It has been 30 years since the emblem and flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States were approved. The regulation on symbols was adopted on 19 January 1996, according to the MIR24 internet portal.

The emblem is a blue circle with a white composition of vertical lines and a gold circle in the centre. The author of the symbols is Alexander Grigoriyev, a resident of St. Petersburg.

According to him, more than 350 entries from various republics were submitted to the competition. Over 100 sketches were presented in the Catherine Hall of the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg during the Assembly session on 18 March 1994.

Alexander Grigoriyev noted that he learned of his victory from a television news broadcast when the Commonwealth flag was first shown publicly. Later, he received official confirmation of the competition results.

The blue and white colour scheme symbolises purity of thought, spirituality and nobility, while the golden circle represents warmth, light and the common values of the peoples of the CIS countries. The composition is based on the image of a tree, where the branches represent the participating states and the central core reflects the unifying principle.