Russia & Central Asia

in Asia & The Pacific Rim

Central Asia is a realm of mystery to most Westerners, a region shrouded in secrecy, which existed for years behind the Iron Curtain and is emerging onto the world stage in faltering steps. This doesn’t mean nothing’s going on in Russia and the “Five Stans.” It just means the rich tapestry of dramas goes mostly-unheard-of by the rest of the world.  

THE RUINS OF EMPIRE

Though the United Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.) is more than two decades dead, its influence remains strong throughout the region. Cold War-era support for dictators is responsible for much of the present-day terrorism and instability in the region, as is the Soviet policy of transplanting populations to unfamiliar areas. Experimental science, military bases, and stranger secrets were common in the outlying Socialist Republics as well as in the motherland itself, all of which added to the environment of fear, paranoia, and, interestingly, nationalism that drew citizens together.   When the Soviet Union fell, the ensuing power vacuum was filled with violent, ruthless leaders, resulting in decades of harmful policies and deadly consequences all over the region. Despots and criminals ruled, terrorist cells formed in response to global conflicts, and true peace has been difficult to pin down. Many of the people in Central Asia still bear mental and physical scars from this time. Recent reform movements have begun to nudge these nations toward political and economic progress, but they still have a long road ahead.  

THE BOILING POT

The United States is sometimes called a “melting pot” because multiple cultures blend together in its towns and cities. Central Asia is better described as a “boiling pot” because groups were transplanted involuntarily and kept under the pressure of dictatorships for decades. Ethnic, religious, and tribal conflicts are as common as they are raw. They lurk just under the surface of many political and day-to-day aspects of life. Despite the fact that most people over 25 speak Russian, the region’s political and ethnic divisions remain an obstacle. Even so, the people of Central Asia tend to be exuberant and optimistic. They view the 21st century as Asia’s century, and are happy to be here to see it happen.