If you’re asking yourself: Is Russia part of the United Nations?, the answer is yes. The Russians reportedly have a seat on the UN Security Council and Ukraine is one of them. They have been there since 1992. This is not only a problem for the UN, but also for Ukraine. The Ukrainian government supports the Russians’ claim, which has sparked debate in the U.N.
Although the Security Council is supposed to be the top body of the United Nations, Russia has a veto power. Despite that, the Security Council does not have a veto power. This is one of the reasons why Russia can’t participate in any specialized body. The United Nations is not a single agency, and there’s no single body for the United Nations. But the Security Council is a multi-tiered organization, and if you don’t like the current arrangement, you can always try to re-educate yourself.
In 1991, the U.N. admitted the former Soviet Union, but it did not admit Russia. They did not have to apply to join, and the Ukraine did not get in. But they were allowed to “sneak” into the Organization and keep their seat in the former USSR. So is it still part of the U.N.? You be the judge. The United Nations is a great institution.
The U.N. has a history of censorship. And the U.N. does not do that. Regardless of who is in the Security Council, Russia is an unrecognized member. But this does not stop Ukraine from making its case to become a permanent member. The U.N. Security Council voted against the joint claim between Serbia and Montenegro and Yugoslavia. They did not consider the implications of accepting Russia’s claim.
The Russian Federation had to formally apply for membership in the U.N. before they could be granted permanent membership in the Security Council. They also did not have to apply to the General Assembly. They could raise the issue of their own at the Security Council during the first meeting following the “rename” of the Soviet Union. But in any case, they did not raise it in the General Assembly. Instead, it was in the Security Council, where the Russian Federation had the seat of the former USSR.
After the Soviet Union broke up, a Russian representative’s seat in the U.N. became vacant. However, the ambassador behind the Soviet placard did not represent a state. Moreover, the CIS is not a member of the Security Council. In that case, it is possible to argue that the Russian Federation is not a member of the United Nations. A member state can’t vote for a country that does not belong to the UN.
The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. In a sense, Russia is already a member of the U.N. in the UN. Other former Soviet Union states, such as Ukraine, had to apply for membership. But Russia managed to “sneak” into the Organization without applying for membership. In a nutshell, it argues that the U.N. is not a member of the United Nations.
As a former member of the League of Nations, Russia has long acted as an independent nation, but it has not acted as one. While Ukraine was admitted to the U.N. in 1945, the Soviet Union has remained a member ever since. It was the only country in the former USSR to receive such a privilege. It was not until 1990 that the United States was booted out of the Organization in 1954 that the USSR was finally admitted.
If the U.N. had a veto, then the Russian government would have been considered a new state. It wouldn’t have wanted to be a member of the Security Council. But it had an interest in becoming one. The Russians have been a member of the U.N. since its inception. But they have never sworn to follow the rules. They’ve never acted as a permanent member.