There are 17 UNPO members now from the CIS region, which accounts for about 1/3 of the total number of UNPO members. The situation in different national regions within CIS varies widely. Generally, most successful in the realization of their attempts towards expanding the autonomy and self-determination are the peoples who have greater weight and higher percentages in their administrative districts or republics, for example, Republic of Tatarstan, or viable national organizations, such as Buryats. The situation in the North Caucasus region, of course, is overshadowed by the bloody war in Chechenia. The peaceful solution to it, that will consider the will of Chechen people, seems hard to be reached in the near future.

Generally, the situation of the nations and peoples of the CIS, especially in the Russian Federation, has gotten rather worse during last few years. There was a considerable rise of the national self-awareness everywhere in the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s; many national organizations up to the national congresses following the model of Estonia were created; the hope and perspectives for the rise of status of the national languages and cultures, as well as for the more active participation of the representatives of the local nations and peoples in the local politics sprung up. Ten years later the national activities seem to be fully assimilated by the powers of Russian Federation, which results in the continuation of the Russian chauvinist politics everywhere following the hardest examples of the former Soviet Union.