (the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration established diplomatic relations with the Kremlin at the end of that year[1]). Because of this, the George H. Bush administration openly supported the secession of the Baltic SSRs, but regarded the questions related to the independence and territorial conflicts of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the rest of the Transcaucasus — which were integral part of the USSR with international borders unaltered since the 1920s — as internal Soviet affairs.[2]

South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnistria were all Soviet Union territories by 1933 — the first two as parts of Georgian SSR, the latter as part of Ukrainian SSR.

[edit] Civil wars

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

[edit] Color revolutions

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

[edit] Russian population in post-Soviet states

Main articles: Russians in Ukraine, Russians in Kazakhstan, History of Russians in Latvia, History of Russians in Estonia, and History of Russians in Lithuania

There is significant Russophone population in most of post-Soviet states, whose political position as an ethnic minority varies from country to country. 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.

[edit] 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. But if successful politically, it faces economic challenges beyond its grasp."[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Pretty Fat Turkey", TIME Magazine, November 27, 1933
  2. ^ America Abroad, TIME Magazine, June 10, 1991
  3. ^ Naumkin, Vitaly (November, 1992), “Islam in the States of the Former USSR”, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 524: 131-142 

[edit] External links