Central Asian countries, comparison

1. C E N T R A L A S I A -
R U S S I A N R E L A T I O N S
A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O
by Kathy Pham - Fall 2014

2. D E F I N I N G T E R M S
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS):
formed when the former Soviet Union dissolved in
1991. At its conception it consisted of ten former
Soviet Republics: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Cultural-Linguistic Note:
Russians use two separate terms:
1. Средняя Азия, five CIS republics
2. Центральная Азия, a wider definition that
includes lands outside the former Soviet Union

3. W H E R E I S C E N T R A L A S I A ?
Not much prior
involvement until 1979
Soviet Invasion
9
During this presentation,
we will focus on five CIS
republics:
1. Turkmenistan
2. Uzbekistan
3. Tajikistan
4. Kyrgyzstan
5. Kazakhstan

4. B A C K G R O U N D &
H I S T O R Y

5. N O M A D S - S I L K R O A D -
S T E P P E S
Рихард-Карл Карлович Зоммер “Самарканд, Узбекистан” (1866—1939). Trained in St. Petersburg.

6. R U S S I A & C E N T R A L A S I A ?
Russians interacted with the Central Asians since the 19th century
Каразин Николай Николаевич “Переправа Туркестанского отряда у Шейх-арыка.” 1869.

7. – R U D Y A R D K I P L I N G , K I M , 1 9 0 1
“'Now I shall go far and far into the North, playing
the Great Game...”

8. “ T H E G R E A T G A M E ”
Sir John Tenniel. Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with his "friends" the Russian
Bear and British Lion (1878)
Great Britain v. Soviet Union
Fought for dominance over
Central Asia
Key events 1813-1907:
• 1813 Russo-Persian Treaty
• 1865 Russia conquers
Turkestan
• 1887 Both Russia and Britain
reach the north-west border of
Afghanistan
• 1907 the Anglo-Russian
Convention

9. C E N T R A L A S I A I N T H E S O V I E T
E R A
Again, the five CIS republics:
Flags of Former Soviet Republics:
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic (1918),
Khorezm People's Soviet Republic and SSR
(1920), Tajik SSR (1925), Kirghiz SSR (1925),
Turkmen SSR (1925), on top: Kazakh SSR (1936)
Time: 1918-1991
In 1924, Turkestan was split into Tajik ASSR (now
Tajikistan), Turkmen SSR (now Turkmenistan),
Uzbek SSR (now Uzbekistan), Kara-Kirghiz
Autonomous Oblast (now Kyrgyzstan).
Kazakh SSR was established on December 5, 1936.

10. C E N T R A L A S I A I N T H E S O V I E T
E R A
• Population Demographic
Shift: Stalin expelled
Volga Germans, Koreans,
Turks outside Russia;
encouraged ethnic
Russians to settle in
Kazakhstan and other
Central Asian territories.
• Ban on Religion: Primarily Sunni Muslim pre-Soviet
times. Starting in the 1930s, the Soviets shut down
churches and mosques. By the 1980s, ban ceased.
• Nationalist Revolts: Short-lived wins, majority
crushed.
Time: 1918-1991

11. C E N T R A L A S I A I N T H E S O V I E T
E R A
Time: 1918-1991
• Cotton Farming: Large industry in Uzbekistan, later
a large cause for the Aral Sea shrinkage…
• Natural Resources & Industrialization: After World
War II, the Soviets rapidly industrialized
Kazakhstan, and started prospecting for oil in
Central Asia. Oil was found in Uzbekistan, both oil
and gas - in Turkmenistan
• Metallurgy —> Nuclear Development: Uranium
produced in Uzbekistan. Nuclear testing sites open.

12. N O N S U S T A I N A B L E
P R A C T I C E S
=
A R A L S E A S H R I N K A G E

13. " Н А А Т О М Н О Й Р Е Ч К Е "
• Первая крупная радиационная
катастрофа произошла в Челябинской
области на ядерном комбинате «Маяк»
29 сентября 1957 г.
• Но последствия этих двух катастроф
схожи - сотни тысяч людей,
подвергшихся воздействию радиации,
десятки тысяч квадратных километров
зараженной территории, страдания
экологических беженцев, героизм
ликвидаторов...
C H E R N O B Y L ,
K Y S H T Y M / M A Y A K ,
… C O U N T L E S S
N U C L E A R
D I S A S T E R S I N T H E
U S S R …

14. … T O D A Y

15. E C O N O M I C S B Y C O U N T R Y - P U S H
F A C T O R F O R M I G R A N T W O R K E R S
• National GDPs from highest to lowest: Kazakhstan ($149.06 billion) vs. Tajikistan
($5.64 billion) - World Bank data 2010
• National Trade from highest to lowest: Kazakhstan ($55 billion) vs. Tajikistan ($1.06
billion) - Harvard Center for International Development 2010
• According to Carnegie Endowment article (reading),
• Tajikistan greatly depends on migrant labor “as many as 1.5 million of its 6.9
million people work abroad, the vast majority of them in Russia.”
• Remittances from migrant labor equal to around 49% of Tajikistan’s GDP, super
high ratio
Why Tajikistan? Let’s look at some charts ahead.

16. M A I N K A Z A K H S T A N E X P O R T S
Economic Complexity Observatory, MIT Media Lab and the Center for International Development
at Harvard University. (TC) http://atlas.media.mit.edu/

17. M A I N T A J I K I S T A N E X P O R T S
Economic Complexity Observatory, MIT Media Lab and the Center for International Development
at Harvard University. (TC) http://atlas.media.mit.edu/

18. T A J I K I S T A N & K A Z A K H S T A N
CIA World Fact Book, Transparency International Country Profile,World Bank Data
* P O P U L A T I O N ( 2 0 1 0 ) : 6 . 9
M I L L I O N
* G D P ( 2 0 1 0 ) : $ 5 . 6 4 B
* I N F A N T M O R T A L I T Y R A T E
( P E R 1 K L I V E B I R T H S ) : 5 2 . 2
* L I F E E X P E C T A N C Y ( 2 0 0 9 ) :
6 6 . 9 7 Y E A R S
* R E L I G I O N S : S U N N I M U S L I M
8 5 % , S H I A M U S L I M 5 % ,
* L I T E R A C Y R A T E ( 2 0 0 9 ) :
9 9 . 7 %
* P O P U L A T I O N ( 2 0 1 0 ) : 1 6 . 3
M I L L I O N
* G D P ( 2 0 1 0 ) : $ 1 4 9 . 0 6 B
* I N F A N T M O R T A L I T Y R A T E
( P E R 1 K L I V E B I R T H S ) : 2 9 . 1
* L I F E E X P E C T A N C Y ( 2 0 0 9 )
6 8 . 4 3 Y E A R S
* R E L I G I O N S : M U S L I M 7 0 . 2 % ,
C H R I S T I A N 2 6 . 2 % ( M A I N L Y
R U S S I A N O R T H O D O X
* L I T E R A C Y R A T E ( 2 0 0 9 ) :
9 9 . 7 %

19. C O R R U P T I O N ,
W E A L T H
D I S T R I B U T I O N
L E T ’ S C O M P A R E … .
http://www.transparency.org/country/#KAZ
http://www.transparency.org/country/#TJK

20. S P E C I A L T H A N K S T O :
M A R I N A I N G M A N
YU L D U Z I S M A T U L L A E V A
O T H E R S O U R C E S :
U C L A C E N T R A L A S I A N I N S T I T U T E
L E C T U R E S E R I E S
T R A N S P A R E N C Y I N T E R N A T I O N A L
L A N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y M U S E U M
W I K I P E D I A . O R G

21. I M M I G R A T I O N I S S U E S

22. G U I D I N G Q U O T E S
• In December 2008, the government blocked foreign workers
from working as salespeople in retail and in marketplaces,
which employ over 30 percent of Russia’s migrant workers.
• Russia also introduced quotas limiting the number of
available work permits and introduced tougher regulations on
employers. These initiatives appear to have been mostly
politically motivated—there is scant proof that migrants
compete for jobs with locals.
• How does this sentiment compare to one in the USA?
Europe?

23. G U I D I N G Q U O T E S
• On June 13, President Vladimir Putin signed a revised
State Migration Policy, which requires foreign workers
to pass Russian language and history exams to obtain
work permits and, in effect, pushes more migrants to
work illegally.

24. G U I D I N G Q U O T E S
• According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service’s
middle scenario projection from 2008, Russia’s working age
population may shrink by 14 million by 2025.
• The UNDP reports that this decrease will result in a labor
shortage that will significantly hamper Russia’s economic
growth potential, even if labor productivity increases.
• To cover this shortage, the country will need to attract foreign
workers. In this respect, persisting anti immigrant sentiment
and the current quota system are counterproductive.
Agree/Disagree?

25. F R O M
T H E
R E A D I N G
• http://cimes.pro/migration-fall-2014/

26. F U R T H E R R E A D I N G
• Central Asian Labor Migrants in Russia: The "Diasporization" of the
Central Asian States?
http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/CEF/Quarterly/August_2007/Lar
uelle.pdf
• Possible academic sources, books to check out later:
• Naomi Caffee from UCLA, Central Asian Studies at UCLA
• Marat, Erica. Labor migration in Central Asia: Implications of the global
economic crisis. Silk Road Studies Program, Institute for Security and
Development Policy, 2009.
• Rywkin, Michael. Moscow's Muslim Challenge: Soviet Central Asia. ME
Sharpe, 1990.