Near abroad

The post-Soviet states, also collectively known as the former Soviet Union (FSU) or former Soviet Republics, and in Russian as the 'near abroad' (discussed below) are the sovereign states that emerged and re-emerged from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its breakup in 1991, with Russia internationally recognised as the successor state to the Soviet Union after the Cold War. The three Baltic states were the first to declare their independence, between March and May 1990, claiming continuity from the original states that existed prior to their annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940. The remaining 12 republics all subsequently seceded. 12 of the 15 states, excluding the Baltic states, initially formed the CIS and most joined CSTO, while the Baltic states focused on European Union and NATO membership.Baltic statesCentral AsiaEastern EuropeEurasiaTranscaucasia RussiaVladimir PutinPresident of Russia UkraineVolodymyr ZelenskyPresident of Ukraine BelarusAlexander LukashenkoPresident of Belarus UzbekistanShavkat MirziyoyevPresident of Uzbekistan KazakhstanKassym-Jomart TokayevPresident of Kazakhstan GeorgiaSalome ZourabichviliPresident of Georgia AzerbaijanIlham AliyevPresident of Azerbaijan LithuaniaGitanas NausėdaPresident of Lithuania MoldovaIgor DodonPresident of Moldova LatviaEgils LevitsPresident of Latvia KyrgyzstanSooronbay JeenbekovPresident of Kyrgyzstan TajikistanEmomali RahmonPresident of Tajikistan ArmeniaArmen SarkissianPresident of Armenia TurkmenistanGurbanguly BerdimuhamedowPresident of Turkmenistan EstoniaKersti KaljulaidPresident of Estonia RussiaDmitry MedvedevPrime Minister of Russia UkraineVolodymyr GroysmanPrime Minister of Ukraine BelarusSyarhey RumasPrime Minister of Belarus UzbekistanAbdulla AripovPrime Minister of Uzbekistan KazakhstanAskar MaminPrime Minister of Kazakhstan GeorgiaMamuka BakhtadzePrime Minister of Georgia AzerbaijanNovruz MammadovPrime Minister of Azerbaijan LithuaniaSaulius SkvernelisPrime Minister of Lithuania MoldovaMaia SanduPrime Minister of Moldova LatviaKrišjānis KariņšPrime Minister of Latvia KyrgyzstanMukhammedkalyi AbylgazievPrime Minister of Kyrgyzstan TajikistanKokhir RasulzodaPrime Minister of Tajikistan ArmeniaNikol PashinyanPrime Minister of Armenia TurkmenistanGurbanguly BerdimuhamedowPresident of Turkmenistan EstoniaJüri RatasPrime Minister of Estonia The post-Soviet states, also collectively known as the former Soviet Union (FSU) or former Soviet Republics, and in Russian as the 'near abroad' (discussed below) are the sovereign states that emerged and re-emerged from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its breakup in 1991, with Russia internationally recognised as the successor state to the Soviet Union after the Cold War. The three Baltic states were the first to declare their independence, between March and May 1990, claiming continuity from the original states that existed prior to their annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940. The remaining 12 republics all subsequently seceded. 12 of the 15 states, excluding the Baltic states, initially formed the CIS and most joined CSTO, while the Baltic states focused on European Union and NATO membership. Several disputed states with varying degrees of recognition exist within the territory of the former Soviet Union: Transnistria in eastern Moldova, Abkhazia and South Ossetia in northern Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan. Since 2014, the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic in Eastern Ukraine have claimed independence. All of these unrecognised states except Nagorno-Karabakh depend on Russian armed support and financial aid. Nagorno-Karabakh is integrated to Armenia, which also maintains close cooperation with Russia. Prior to the annexation of Crimea to Russia in March 2014, which is not recognized by most countries, it briefly declared itself an independent state. In the political language of Russia and some other post-Soviet states, the near abroad refers to the newly independent republics (other than Russia itself) which emerged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Near abroad became more widely used in English, usually to assert Russia's right to have major influence in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the region Russia's 'sphere of influence', and strategically vital for Russia. The concept has been compared to the Monroe Doctrine. The 15 post-Soviet states are typically divided into the following five groupings. Each of these regions has its own common set of traits, owing not only to geographic and cultural factors but also to that region's history in relation to Russia. In addition, there are a number of de facto independent, but internationally unrecognized states (see the section Separatist conflicts below).