Does Russia need Central Asia?
Here the problem lies in the question of how Moscow sees its future - whether to be a great power to Russia, which largely determines the development of all mankind, or the Russian Federation will become part of the European Union - its raw material part. When managers and capitalists from the Russian Federation "dear guests" in London and Paris, and the population is reduced to the "necessary level."If we finally part with the “damned past” in the form of “great power”, then we do not care that radical Islamists, China, Turkey, London and Washington will be in charge in Central Asia.
If Russia sees itself as a great power in the future, then it is time to participate more actively in the processes that are taking place in Central Asia. Entire generations of Russian people have grown up for whom Central Asia is hired workers (often, in fact, slaves), dried fruits and melons.
Central Asia has always been the sphere of interests of Russia - it was connected with fabulous India, Iran, China, and the Arabs led their caravans through Central Asia, the way to the east of the Caspian Sea was safer. Russian merchants traded in the markets of Bukhara and Samarkand even before the formation of the Golden Horde, they maintained their ties and with it, security in a single empire only increased.
In the 19th century, Central Asia was annexed to the Russian Empire, and it remained in the composition of the Red Empire. Despite almost a century and a half of living together, Central Asia almost instantly returned to its “roots”.
- Party leaders and teachers, who comparatively recently propagandized and taught the basics of Marxism-Leninism, became mullahs and imams, and some of them "beat". Now these newly minted Muslims and nationalists recall the times of the “damned colonialists” who left them a developed infrastructure, educational system, medicine, mass weapons etc.
- The question of legalizing polygamy is regularly raised, de facto it already exists.
- Basmachi from the bandits immediately turned into "national heroes" who fought against the "invaders".
- In search of national identity, the search began historical "Enemies", they immediately became the Russians and Russia, the "occupiers". Another direction was the mythologization of the past: some newly appeared "historians" agreed that the first man appeared in Central Asia. It is especially joyful to read how “developed” the peoples of Central Asia were before their “occupation”. It is especially sad for Russian children (and their parents) when they are taught that the Russians "enslaved the unfortunate aborigines."
- In the countries of Central Asia, a generation has grown up for which Russia, if not an enemy, is not a friend, the authority of the Russian Federation among them is very low. Russia is, at best, a “cash cow”.
And the "bells" have already gone. Thus, the FSB assumes that over the last 2 of the year, more than 200 Kazakh Islamists, who have passed combat training (including the camps of Kazakhstan), have penetrated into the territory of the Russian Federation and have been transported to a ton of explosives. This is Astana - a "big friend" of Moscow, a member of the CSTO and the customs union.
With other republics, the situation is even worse, through all the republics there is a surge of drugs from Afghanistan, there is an opinion that the "elites" of these countries are in the "share", at least they are not fighting as it should be. For example, Iran was able to almost stop the transit of drugs through its territory.
All the “states” of Central Asia are artificial formations that cannot be independent. They can be part of someone else's project and nothing else. That is, either total Islamization and Afghanization, or Chinaization. The West will not be able to maintain the artificial independence of Central Asia for a long time.
What is with the Russians in Central Asia?
In Tajikistan, the civil war actually “washed out” the Russians, small communities remained, the number of which is rapidly decreasing. In Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Russians are still quite a significant percentage. They are rather passive politically and vote out of preference - “just not to get any worse.”
The attitude towards them is ambivalent: they are diminished in their rights, and from the side, without their qualification, these countries will even more "fall", therefore Russians also do not want a mass exodus (someone must work in schools, hospitals, technical specialists, etc. .). In addition, politically they are the core of a stabilizing society; Radical Islamization of the parochial "elites" do not want, it is their death. Russian cadres have never been able to replace the national ones. But the Russian outflow is coming, especially the young. The average age of the remaining - 45 years, is the "Soviet legacy." Most of them leave Kyrgyzstan. It would leave more, but the problem is that they are not needed in Russia - Moscow, they also need housing, work.
Many Russians in Central Asia believe that government officials specifically disrupt Russian relocation programs.
With the conscious policy of Moscow that Central Asia is our strategic priority, Russian communities could play a big role in strengthening the position of Russia.
In economics, Chinese, American, European, and Turkish enterprises occupy the main positions. But Central Asia is a region with which our national security is connected, the assignment of this region to China, under NATO bases or Islamic radicals, will lead to a catastrophe. The same Islamic countries, Turkey open Islamic schools here, madrasas, lyceums, they pull young people into the field of the Islamic world.
What could Moscow do?
- Create an effective resettlement program; Russians of Central Asia could help overcome the demographic catastrophe. Housing, work, loans for opening small businesses - this would revive our regions, the economy.
- The need for serious work to maintain the Russian field in Central Asia, young people, including non-Russian, are attracted to the Russian language. Culture, vibrations of the Russian civilization. Russian schools could be a bastion of Russian influence in the region. Training young people in Russian universities, they are currently beginning to experience problems with recruitment - the fruits of demographic failure.
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