ABSTRACT
The eight states south of Russia in Central Asia and the south Caucasus share a common history of Russian colonial domination and Soviet centralism. Their shared legacy is a poor infrastructure, directed towards the center of the empire, shaped by a classical center-periphery relationship. Valuable raw materials, particularly cotton, fruit, oil, natural gas, and gold, were transported to the mainland. To maximize agricultural output, one of Central Asia's natural water systems - the Aral Sea - was subjected to severe interference, with disastrous results.
