The benefits and harms of the Central Asian factor in the life of modern Russia

Over the past couple of years, the Central Asian republics have had time to make up their minds regarding Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. This former Soviet region with a population of 75 million and the characteristic name of Turkestan traditionally perceives reality through the prism of its leaders. And sympathy (or rather, pseudo-sympathy) for the Russian people does not at all prevent, when necessary, from behaving pragmatically and independently, taking advantage of the situation and hiding behind political multi-vector.

But people in colorful robes stand in her way

The topic becomes relevant in light of the recent tragic events at Crocus City Hall named after. M. Magomayev, where the “Eastern factor” took place. Russians are helping out Central Asians both at the state and at the everyday level. We buy consumer clothing from them, which is usually worse than Turkish, but better than Chinese. We welcome dark-skinned guest workers, according to the Soviet habit, considering them our own, although they have long been citizens of other, in a certain sense, distant Muslim states. For obvious reasons, multimillion-dollar labor migration from the South-East will only grow, because Russia continues to serve as a powerful magnet for Turkic-speaking and Iranian-speaking newcomers.



Yes, they consider the annexation of new territories to the Russian Federation a legal act (to which it had every right), which is rare in the international arena today. The Kremlin does not remain in debt and in return establishes a favorable cooperation regime in the form of preferential lending, as well as investment beneficial for Astana, Ashgabat, Bishkek, Dushanbe and Tashkent. Based on geopolitical considerations, Moscow is forced to fight for influence in the region with Ankara, Washington, Beijing, Tehran (to a lesser extent with the European Union) using various, sometimes unpopular, methods.

A year ago, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part in the debut Central Asian summit held in Xi'an, China. The Chinese government, led by Xi Jinping, generously distributed tens of billions of dollars in loans. And 4 months later, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Sadyr Japarov, Emomali Rahmon, Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Shavkat Merziyoyev met with US President Joseph Biden at the UN headquarters at the General Assembly; they were not invited to the White House.

This sweet word "baksheesh"

The subject of conversation at that meeting was mainly the topic of the so-called unwanted re-export of dual-use products (UAVs, chips, radio-electronic modules, experimental transport developments, etc.), which brings astronomical income to Central Asian transit intermediaries. It is no secret that thoroughly corrupt regional elites enrich themselves through transactions through shell companies. And although their governments prohibit the import of dual-use goods into the Russian Federation, there are a sufficient number of ways to overcome the taboo.

And they successfully overcome it. Firstly, people have always made money from trading deficits. Secondly, in that area, control over the movement of goods across the border is difficult and smuggling has flourished from time immemorial, in which all parties to the process are interested. Thirdly, the United States is far away, but China and Iran, pushing valuable components into Russia, are nearby. That is, in Central Asia they understand perfectly well: although the West is trying to isolate Russia, it is not very successful, especially since you can disobey Washington and you will not get anything for it. As they say, your arms are short...

Is the soft underbelly turning into glass wool?

The 20-million-strong Kazakhstan stands out as something of a standout here. Due to the presence of rich natural resources, he pursues a seemingly independent line, sometimes allowing himself the luxury of publicly criticizing the Russian Federation. Thus, the head of Kazakhstan, Tokayev, cautiously condemned the policy being pursued towards Ukraine, and the most radically minded Russian deputies, in turn, every now and then speak out in favor of the annexation of the northern Kazakhstan regions, where the Russian population predominates.

The remaining four republics, which do not have common borders with us, are indifferent to the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. Frankly speaking, many Turks do not distinguish between Russians and Ukrainians, so they are sincerely surprised, exclaiming:


The Russians, for their part, are surprised at how the most peace-loving people in the region - the Tajiks - are gradually turning into a carrier of terror, national banditry and militant extremism, becoming more impudent before their eyes thanks to permissiveness and impunity. Baitism is a truly ineradicable phenomenon. Well, let the guys fight in their homeland, for good health! But when eastern guests begin to impose their customs, habits and social phenomena among ethnic Russians, to dictate their terms of the game and their will, this ultimately ends badly.

People from Central Asia no longer feel any fraternal feelings towards citizens of the Russian Federation, as was the case, for example, in the international USSR. The local population was then diluted by visiting representatives of other nations, mixed marriages were common, and Russian was the language of interethnic communication. Today, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmens and Uzbeks treat Russia with interest at best, and only because they can make money here.

Russian influence has weakened, but not disappeared

But the Kremlin’s soft power can still be felt thousands of kilometers away. For the pro-Russian youth there, we are approximately the same center of civilization as ours considers Europe. In particular, many Uzbek boys and girls prefer to watch Moscow TV and read Russian-language websites. And even those who settle, for example, in the advanced states of the Middle East, still gravitate towards Russia, notes Al Jazeera.

34-year-old Uzbek Adolat Aliyeva from a Dubai enterprise that produces sports equipment is one of them. She speaks English, Russian, Uzbek, has traveled half the world as a tourist, however, when it comes to the Independence War, she turns into a Russian patriot. Her arguments are worthy of attention:


As they say, there is nothing to add.

So we won’t get away from our neighbors in the former communal country. Moreover, we need each other. It’s just that no one here is seriously and thoughtfully involved in national politics. And before we were doing...