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In Central Asia, power and wealth are often kept and passed down in a family. But the concept of blood ties goes beyond immediate or extended family members. Political alliances and influential clans are also organized around tribal or regional kinship that goes back centuries to the times when today’s Central Asian nations were a group of separate tribes.
COVID-19, severe droughts, supply problems caused by the pandemic, and, most recently, the war in Ukraine have all been contributing factors to a steep rise in the cost of living in Central Asia.
Throughout its entire post-Soviet history, Turkmenistan has been ruled by eccentric dictators. It has long been at the bottom of international rankings on press freedom and civil liberties. Most of the population scrapes by, even though the state’s wealth comes from gas and oil. Corruption is rife. And the government controls most aspects of life.
The number of Russian speakers in the region has indeed declined since the collapse of the Soviet Union. But Russian remains strong, especially in cities. It is still the language of education, science, services, and bureaucracy. Official policies and public attitudes among the Russian-speaking are gradually shifting, however, toward a more prominent role for native languages.
Understanding what’s next for Kazakhstan after a week that changed the country forever was the focus of a live Twitter Spaces discussion hosted by RFE/RL on January 13.