The CIS is an intergovernmental organization based in Minsk, founded at the end of 1991. The aim of the institution was to create an economic and security area in order to mitigate the consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Who is in the CIS?
Founding members were the Soviet republics of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Immediately after the collapse of the USSR, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined. Turkmenistan has only been an associated member since 2005, Georgia only joined in 1993, but now no longer takes part in all meetings. Ukraine seceded from the CIS in 2018 in protest against the 2014 Russian occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
Source: Federal Agency for Civic Education