ABSTRACT
Russia penetrated into Central Asia in the 1860s. Up until 1917 there were no well-defined internal borders within that region. The Khiva and Kokand Khanates and the Bukhara Emirate united people of various ethnic origins into a country loosely called Turkmenistan, ruled and administered after a fashion by the emir of Bukhara. In early 1992, Turkey was perceived in Central Asia as a bridgehead for western influence and a guide for dealing with the nascent Islamic movement. The Turkish government was eager to gain a position of influence in Central Asia and wished to convince the republics to adopt a secular constitution, like Turkey, to prevent fundamentalist Islam gaining ground. President Islam Karimov and the heads of the other Central Asian and the Azerbaijan governments, mindful of the winds blowing across their borders from Iran, were interested in close links with Turkey, a country which they felt had enormous economic potential.
