- NewlyIndependent States
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New·ly Independent States (no͞oʹlē, nyo͞oʹ-)
Abbr. NIS
The countries that until 1991 were constituent republics of the USSR, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The term can also include Russia and sometimes Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
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Universalium. 2010.