With the collapse of the USSR, the former Soviet republics of Central Asia gained independence and, in doing so became factors in the foreign policies of many countries and subjects of concern for international organizations.1 The concerns that defined the region’s place on the international agenda included religious extremism, instability in Afghanistan, hydrocarbon resources, regional transit capacity that could serve as a connecting link between Europe and Asia, and international terrorism. The Ferghana Valley, as the region’s geopolitical core, came to play a special role in all these discussions.