Anis H. Bajrektarevic is a Professor and a Chairperson for International Law and Global

INTERESTS & INFLUENCES OF MAJOR EXTERNAL ACTORS IN CENTRAL ASIA
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After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the then
Soviet states were incrementally incorporated
into the Soviet Union. Mongolia and
Afghanistan were not, but were influenced by
Russia. As the Soviet States were forcibly an-
nexed, their unique and historical cultures in-
cluding their language, customs, and traditions
were replaced by the Soviet singular identity
and the Russian language; atheism or religious
neutrality was forced upon them. This left a cul-
tural and religious void that bubbled to the sur-
face after the Soviet Union collapsed. Because
of the rapid industrialization, the rapid urban-
ization and the relocation of minorities and eth-
nic Russians to Central Asia, conflict still exists
between ethnic groups particularly in Kaza-
khstan and Kyrgyzstan, and many are strug-
gling to find and learn their native languages.
The government of the Central Asia states are
struggling to adapt to pre-Soviet annexation re-
ligious and faith and customs (e.g. Islam and
marriage-by-capture). 
Under Soviet rule, education and the literacy
rates in the Kirghiz SSR increased. 
Along with this improvement, the Soviets set
up large collectivist farms while slowly eroding
and wiping out the Kyrgyz lifestyle. During the
1920s, many Kyrgyz resettled as part of land re-
form. The Kazakh during this time period (start
of 1920s to the end of 1930s) suffered great
losses due to starvation in the effort to stifle
lifestyles and collectivize agriculture. In the year
of 1868, Ukrainian and Russian peasants were
resettled in Kazakhstan to begin industrializa-
tion and agrarian reform. In the 1940s, hun-
dreds of thousands of Koreans, Crimean Tatars,
Germans, and others were forcibly moved to
Kazakhstan. In 1953, the Virgin Lands Campaign
was created to help alleviate agriculture and
populate sparsely settled areas. 
When the Soviet Union collapsed, native tradi-
tions emerged and while this was positive, it im-
pacted lifestyles and relationships between the
different groups in Central Asia. The significance
of the Silk Road faded away because of their
cultural differences: Uzbekistan had its center
of interest on agriculture whereas the Kazakhs
preferred their nomadic pastoralism. Uzbeks
were also traders and mercantilists, and were
more sedentary than their Kazakh and Kyrgyz
counterparts. The diversity and the economic
prosperity of this region appealed to Russia. The
potential for large infrastructure-projects, bilin-
gual schools (where Russian was taught and be-
came the primary language), and irrigation
projects were established.