Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cooperation rarely get the international attention
they so desperately need.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to the region's
political stability is that none of the autocratic
and ageing Central Asian rulers have any obvious
political successors. What happens in a post-Karimov
Uzbekistan in particular could define the direction
of Central Asia in the years to come.
POPULATION:
65 MILLION
AREA:
4 MILLION SQ KM
HIGHEST MOUNTAIN:
KOH-I SOMONI
(7495M)
A New Orientation
But it's not all political dictatorship and economic
hardship. After the confusion and social turmoil of
the 1990s, life has settled for many Central Asians.
Economies are growing and standards of living are
gradually rising. Grassroots community tourism
projects are flourishing in much of the region. Inter-
national crossings have been retied with China,
Afghanistan and Iran, opening up new opportuni-
ties for both trade and tourism and reconnecting
the region to the rest of the world.
All this reflects the redrawing of Central Asia.
Where once Tashkent and Ashgabat looked north
to distant Moscow for economic and political direc-
tion, modern Central Asians now turn also to China,
Turkey, Iran, Europe and the US, all of whom are
equally intent on redefining spheres of influence
long blocked by the Iron Curtain. The US-led 'War
on Terror' raised the stakes in a geopolitical game
that envelops everything from transcontinental gas
pipelines to US and Russian military bases in the
region.
The Future
As Central Asia's new economic and cultural ties
strengthen, as oil and gas reserves are discovered
and as NATO withdraws its troops through the re-
gion from Afghanistan, this little-understood corner
will undoubtedly become increasingly important to
the security, economy and politics of Russia, Asia
and the world beyond.
The challenge for the future governments of
Central Asia is to meet the religious, secular and
economic desires of its people, while treading the
tightrope between authoritarianism and Islamisa-
tion. As long as the issues of reform, reconstruction,
poverty, development, corruption and succession
remain unaddressed, Central Asia will continue to
be a potential powder keg.
LOWEST POINT:
KARAGIYE DEPRESSION
(-132M)
if Central Asia
were 100 people
40
would be Uzbeks
6
would be Kyrgyz
12
would be Tajiks
6
would be Turkmen
17
would be Kazakhs
19
would be Others
belief systems
(% of population)
82
14
4
Islam
Russian
Orthodox
Other
population per sq km
UZBEKISTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
KAZAKHSTAN
≈ 7 people
