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Commonwealth of Independent States
This entity is not a country.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств, СНГ, tr. Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv, SNG) is a regional organization whose participating countries are many of the former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union.
The CIS is comparable to a very loose association of states and in no way comparable to a federation, confederation or supra-national organisation such as the European Union - it is more comparable to the Commonwealth of Nations.
Although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely symbolic organization, possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. It has also promoted cooperation on democratization and cross-border crime prevention. As a regional organization, CIS participates in UN peacekeeping forces.
Some of the members of the CIS have established the Eurasian Economic Community with the aim of creating a full-fledged common market.
For more on the history see Soviet Union.
Members
The current members are: