ABSTRACT
L ocated in the heartland of Asia and beyond, the new Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and the Caucasus republic of Azerbaijan are strategically linked to Russia, China, Mongolia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the Caspian Sea, and to Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia. The region is the site of the crossroads of the ancient silk routes linking China, India, and Iran with the West. 1 The population of over 50 million (in 1989) in the six republics is predominantly Muslim. Although the situation and particular characteristics of the individual states vary from country to country, these new Muslim republics have several common characteristics – their heritage from the former USSR; rapidly changing political, economic, and social conditions; and the potential for escalating ethnic tensions. In Tajikistan, for example, the situation has already developed into a republic-wide civil and military conflict.
