Introduction

Abstract

The August coup of 1991 not only marked the beginning of the end of Communist rule within the Soviet Union but also provided the final impetus for the disintegration of the Federation itself. The effects of the post-Cold-War springtime of nations in Eastern Europe had reverberated throughout the Soviet bloc and once the full implications of the post-coup political situation had been realised the process of national separation began to resemble that of a matryoshka doll, republics rapidly peeling off from the centre one by one. In Central Asia the possibility of breaking away from the Federation initially received a rather muted response from the leaders of these republics. Nevertheless, the events unfolding in the rest of the Union resulted in the majority of these states declaring their independence within a month of the coup and even Kazakhstan, the most reluctant state in the region, finally declared its independence in mid-December 1991. These declarations were followed by a flourishing of writings on the area addressing the question of ‘whither Central Asia’ — what types of states are they? What alliances are they likely to forge? What resources do they have at hand?¹ A whole array of questions were asked about the region more often than not because of the West’s concern over the influence of Islam in the region.²