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The Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States was founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union and today counts eight active participants among its members, including the Russian Federation, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
According to its 1993 charter, the commonwealth is based on the “sovereign equality of its members,” who are committed to free communication and travel between each other. But Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine highlighted tensions among the group, with Moldova’s pro-Western leaders suspending the eastern European country’s involvement while stopping short of withdrawing altogether.
Georgia withdrew from the organization in 2008, the same year that it was invaded by Russia.
Russia is unquestionably the most powerful member of the organization, a fact that even its allies resent. At a commonwealth summit in October 2022, the president of Tajikistan demanded that the group live up its founding commitments.
“Yes, we are small nations, we are not 100-200 million, but we have history, culture, we love, we want to be respected,” Enomali Rahmon, who has led Tajikistan since 1994, told the assembled countries’ leaders.
Despite tensions, the commonwealth’s remaining members appear likely to stay put, reaping the benefits of economic integration with the regional superpower.
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