By Dr. Vladislav L. Inozemtsev
Western policymakers’ attention has been stuck to Ukraine since the very start of the Russian invasion, while the so-called “post-Soviet space” has received much less attention. This is understandable, even though this area may create difficult challenges in the future.
The Central Asian region, which once was a remote periphery of the Soviet Union, looks today like a kind of a Middle-Earth that lies between the two most significant challengers to the Free World, that is Russia and China, while experiencing influence also from Europe, Turkey, and the unstable broader Middle East. If one turns to Central Asia’s recent history, it is possible to clearly distinguish three decisive periods, coming one after another since the demise of the Soviet Union.