Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Slavs
Russians and Ukrainians have settled in Central Asia in several waves,
the first in the 19th century with colonisation, and the latest in the
1950s during the Virgin Lands campaign. Numerous villages in remot-
er parts of Central Asia were founded by the early settlers and are still
inhabited by their descendants.
Many Slavs, feeling deeply aggrieved as political and administra-
tive power devolves to 'local' people, have emigrated to Russia and
Ukraine. At the height of the migration more than 280,000 Russians
left Kazakhstan and 200,000 left Tajikistan in a single year, most of
them well-educated professionals. Some have returned, either disillu-
sioned with life in the motherland or reaffirmed in the knowledge that
Central Asia is their home, like it or not. Some 3.8 million Russians
and 333,000 Ukrainians live in Kazakhstan alone.
Other Peoples
Dungans are Muslim Chinese who first moved across the border in
1882, mainly to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, to escape persecution
after failed Muslim rebellions. Few still speak Chinese, though their
cuisine remains distinctive.
More than 500,000 Koreans arrived in Central Asia as deportees in
WWII. You'll most likely see them selling their pickled salads in many
bazaars.
Five hundred thousand Germans were deported in WWII from
their age-old home in the Volga region, or came as settlers (some
of them Mennonites) in the late 19th century. Most have since de-
parted to Germany but pockets remain, and you'll come across the
occasional village in Central Asia with a German name, such as
Rotfront in Kyrgyzstan. Likewise, most Jews, an important part of
Bukharan commerce since the 9th century, have moved to Israel
(and Queens, New York). The chief rabbi of Central Asia remains in
Bukhara, though.
Karakalpaks occupy their own republic in northwest Uzbekistan
and have cultural and linguistic ties with Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.
kazakhs and
kyrgyz share
many customs
and have similar
languages, and
in a sense they
are simply the
steppe (kazakh)
and mountain
(kyrgyz) vari-
ants of the same
people.
CULTURAL DOS & DON'TS
¨
Dress codes vary throughout Central Asia. Western-style clothes are acceptable in
the capital cities and large towns but avoid wearing singlets, shorts or short skirts in
rural areas or the conservative Fergana Valley.
¨
Working mosques are generally closed to women and often to non-Muslim men,
though men will likely be invited in outside of prayer times. In Kazakhstan women
can visit many working mosques but may be restricted to a special women's gallery.
When visiting a mosque, always take your shoes off at the door. Never walk in front of
someone praying to Mecca.
¨
When you visit someone's home, take your shoes off at the door; you will often find
a pair of undersized flip-flops waiting there. Avoid stepping on any carpet if you have
your shoes on.
¨
Try not to blow your nose in public; it's considered rude.
¨
Central Asian society devotes much respect to its elderly, known as
aksakal
(literally
white beards). Always make an effort to shake hands with an elder. Younger men give
up their seats to
aksakal,
and foreigners should certainly offer their place in a crowded
chaikhana (teahouse). Some Central Asians address elders with a shortened form
of the elder's name, adding the suffix 'ke'. Thus Abkhan becomes Abeke, Nursultan
becomes Nureke, and so on.
