The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they existed as Union Republics, which were the top-level constituents of the Soviet Union. There are 15 post-Soviet states in total: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Each of these countries succeeded their respective Union Republics: the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Estonian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Kazakh SSR, the Kirghiz SSR, the Latvian SSR, the Lithuanian SSR, the Moldavian SSR, the Russian SFSR, the Tajik SSR, the Turkmen SSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the Uzbek SSR. In Russia, the term "near abroad" () is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet states other than Russia. In a broader sense, post-Soviet states may include all countries of the former Eastern Bloc.
Following the transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union, post-Soviet states and the international community and recognized Russia as the only continuator state to the Soviet Union as a whole, rather than to just the Russian SFSR including UN and UNSC membership (see agreements in Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union). The other post-Soviet states were recognized as successors only to their corresponding Union Republics and to international treaties concluded by the Soviet Union. All 12 post-Soviet states are successors of the Soviet Union, but not continuators.
The Union Republics of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) were the first to break away from the Soviet Union by proclaiming the restoration of their national independence in 1990; they cited legal continuity from the original Baltic states, asserting that Baltic sovereignty had continued on a basis due to the belligerent nature of the 1940 Soviet annexation. Subsequently, the 12 remaining Union Republics seceded, with all of them jointly establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and most of them later joining the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On the other hand, the three Baltic states pursued a policy of near-total disengagement with the Russian-dominated post-Soviet sphere, instead focusing on integrating themselves with the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They successfully attained NATO membership and were granted EU membership in 2004. Since the 2000s, many EU officials have stressed the importance of establishing EU Association Agreements with the other post-Soviet states. Ukraine and Georgia have actively sought NATO membership due to increasingly hostile Russian interference in their internal affairs.
Due to the post-Soviet conflicts, several disputed states with varying degrees of international recognition have emerged within the territory of the former Soviet Union. These include: Transnistria, an unrecognized Russian-backed state in eastern Moldova; and Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two partially recognized Russian-backed states in northern Georgia. The United Nations (UN) has historically considered Russian-backed states in the "near abroad" to be illegitimate and instead views them as constituting Russian-occupied territories. The aftermath of Ukraine's Maidan Revolution saw the emergence of Russian-backed states in Ukraine in 2014: the Republic of Crimea in southern Ukraine briefly proclaimed independence before being annexed by Russia in 2014; and the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, both located in Ukraine's Donbas, were occupied and subsequently declared independence in 2014 before being formally annexed by Russia in 2022, amidst the broader Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Name In the political language of Russia and some other post-Soviet states, the term near abroad () refers to the independent republics that emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Increasing usage of the term in English is connected to assertions of Russia's right to maintain significant influence in the region. The concept has been compared to the Monroe Doctrine, central to American grand strategy in the 20th century.
The AP Styleguide recommends avoiding the use of the shorthand "former Soviet republic(s)" unless relevant to the story.
The present definition restricts the notion of post-Soviet states to the 15 former republics of the Soviet Union (USSR). A broader definition includes also all the formerly communist-bloc countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE countries), Asia, and Latin America.
Country comparison The 15 sovereign post-Soviet states are usually divided into five subregions. (Eastern Europe and Northern Asia) Baltics: , , Eastern Europe: , , South Caucasus: , , Central Asia: , , , ,
There are three additional de facto independent states presently lacking international recognition. (read below: Post-Soviet conflicts)
CountrySymbolsCapitalForm ofgovernmentIndependencefrom USSRHDI (2025)AreaArea includes land and water.Population(2025)Currency replacingSUR or RURCoat of armsFlagRepublic of ArmeniaYerevanUnitary parliamentaryrepublic 0.8113,081,100Armenian dram (AMD)Republic of Azerbaijan BakuUnitary semi-presidentialrepublic under an authoritarian hereditarydictatorship18 October 19910.78910,241,722Azerbaijani manat (AZM, AZN)Republic of BelarusMinskUnitary semi-presidentialrepublic under an authoritarian dictatorship25 August 19910.8249,109,280Belarusian ruble (BYB, BYR, BYN)Republic of EstoniaTallinnUnitary parliamentaryrepublic 8 May 19900.9051,369,995Estonian kroon (EEK), Euro (EUR)GeorgiaTbilisiUnitary parliamentaryrepublic 9 April 19910.844Georgia's international recognised area is , including Abkhazia and South Ossetia3,704,500 Excludes data of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.Georgian kuponi (GEK), Georgian lari (GEL)Republic of AbkhaziaSukhumiPartially recognised Unitary presidential republic. Internationally recognised as part of 23 July 1992N/A244,000Russian ruble (RUR, RUB)Republic of South OssetiaTskhinvaliPartially recognised Unitary semi-presidential republic. Internationally recognised as part of 29 May 1992N/A56,520Population data for 2021. Russian ruble (RUR, RUB)Republic of KazakhstanSemi-presidential republic under an authoritarian government16 December 19910.83720,426,568Kazakhstani tenge (KZT)Kyrgyz RepublicBishkekUnitary presidentialrepublic31 August 19910.7207,281,800Kyrgyz som (KGS)Republic of LatviaRigaUnitary parliamentaryrepublic 4 May 19900.8891,829,400Latvian ruble (LVR), Latvian lats (LVL), Euro (EUR)Republic of LithuaniaVilniusUnitary semi-presidentialrepublic 11 March 19900.8952,894,548Lithuanian talonas (LTT), Lithuanian litas (LTL), Euro (EUR)Republic of MoldovaChișinăuUnitary parliamentaryrepublic27 August 19910.785Moldova's international recognised area is , including Transnistria2,381,300. Does not include population data for Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic).Moldovan leu (MDL)Pridnestrovian Moldavian RepublicTiraspolUnrecognised Unitary semi-presidential republic. Internationally recognised as part of 2 September 1990N/A367,776Moldovian estimate March 2024. Transnistrian ruble (-)Russian FederationMoscowFederal semi-presidentialrepublic under authoritarian government 12 December 1991The Russian Federation technically achieved de facto independence from the Soviet Union after ratifying the Belavezha Accords. After the Almaty protocol, the RF took over the Soviet Union's UN membership.0.832146,028,325Includes the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. Russian ruble (RUR, RUB)Republic of TajikistanDushanbeUnitary presidentialrepublic under an authoritarian dictatorship9 September 19910.69110,499,000Tajikistani ruble (TJR), Tajikistani somoni (TJS)TurkmenistanAshgabatUnitary presidentialrepublic under a totalitarian hereditarydictatorship27 October 19910.7647,057,841Population data as of 17 December 2022 Turkmenistani manat (TMM, TMT)UkraineKyivUnitary semi-presidentialrepublic under martial law since 202224 August 19910.77932,862,000IMF estimate 2025 Ukrainian karbovanets (UAK), Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH)Republic of UzbekistanTashkentUnitary presidentialrepublic1 September 19910.74037,859,698Uzbekistani sum (UZS)Union of Soviet Socialist RepublicsMoscowFederal communist state 26 December 19910.9201990 UN data: 296,295,373Soviet ruble (SUR)
Current leaders Heads of state
Heads of government
Economy
The dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred against a backdrop of economic stagnation and regression within the economy of the USSR. This period marked the breakdown of the Gosplan, the state planning agency responsible for economic planning and inter-republic economic connections, exacerbating the effects on the economies of the post-Soviet states.
Most of the former Soviet states began the transition to a market economy from a command economy in early 1990s and made efforts to rebuild and restructure their economic systems, often following neoliberal shock therapy policies, with varying results. In all, the process triggered severe economic declines, with gross domestic product (GDP) dropping by more than 40% overall between 1990 and 1995.Transition: The First Ten Years – Analysis and Lessons for Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, The World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002, p. 4. This decline in GDP was much more intense than the 27% decline that the United States suffered in the wake of the Great Depression between 1930 and 1934.GDP decline: transition and Great Depression compared, Kalikova and Associates Law Firm, Kyrgyzstan. Retrieved 13 January 2009. The reconfiguration of public finance in compliance with capitalist principles resulted in dramatically reduced spending on health, education and other social programs, leading to a sharp increase in poverty and economic inequality.Study Finds Poverty Deepening in Former Communist Countries, New York Times, 12 October 2000 The economic shocks associated with wholesale privatization resulted in the excess deaths of roughly 1 million working age individuals throughout the former Soviet bloc in the 1990s.Privatisation 'raised death rate'. BBC, 15 January 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2014. A study by economist Steven Rosefielde asserts that 3.4 million Russians died premature deaths from 1990 to 1998, partly as the result of the shock therapy policies imposed by the Washington Consensus.
The initial transition decline was eventually arrested, and after 1995 the economy in the post-Soviet states began to recover, with GDP switching from negative to positive growth rates. By 2007, 10 of the 15 post-Soviet states had recovered their 1991 GDP levels. According to economist Branko Milanović, in 2015 many former Soviet republics and other former communist countries still have not caught up to their 1991 levels of output, including Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Ukraine. He concluded that "only 1 out of 10 people living in 'transition' countries have seen a successful transition to capitalism and more democracy." Commenting on Milanović's report in 2021, Kristen Ghodsee says this view is "essentially correct" and perhaps underestimates "the negative impacts of transition by focusing only on GDP, inequality and democratic consolidation" whereas Mitchell A. Orenstein says this view is "overly pessimistic" and notes that "Poland had done spectacularly well and living standards had increased in many countries."