Alma-Ata Declaration on CIS establishment is key landmark in the development of modern integration processes, view
Irreversible by that time socioeconomic and political processes in the USSR gave occasion to have this document signed. Centrifugal political processes in the Soviet Union countries turned in the 80s into the mass and fierce trends laid the foundation for the long-hoped for the freedom parade and, generally, signalized the pending tectonic shifts in the territory of the USSR.
As one of the last attempts to save the Soviet Union was a suggestion of its drastic reforming through decentralized federation as the Union of sovereign countries. To that end the republics which had already declared their sovereignties had to sign a new Union Treaty.
The referendum held on March 17, 1991 on the USSR renovation showed the most of the citizens except for six republics (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Georgia, Moldova and Armenia) voiced support to preservation and modernization of the USSR.
On August 20, 1991 Belarus, Kazakhstan, RSFSR, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were expected to sign the Union Treaty, so the rest of the republics could have joined them in the autumn. However, on August 18-21 the members of the State Committee for the State of Emergency made an unsuccessful attempt to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and ruined those plans.
Since that moment one by one all the Soviet republics declared their independence. In a few months, on December 8, 1991 the USSR ceased to exist de-jure as an international entity and subject of geopolitical reality bequeathing the Commonwealth of Independent States. The same day heads of the Belorussian SSR, RSFSR and Ukraine signed the Treaty on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The countries faced then even more complicated challenges, they had to determine the country's development course, preserve economic arteries of the former Soviet Union, ensure national security, integrity of new state borders and embark on a successful path towards the independent access to the world community.
Being aware of the immense future problems, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev put forward an idea to hold the meeting of the leaders of the former Soviet countries in Alma-Ata to confirm and legislate the historical roots of friendship and mutual benefit cooperation between the countries, and set a vector for the development of other integrating projects on the post-Soviet space.
As a result of Kazakhstan's authorities active work the heads of 11 post-Soviet countries gathered on December 21, 1991 in Alma-Ata to sign the Alma-Ata Declaration of the CIS. It proclaimed the foundation of the CIS, determined its goals and principles.
This document was, in essence, the first integration move of the historically bound countries and their recent history. The Alma-Ata Declaration proclaimed the new union which 20 years in a row has been demonstrating its high and efficient integration potential.
For the past two decades the CIS proved its consistency.
Leaders of 11 CIS member countries gathered for the CIS top-level informal summit on this December 20 to confirm positive attitude and readiness to further develop integration processes.
Opening the summit Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told, for the past 20 years the CIS has passed a complicated way. The countries enjoying different political conditions and close and, the same time, diverse cultures proved that they understand each other and efficiently cooperate on voluntary, equal and efficacious ground.
It is safe to say today, the Alma-Ata Declaration that grouped 11 countries of the ex-Soviet Union created conditions for the preparation and successful implementation of the CIS-based new integration ideas.
As President Nursultan Nazarbayev stated there, the Commonwealth laid the foundation for new associations grouping the post-Soviet states such as the EurAsEC, Customs Union, Single Economic Space .
Today, looking back at the past it is difficult to overestimate the historical significance of the Alma-Ata treaty. The 1991 Declaration laid the basis and gave an impetus to the unification of political, social, economic and scientific and cultural potential of the fraternal countries.
