The article is focused on the major directions of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) formation and development. The author uses systemic analysis and extrapolation to examine these processes in spatial and organizational perspectives and identify the possibilities and prospects for emergence of an international region within the CIS on different stages of its institutional establishment. Special attention is given to the dynamics and the current state of the CIS as an international organization as well as to the key challenges its member states are facing. The article considers existing conflict zones in the CIS and their impact on the inter-state relations within the Commonwealth.