Existing literature has concentrated on analysing the inter-state level regarding authoritarian learning, but this chapter investigates the role of post-Soviet regional organisations in authoritarian learning. The chapter analyses the four post-Soviet regional organisations of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the Union State between Belarus and Russia. While strictly speaking the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is not solely a post-Soviet organisation, it is analysed here as all members – except China – are states within the post-Soviet space. Regional organisations provide ‘learning rooms’, for sharing best practices and providing training exercises to produce an effective palette for consolidating power.

As communism collapsed, disagreements emerged that endured until 2014. Russia struggled unsuccessfully to keep Ukraine in a new Moscow-led union and disagreement over the Black Sea Fleet and its base in Crimea proved unresolvable. Meanwhile, Russia and the West advanced different visions for post-Cold War Europe. Pressured by both Russia and the US, Ukraine agreed to surrender its nuclear weapons in return for security assurances. Already in 1993, the prospect that a “red–brown” coalition of communists and fascists would come to power in Moscow prompted many countries to look for ways to guard against Russian reassertion, exacerbating the security dilemma.

As communism collapsed, disagreements emerged that endured until 2014. Russia struggled unsuccessfully to keep Ukraine in a new Moscow-led union and disagreement over the Black Sea Fleet and its base in Crimea proved unresolvable. Meanwhile, Russia and the West advanced different visions for post-Cold War Europe. Pressured by both Russia and the United States, Ukraine agreed to surrender its nuclear weapons in return for security assurances. Already in 1993, the prospect that a “red-brown” coalition of communists and fascists would come to power in Moscow prompted many countries to look for ways to guard against Russian reassertion, exacerbating the security dilemma.