Twenty years ago, on 8 December 1991, leaders of three countries signed a Creation Agreement on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The history of the USSR was ended for good.

      This day twenty years ago leaders of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine met in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve, about 50 km (30 miles) north of Brest in Belarus and announced the creation of the CIS as a successor entity to the USSR. 

      The new alliance was opened to all republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as other nations sharing the same goals. On 21 December 1991, eight Soviet Republics - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan - joined the CIS. Georgia joined two years later, in December 1993, and withdrew the Union in 2008, after the military conflict with Russia. However, several former Soviet Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) decided not to join.

      Now there are 10 member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States, besides some unofficial members. The main aim of the CIS is coordination of its members’ policies regarding their economies, foreign relations, defense, immigration policies, environmental protection and law enforcement. Some other unions are created on its base, for example, the Eurasian Economic Community. 

Sources: tut.by wikipedia Image: belta.by