Organization code
CIS
Kategorie
Organisationen
Established
8 December 1991
Headquarters
Minsk, Belarus (Executive Committee)
Members
9 member states
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional association of former Soviet republics formed after the dissolution of the USSR, established through the Belovezha Accords and the Alma-Ata Protocol. It focuses on practical economic, security and humanitarian cooperation as a coordinating rather than supranational mechanism.
To provide a framework for economic, security and humanitarian cooperation among members on the basis of equality, non-interference and respect for sovereignty, advancing arrangements such as the CIS free trade area.
1991
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belovezha Accords; eleven states joined via the Alma-Ata Protocol
1993
The CIS Charter adopted
2011
The CIS free trade area agreement entered into force
2023
Members continued cooperation on payments, transport and energy
The CIS flag is a blue field with the golden organization emblem at the centre: a globe encircled by ears of grain topped with a star, symbolising the unity of member states and continuity of cooperation.
Adopted
1996 (organization flag)
Usage note
Use of the CIS emblem should follow the organization's rules.
