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History of Central Asia

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   Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the
   region
   Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the
   region

   The history of Central Asia has been determined primarily by the area's
   climate and geography. The aridity of the region made agriculture
   difficult, and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade.
   Thus, few major cities developed in the region; instead the area was
   for millennia dominated by the nomadic horse peoples of the steppe.

   Relations between the steppe nomads and the settled people in and
   around Central Asia were long marked by conflict. The nomadic lifestyle
   was well suited to warfare, and the steppe horse riders became some of
   the most militarily potent people in the world, due to the devastating
   techniques and ability of their horse archers. Periodically, great
   leaders or changing conditions would organize several tribes into one
   force, and create an almost unstoppable power. These included the Huns'
   invasion of Europe, the Wu Hu attacks on China and most notably the
   Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia.

   The dominance of the nomads ended in the 16th century as firearms
   allowed settled people to gain control of the region. Russia, China,
   and other powers expanded into the area, and had captured the bulk of
   Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. After the Russian
   Revolution, most Central Asian regions were incorporated into the
   Soviet Union; only Mongolia remained nominally independent, although it
   was a Soviet satellite state. The Soviet areas of Central Asia saw much
   industrialisation and construction of infrastructure, but also the
   suppression of local cultures and a lasting legacy of ethnic tensions
   and environmental problems. In the 20th century, nearly 55 million
   Asians died in various communist famines or from famine-associated
   diseases.

   With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, five Central Asian
   countries gained independence. In all of the new states, former
   Communist party officials retained power as local strongmen.

Prehistory

   Recent genetic studies have concluded that humans arrived in the region
   around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, making the region one of the oldest
   known sites of human habitation. The archaeological evidence of
   population in this region is sparse, whereas evidence of human
   habitation in Africa and Australia prior to that of Central Asia is
   well-known. Some studies have also identified this region as the
   likeliest source of the populations who later inhabited Europe,
   Siberia, and North America. The region is also often considered to be
   the source of the root of the Indo-European languages.

   As early as 4500 BCE, small communities had developed permaneant
   settlements and began to engage in agricultural practices as well as
   herding. Around this time, some of these communities began the
   domestication of the horse. Initially, the horses were bred solely for
   their meat, as a source of food. However, by 4000 BCE it is believed
   that they were used for transportation purposes; wheeled wagons began
   making an appearance during this time. Once the utility of the horse as
   a means of transportation became clear the horses (actually ponies)
   began being bred for strength, and by the 3rd millennium BCE they were
   strong enough to pull chariots. By 2000 BCE, war chariots had spoked
   wheels, thus being made more maneuverable, and dominated the
   battlefields. The growing use of the horse, combined with the failure,
   roughly around 2000 BCE, of the always precarious irrigation systems
   that had allowed for extensive agriculture in the region, gave rise and
   dominance of pastoral nomadism by 1000 BCE, a way of life that would
   dominate the region for the next several millennia.
   Przewalski's Horse (Equus przewalskii), also known as the Mongolian
   Wild Horse, or Takhi, was probably the ancestor of the first domestic
   horses.
   Enlarge
   Przewalski's Horse (Equus przewalskii), also known as the Mongolian
   Wild Horse, or Takhi, was probably the ancestor of the first domestic
   horses.

   Scattered nomadic groups maintained herds of sheep, goats, horses, and
   camels, and conducted annual migrations to find new pastures (a
   practice known as transhumance). The people lived in yurts (or gers) -
   tents made of hides and wood that could be disassembled and
   transported. Each group had several yurts, each accommodating about
   five people.

   While the semi-arid plains were dominated by the nomads, small
   city-states and sedentary agrarian societies arose in the more humid
   areas of Central Asia. The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex of
   the early 2nd millennium BCE was the first sedentary civilization of
   the region, practicing irrigation farming of wheat and barley and
   possibly a form of writing. Bactria-Margiana probably interacted with
   the contemporary Bronze Age nomads of the Andronovo culture, the
   originators of the spoke-wheeled chariot, who lived to their north in
   western Siberia, Russia, and parts of Kazakhstan, and survived as a
   culture until the 1st millennium BCE. These cultures, particularly
   Bactria-Margiana, have been posited as possible representatives of the
   hypothetical Aryan culture ancestral to the speakers of the
   Indo-Iranian languages (see Indo-Iranians), and possibly the Uralic and
   Altaic cultures as well.

   Later the strongest of Sogdian city states of the Fergana Valley rose
   to prominence. After the 1st century BCE, these cities became home to
   the traders of the Silk Road and grew wealthy from this trade. The
   steppe nomads were dependent on these settled people for a wide array
   of goods that were impossible for transient populations to produce. The
   nomads traded for these when they could, but because they generally did
   not produce goods of interest to sedentary people, the popular
   alternative was to carry out raids.

   A wide variety of people came to populate the steppes. Nomadic groups
   in Central Asia included the Huns and other Turks, the Tocharians,
   Persians, Scythians and other Indo-Europeans, and a number of Mongol
   groups. Despite these ethnic and linguistic differences, the steppe
   lifestyle led to the adoption of very similar culture across the
   region.

External influences

   In the first and second millennia BCE, a series of large and powerful
   states developed on the southern periphery of Central Asia. These
   empires launched several attempts to conquer the steppe people, but met
   with only mixed success. The Median Empire and Achaemenid Empire both
   ruled parts of Central Asia. Chinese states would also regularly strive
   to extend their power westwards. Despite their military might, these
   states found it difficult to conquer the whole region. When faced by a
   stronger force, the nomads could simply retreat deep into the steppe
   and wait for the invaders to leave. With no cities and little wealth
   other than the herds they brought with them the nomads had nothing they
   could be forced to defend. An example of this is given by Herodotus's
   detailed account of the futile Persian campaigns against the Scythians.
   Tetradrachm of the Greco-Bactrian King Eucratides (171-145 BCE)
   Enlarge
   Tetradrachm of the Greco-Bactrian King Eucratides (171-145 BCE)

   Some empires, such as the Persian and Macedonian empires, did make deep
   inroads into Central Asia by founding cities and gaining control of the
   trading centres. Alexander the Great's conquests spread Hellenistic
   civilization all the way to Alexandria Eschate (Lit. “Alexandria the
   Furthest”), established in 329 BCE in modern Tajikistan. After
   Alexander's death in 323 BCE, his Central Asian territory fell to the
   Seleucid Empire during the Wars of the Diadochi. In 250 BCE, the
   Central Asian portion of the empire ( Bactria) seceded as the
   Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, which had extensive contacts with India and
   China till its end in 125 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom, mostly based in
   the Punjab but controlling a fair part of Afghanistan, pioneered the
   development of Greco-Buddhism. The Kushan Kingdom thrived across a wide
   swath of the region from the Second Century BCE to the Fourth Century
   AD, and continued Hellenistic and Buddhist traditions. These states
   prospered from their position on the Silk Road linking China and
   Europe. Later, external powers such as Sassanid Empire would come to
   dominate this trade.

   One of those powers, the Parthian Empire was of Central Asian origin,
   but adopted Persian cultural traditions. This is an early example of a
   recurring theme of Central Asian history: occasionally nomads of
   Central Asian origin would conquer the kingdoms and empires surrounding
   the region, but quickly merge into the culture of their conquered
   peoples.

   At this time Central Asia was a heterogeneous region with a mixture of
   cultures and religions. Buddhism remained the largest religion, but was
   concentrated in the east. Around Persia, Zoroastrianism became
   important. Nestorian Christianity entered the area, but was never more
   than a minority faith. More successful was Manichaeism, which became
   the third largest faith. Many Central Asians practiced more than one
   faith, and almost all of the local religions were infused with local
   shamanistic traditions.

   Turkic expansion begain in the 6th century, and following the Gokturk
   emipre, Turkic tribes quickly spread westward across all of Central
   Asia. The Turkic speaking Uighurs were one of many distinct cultural
   groups brought together by the trade of the Silk Route at Turfan in
   Chinese Central Asia. The Uighurs, primarily pastoral nomads, observed
   a number of religions including Manichaeism, Buddhism, and Nestorian
   Christianity. Many of the artifacts from this period were found in the
   19th century in this remote desert region of China.

   In the eighth century, Islam began to penetrate the region and soon
   became the sole faith of most of the population, though Buddhism
   remained strong in the east. The desert nomads of Arabia could
   militarily match the nomads of the steppe, and the early Arab Empire
   gained control over parts of Central Asia. The Arab invasion also saw
   Chinese influence expelled from western Central Asia. At the Battle of
   Talas an Arab army decisively defeated a Tang Dynasty force and for the
   next several centuries Middle Eastern influences would dominate the
   region.

Return of indigenous rule

   A map showing the major trade routes of Central Asia in the thirteenth
   century
   Enlarge
   A map showing the major trade routes of Central Asia in the thirteenth
   century

   Over time, as new technologies were introduced, the nomadic horsemen
   grew in power. The Scythians developed the saddle, and by the time of
   the Alans the use of the stirrup had begun. Horses continued to grow
   larger and sturdier so that chariots were no longer needed as the
   horses could carry men with ease. This greatly increased the mobility
   of the nomads; it also freed their hands, allowing them to use the bow
   from horseback. Using small but powerful composite bows, the steppe
   people gradually became the most powerful military force in the world.
   From a young age, almost the entire male population was trained in
   riding and archery, both of which were necessary skills for survival on
   the steppe. By adulthood, these activities were second nature. These
   mounted archers were more mobile than any other force at the time,
   being able to travel forty miles a day with ease.

   The steppe peoples quickly came to dominate Central Asia, forcing the
   scattered city states and kingdoms to pay them tribute or face
   annihilation. The martial ability of the steppe peoples was limited,
   however, by the lack of political structure within the tribes.
   Confederations of various groups would sometimes form under a ruler
   known as a khan. When large numbers of nomads acted in unison they
   could be devastating, as when the Huns arrived in Western Europe.
   However, tradition dictated that any dominion conquered in such wars
   should be divided among all of the khan's sons, so these empires often
   declined as quickly as they formed.

   Once the foreign powers were expelled, several indigenous empires
   formed in Central Asia. The Hephthalites were the most powerful of
   these nomad groups in the sixth and seventh century and controlled much
   of the region. In the tenth and eleventh centuries the region was
   divided between several powerful states including the Samanid dynasty,
   that of the Seljuk Turks, and the Khwarezmid Empire.

   The most spectacular power to rise out of Central Asia developed when
   Genghis Khan united the tribes of Mongolia. Using superior military
   techniques, the Mongol Empire spread to comprise almost all of Central
   Asia, as well as large parts of China, Russia, and the Middle East.
   After Genghis Khan died in 1227, most of Central Asia continued to be
   dominated by the successor Chagatai Khanate. This state proved to be
   short lived, as in 1369 Timur, a Turkic leader in the Mongol military
   tradition, conquered most of the region.

   Even harder than keeping a steppe empire together was governing
   conquered lands outside the region. While the steppe peoples of Central
   Asia found conquest of these areas easy, they found governing almost
   impossible. The diffuse political structure of the steppe confederacies
   was maladapted to the complex states of the settled peoples. Moreover,
   the armies of the nomads were based upon large numbers of horses,
   generally three or four for each warrior. Maintaining these forces
   required large stretches of grazing land, not present outside the
   steppe. Any extended time away from the homeland would thus cause the
   steppe armies to gradually disintegrate. To govern settled peoples the
   steppe peoples were forced to rely on the local bureaucracy, a factor
   that would lead to the rapid assimilation of the nomads into the
   culture of those they had conquered. Another important limit was that
   the armies, for the most part, were unable to penetrate the forested
   regions to the north; thus, such states as Novgorod and Muscovy began
   to grow in power.

   In the fourteenth century much of Central Asia, and many areas beyond
   it, were conquered by Timur (1336-1405) who is known in the west as
   Tamerlane. It was during Timur’s reign that the nomadic steppe culture
   of Central Asia fused with the settled culture of Iran. One of its
   consequences was an entirely new visual language that glorified Timur
   and subsequent Timurid rulers. This visual language was also used to
   articulate their commitment to Islam . Timur's large empire collapsed
   soon after his death, however. The region then became divided among a
   series of smaller Khanates, including the Khanate of Khiva, the Khanate
   of Bukhara, the Khanate of Kokand, and the Khanate of Kashgar.

Conquest of the steppes

   The lifestyle that had existed largely unchanged since 500 BCE began to
   disappear after 1500. An important change in the world economy in the
   fourteenth and fifteenth century was brought about by the development
   of nautical technology. Ocean trade routes were pioneered by the
   Europeans, who were cut off from the Silk Road by the Muslim states
   that controlled its western termini. The trade between East Asia,
   India, Europe, and the Middle East began to move over the seas and not
   through Central Asia. The disunity of the region after the end of the
   Mongol Empire also made trade and travel far more difficult and the
   Silk Road went into steep decline.
   A native Turkmen man in traditional dress with his dromedary camel in
   Turkmenistan, circa 1915.
   Enlarge
   A native Turkmen man in traditional dress with his dromedary camel in
   Turkmenistan, circa 1915.

   An even more important development was the introduction of
   gunpowder-based weapons. The gunpowder revolution allowed settled
   peoples to defeat the steppe horsemen in open battle for the first
   time. Construction of these weapons required the infrastructure and
   economies of large societies and were thus impractical for nomadic
   peoples to produce. The domain of the nomads began to shrink as,
   beginning in the fifteenth century, the settled powers gradually began
   to conquer Central Asia.

   The last steppe empire to emerge was that of the Dzungars who conquered
   much of East Turkestan and Mongolia. However in a sign of the changed
   times they proved unable to match the Chinese and were decisively
   defeated by the forces of Qing Dynasty. In the eighteenth century the
   Qing emperors, themselves originally from the far east edge of the
   steppe, campaigned in the west and in Mongolia with the Qianlong
   Emperor taking control of Xinjiang in 1758. The Mongol threat was
   overcome and much of Inner Mongolia was annexed to China. The Chinese
   dominions stretched into the heart of Central Asia and included the
   Khanate of Kokand, which paid tribute to Peking. Outer Mongolia and
   Xinjiang did not become provinces of the Chinese empire, but rather
   were directly administered by the Qing dynasty. The fact that there was
   no provincial governor meant that the local rulers retained most of
   their powers and this special status also prevented emigration from the
   rest of China into the region. Persia also began to expand north,
   especially under the rule of Nadir Shah who extended Persian dominion
   far past the Oxus. After his death, however, the Persian empire slowly
   crumbled and was annexed by Britain and Russia.

   The Russians also expanded south, first with the transformation of the
   Ukrainian steppe into an agricultural heartland, and subsequently onto
   the fringe of the Kazakh steppes, beginning with the foundation of the
   fortress of Orenburg. The slow Russian conquest of the heart of Central
   Asia began in the early nineteenth century, although Peter the Great
   had sent a failed expedition under Prince Bekovitch-Cherkassky against
   Khiva as early as the 1720s. By the 1800s, the locals could do little
   to resist the Russian advance, although the Kazakhs under Kenesary
   Kasimov rose in the 1820s-30s. Until the 1870s, for the most part,
   Russian interference was minimal, leaving native ways of life intact
   and local government structures in place. With the conquest of
   Turkestan after 1865 and the consequent securing of the frontier, the
   Russians gradually expropriated large parts of the steppe and gave
   these lands to Russian farmers, who began to arrive in large numbers.
   This process was initially limited to the northern fringes of the
   steppe and it was only in the 1890s that significant numbers of
   Russians began to settle farther south, especially in Semirechie.

Foreign control of Turkestan

Russia's campaigns

   The forces of the khanates were poorly equipped and could do little to
   resist Russia's advances, although the Kokandian commander Alimqul led
   a quixotic campaign before being killed outside Chimkent. The main
   opposition to Russian expansion into Turkestan came from the British,
   who felt that Russia was growing too powerful and threatening the
   northwest frontiers of British India. This rivalry came to be known as
   The Great Game, where both powers competed to advance their own
   interests in the region. It did little to slow the pace of conquest
   north of the Oxus, but did ensure that Afghanistan remained independent
   as a buffer state between the two Empires.

   After the fall of Tashkent to General Cherniaev in 1865, Khodjend,
   Djizak, and Samarkand fell to the Russians in quick succession over the
   next three years as the Khanate of Kokand and the Emirate of Bukhara
   were repeatedly defeated. In 1867 the Governor-Generalship of Russian
   Turkestan was established under General Konstantin Petrovich Von
   Kaufman, with its headquarters at Tashkent. In 1881-85 the Transcaspian
   region was annexed in the course of a campaign led by Generals Mikhail
   Annenkov and Mikhail Skobelev, and Ashkhabad, Merv and Pendjeh all came
   under Russian control. Russian expansion was halted in 1887 when Russia
   and Great Britain delineated the northern border of Afghanistan.
   Bukhara and the Khanate of Khiva remained quasi-independent, but were
   essentially protectorates along the lines of the Princely States of
   British India. Although the conquest was prompted by almost purely
   military concerns, in the 1870s and 1880s Turkestan came to play a
   reasonably important economic role within the Russian Empire. Because
   of the American Civil War, cotton shot up in price in the 1860s,
   becoming an increasingly important commodity in the region, although
   its cultivation was on a much lesser scale than during the Soviet
   period. The cotton trade led to improvements: the Transcaspian Railway
   from Krasnovodsk to Samarkand and Tashkent, and the Trans-Aral Railway
   from Orenburg to Tashkent were constructed. In the long term the
   development of a cotton monoculture would render Turkestan dependent on
   food imports from Western Siberia, and the Turkestan-Siberia Railway
   was already planned when the First World War broke out. Russian rule
   still remained distant from the local populace, mostly concerning
   itself with the small minority of Russian inhabitants of the region.
   The local Muslims were not considered full Russian citizens. They did
   not have the full privileges of Russians, but nor did they have the
   same obligations, such as military service. The Tsarist regime left
   substantial elements of the previous regimes (such as Muslim religious
   courts) intact, and local self-government at the village level was
   quite extensive.

Chinese influence

   Internal turmoil largely halted Chinese expansion in the nineteenth
   century. In 1867 Yakub Beg led a rebellion that saw Xinjiang regain its
   independence as the Taiping and Nian Rebellions in the heartland of the
   Empire prevented the Chinese from reasserting their control. Instead
   the Russians expanded, annexing the Chu and Ili Valleys and the city of
   Kuldja from the Chinese Empire. After Yakub Beg's death at Korla in
   1877 his state collapsed as the area was reconquered by China. After
   lengthy negotiations Kuldja was returned to Peking by Russia in 1884.

Revolution and revolt

   During the First World War the Muslim exemption from conscription was
   removed by the Russians, sparking the Central Asian Revolt of 1916.
   When the Russian Revolution of 1917 occurred, a provisional Government
   of Jadid Reformers, also known as the Turkestan Muslim Council met in
   Kokand and declared Turkestan's autonomy. This new government was
   quickly crushed by the forces of the Tashkent Soviet, and the
   semi-autonomous states of Bukhara and Khiva were also invaded. The main
   independence forces were rapidly crushed, but guerrillas known as
   basmachi continued to fight the Communists until 1924. Mongolia was
   also swept up by the Russian Revolution and, though it never became a
   Soviet republic, it became a communist People's Republic in 1924.

   There was some threat of a Red Army invasion of Chinese Turkestan, but
   instead the governor agreed to cooperate with the Soviets. The creation
   of the Republic of China in 1911 and the general turmoil in China
   affected its holdings in Central Asia. Kuomintang control of the region
   was weak and there was a dual threat from Islamic separatists and
   communists. Eventually the region became largely independent under the
   control of the provincial governor. Rather than invade, the Soviet
   Union established a network of consulates in the region and sent aid
   and technical advisors. By the 1930s, the governor of Xinjiang's
   relationship with Moscow was far more important than that with Nanking.
   The Chinese Civil War further destabilized the region and saw Turkic
   nationalists make attempts at independence. In 1933, the First East
   Turkistan Republic was declared, but it was destroyed soon after with
   the aid of the Soviet troops. After the German invasion of the Soviet
   Union in 1941, Governor Sheng Shicai of Xinjiang gambled and broke his
   links to Moscow, moving to ally himself with the Kuomintang. This led
   to a civil war within the region. Sheng was eventually forced to flee
   and the Soviet backed Second East Turkistan Republic was formed. This
   state was annexed by the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Soviet and PRC domination

   In 1918 the Bolsheviks set up the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist
   Republic, and Bukhara and Khiva also became SSRs. In 1919 the
   Conciliatory Commission for Turkestan Affairs was established, to try
   to improve relations between the locals and the Communists. New
   policies were introduced, respecting local customs and religion. In
   1920, the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, covering modern
   Kazakhstan, was set up. It was renamed the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet
   Socialist Republic in 1925. In 1924, the Soviets created the Uzbek SSR
   and the Turkmen SSR. In 1929 the Tajik SSR was split from the Uzbek
   SSR. The Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast became an SSR in 1936.

   These borders had little to do with ethnic makeup, but the Soviets felt
   it important to divide the region. They saw both Pan-Turkism and
   Pan-Islamism as threats, which dividing Turkestan would limit. Under
   the Soviets, the local languages and cultures were systematized and
   codified, and their differences clearly demarcated and encouraged. New
   Cyrillic writing systems were introduced, to break links with Turkey
   and Iran. Under the Soviets the southern border was almost completely
   closed and all travel and trade was directed north through Russia.

   Under Stalin at least a million persons died, mostly in the Kazakh SSR,
   during the period of forced collectivization. Islam, as well as other
   religions, were also attacked. In the Second World War several million
   refugees and hundreds of factories were moved to the relative security
   of Central Asia; and the region permanently became an important part of
   the Soviet industrial complex. Several important military facilities
   were also located in the region, including nuclear testing facilities
   and the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Virgin Lands Campaign, starting in
   1954, was a massive Soviet agricultural resettlement program that
   brought more than 300,000 individuals, mostly from the Ukraine, to the
   northern Kazakh SSR and the Altai region of the Russian SFSR. This was
   a major change in the ethnicity of the region.

   Similar processes occurred in Xinjiang and the rest of Western China
   where the PRC quickly established absolute control. The area was
   subject to a number of development schemes and, like West Turkestan,
   one focus was on the growing of the cotton cash crop. These efforts
   were overseen by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The
   XPCC also encouraged Han Chinese migration to Xinjiang leading to a
   major demographic shift and by the year 2000 some 40% of the population
   of Xinjiang were Han. As with the Soviet Union local languages and
   cultures were mostly encouraged and Xinjiang was granted autonomous
   status. However, Islam was much persecuted, especially during the
   Cultural Revolution. Similar to the Soviet Union, many in Chinese
   Turkestan died due to the failed agricultural policies of the Great
   Leap Forward.

Since 1991

   From 1988 to 1992, a free press and multiparty system developed in the
   Central Asian republics as perestroika pressured the local Communist
   parties to open up. What Svat Soucek calls the "Central Asian Spring"
   was very short-lived, as soon after independence former Communist Party
   officials recast themselves as local strongmen, although in no state
   has repression been as great as it was in Soviet times. Political
   stability in the region has mostly been maintained, with the major
   exception of the Tajik Civil War that lasted from 1992 to 1997. 2005
   also saw the largely peaceful ousting of Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev
   in the Tulip Revolution and an outbreak of violence in Andijan,
   Uzbekistan that left several hundred people dead.
   The independent states of Central Asia with their Soviet-drawn borders
   Enlarge
   The independent states of Central Asia with their Soviet-drawn borders

   Much of the population of Soviet Central Asia was indifferent to the
   collapse of the Soviet Union, even the large Russian populations in
   Kazakhstan (roughly 40% of the total) and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Aid
   from the Kremlin had also been central to the economies of Central
   Asia, each of the republics receiving massive transfers of funds from
   Moscow. Independence largely resulted from the efforts of the small
   groups of nationalistic, mostly local intellectuals, and from little
   interest in Moscow for retaining the expensive region. While never a
   part of the Soviet Union, Mongolia followed a somewhat similar path.
   Often acting as the unofficial sixteenth Soviet republic, it shed the
   communist system only in 1996, but quickly ran into economic problems.
   See: History of independent Mongolia.

   The economic performance of the region since independence has been
   mixed. It contains some of the largest reserves of natural resources in
   the world, but there are important difficulties in transporting them.
   Since it lies farther from the ocean than anywhere else in the world,
   and its southern borders lay closed for decades, the main trade routes
   and pipelines run through Russia. As a result, Russia still exerts more
   influence over the region than in any other former Soviet republics.

   Increasingly, other powers have begun to involve themselves in Central
   Asia. Soon after the Central Asian states won their independence Turkey
   began to look east, and a number of organizations are attempting to
   build links between the western and eastern Turks. Iran, which for
   millennia had close links with the region, has also been working to
   build ties and the Central Asian states now have good relations with
   the Islamic Republic. One important player in the new Central Asia has
   been Saudi Arabia, which has been funding the Islamic revival in the
   region. Olcott notes that soon after independence Saudi money paid for
   massive shipments of Qur'ans to the region and for the construction and
   repair of a large number of mosques. In Tajikistan alone an estimated
   500 mosques per year have been erected with Saudi money. The formerly
   atheistic Communist Party leaders have mostly converted to Islam. Small
   Islamist groups have formed in several of the countries, but radical
   Islam has little history in the region; the Central Asian societies
   have remained largely secular and all five states enjoy good relations
   with Israel. Central Asia is still home to a large Jewish population,
   the largest group being the Bukharan Jews, and important trade and
   business links have developed between those that left for Israel after
   independence and those remaining.

   The People's Republic of China sees the region as an essential future
   source of raw materials; most Central Asian countries are members of
   the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This has affected Xinjiang and
   other parts of western China that have seen infrastructure programs
   building new links and also new military facilities. Chinese Central
   Asia has been far from the centre of that country's economic boom and
   the area has remained considerably poorer than the coast. China also
   sees a threat in the potential of the new states to support separatist
   movements among its own Turkic minorities.

   One important Soviet legacy that has only gradually been appreciated is
   the vast ecological destruction. Most notable is the gradual drying of
   the Aral Sea. During the Soviet era, it was decided that the
   traditional crops of melons and vegetables would be replaced by
   water-intensive growing of cotton for Soviet textile mills. Massive
   irrigation efforts were launched that diverted a considerable
   percentage of the annual inflow to the sea, causing it to shrink
   steadily. Furthermore, vast tracts of Kazakhstan were used for nuclear
   testing, and there exists a plethora of decrepit factories and mines.

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