The Central Asia Observatory (OAC) was established in 2007 by three Spanish institutions involved in the area: Casa Asia, CIDOB and the Elcano Royal Institute. The ‘Stans’ at 20 (WP) Martha Brill Olcott Area: Asia – Pacific / Central Asia Observatory Working Paper 21/2011 - 28/12/2011 Elcano Royal Institute Madrid – Spain www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_eng 1 The Central Asia Observatory (OAC) was established in 2007 by three Spanish institutions involved in the area: Casa Asia, CIDOB and the Elcano Royal Institute. The ‘Stans’ at 20 (WP) Martha Brill Olcott * Introduction In late December the five Central Asian countries enter their third decade of independence, effectively achieved when Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the USSR and turned the Kremlin over to Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Federation. 1 While these countries began to declare their independence as early as 31 August 1991, beginning with the Kyrgyz Republic and ending with Kazakhstan on 16 December, 2 there was not the same popular and elite pressure for independence in the Central Asian region that was found in the south Caucasus, not to mention in the Baltic region. The leaders of the Central Asian republics all wanted more economic, cultural and political autonomy, but they were also very conservative and feared that independence might bring ethnic or political unrest to their republics. 3 These fears were borne out in Tajikistan, but everywhere else the transition to independence went smoothly. Now, 20 years later, these five republics have developed into very distinct countries. The ‘face’ of each country is different. No longer can the capital city of one country be confused with that of another. Each has its own national identity. While none are democratic, all have distinct political systems but none have developed institutional mechanisms that provide for the smooth transfer of political power. Some have achieved much more dramatic economic growth rates than others; not surprisingly, the economies of those with the greatest untapped oil and gas reserves have grown the fastest. 4 Economic success, though, has not always translated into adequate investment in the social service sector. All of these countries are still experiencing sharp demographic growth, and matching a work force with available jobs will be a challenge everywhere. * Senior Associate with the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC. 1 The United Nations admitted these five countries on 3 February 1992. United Nations, ‘Member States’, http://www.un.org/en/members/ . 2 The Kyrgyz republic declared independence on 31 August 1991, Uzbekistan on 1 September, Tajikistan on 9 September, Turkmenistan on 27 October and Kazakhstan on 16 December of thje same year. 3 See Martha Brill Olcott (1992), ‘Catapult to Independence’, Foreign Affairs , Summer, for a discussion of the mindset of Central Asia’s leaders in the waning days of the USSR. 4 For oil and gas production, consumption and reserves by country, see Appendix. 2 The Central Asia Observatory (OAC) was established in 2007 by three Spanish institutions involved in the area: Casa Asia, CIDOB and the Elcano Royal Institute. Figure 1. The ‘Stans’: Population and GDP per Capita, 1991-2010 Year Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan GDP per capita GDP per capita GDP per capita GDP per capita GDP per capita Population US$* % Population US$* % growth Population US$* % growth Population US$* % growth Population US$* % growth 1991 16,450,500 1,425 -11.55 4,495,000 422 -9.33 5,418,785 387 -9.08 3,772,350 965 -7.34 20,952,000 667 -2.59 1992 16,439,095 1,351 -5.23 4,546,000 359 -14.85 5,519,021 270 -30.29 3,881,973 888 -7.97 21,449,000 579 -13.26 1993 16,330,419 1,235 -8.60 4,543,000 304 -15.40 5,607,922 222 -17.73 3,991,917 777 -12.48 21,942,000 553 -4.50 1994 16,095,199 1,095 -11.32 4,540,000 243 -20.03 5,691,845 172 -22.46 4,095,512 627 -19.39 22,377,000 514 -7.04 1995 15,815,626 1,023 -6.58 4,589,900 227 -6.45 5,775,404 149 -13.67 4,188,010 569 -9.25 22,785,000 500 -2.67 1996 15,577,894 1,044 2.03 4,657,000 240 5.54 5,860,334 122 -17.91 4,267,690 521 -8.44 23,225,000 499 -0.23 1997 15,333,703 1,078 3.32 4,725,000 260 8.33 5,945,181 122 0.25 4,335,991 455 -12.70 23,667,000 515 3.24 1998 15,071,300 1,076 -0.19 4,797,000 261 0.59 6,027,676 127 3.86 4,395,293 479 5.26 24,051,000 528 2.63 1999 14,928,426 1,116 3.68 4,864,600 267 2.22 6,104,268 130 2.40 4,449,427 550 15.04 24,400,000 543 2.81 2000 14,883,626 1,229 10.13 4,915,300 279 4.36 6,172,807 139 7.10 4,501,419 645 17.22 24,650,000 558 2.75 2001 14,858,335 1,397 13.69 4,954,800 291 4.49 6,232,587 152 9.14 4,551,737 768 19.10 24,967,000 574 2.88 2002 14,858,948 1,534 9.80 4,993,200 289 -0.79 6,285,809 165 8.18 4,600,093 881 14.58 25,271,800 590 2.75 2003 14,909,019 1,671 8.93 5,038,600 306 6.04 6,336,724 180 9.31 4,647,912 1,021 15.90 25,567,700 608 2.99 2004 15,012,984 1,819 8.84 5,092,802 324 5.89 6,391,120 197 9.66 4,696,771 1,184 15.98 25,864,386 647 6.46 2005 15,147,029 1,978 8.73 5,143,500 321 -1.16 6,453,240 216 9.42 4,747,839 1,323 11.78 26,167,369 684 5.76 2006 15,308,085 2,166 9.54 5,192,100 327 2.14 6,524,634 228 5.53 4,801,847 1,457 10.15 26,485,800 725 6.01 2007 15,484,192 2,332 7.66 5,234,800 353 7.66 6,604,426 241 5.71 4,858,843 1,610 10.49 26,867,800 783 7.94 2008 15,673,999 2,380 2.05 5,277,900 379 7.52 6,691,416 256 6.40 4,918,396 1,758 9.16 27,313,700 840 7.22 2009 15,925,000 2,371 -0.40 5,321,355 387 2.05 6,783,390 273 6.44 4,979,672 1,842 4.79 27,767,100 893 6.33 2010 16,316,050 2,476 4.44 5,365,167 378 -2.16 6,878,637 279 2.36 5,041,995 1,967 6.76 28,160,361 955 6.98 (*) Constant 2000 US$. Source: World Bank Development Indicators. Every country has worked out its own strategy for dealing with the broader international community. Where they have had the most problems is in dealing with each other, and with the common space they all continue to inhabit, joined by shared waterways and transport corridors. So while the Central Asian countries did better than most outside observers anticipated during the past twenty years, there is no reason to presume that they will do as well during the decade or two that lies ahead. At the same time though, each of these countries has created its own legacy of problem solving, and the precedents in place may prove sufficient to allow them to at worst keep muddling on, and at best to even flourish. (1) Reluctant Beginnings: Fears and Unrest The reluctance regarding independence in Central Asia was partly the product of the policies of the Gorbachev years, which simultaneously increased local anger at Moscow’s rule as well as seemingly pointing up the risks associated with loosening social and political controls. Those living in Central Asia felt a target during the anti-corruption drives of the 1980s when the Brezhnev-era communist party leaders were ousted in each of these republics. At a time when Russian Orthodoxy and Russian culture were being restored, the pervasiveness of Islamic traditional practices was cited among reasons for bribery, graft and misusing state assets. Central Asians did illegal things to pay for large traditional weddings and funerals, it was argued, and Central Asian youth further denied the Soviet 3 The Central Asia Observatory (OAC) was established in 2007 by three Spanish institutions involved in the area: Casa Asia, CIDOB and the Elcano Royal Institute. Union their much needed labour in industrial cities and in Eastern Siberia, taking unskilled agricultural jobs in order to stay near their families. 5 The party dismissals came back to haunt Moscow, and shaped politics and lives in these countries in ways that could not have been predicted. Demonstrations protesting the dismissal of Kazakhstan’s long-time party leader Dinmuhammad Kunaev were forcefully put down, with Western sources reporting 200 people injured as a result. 6 The anniversary of their death, 16 December, was commemorated as Kazakhstan’s National (independence) Day. The Kyrgyz party elite never really accepted the authority of the Moscow-appointed figure, Absamat Masaliyev, and he was ousted by the Republic’s parliament in October 1990.