Putin Fights to Preserve Russia’s Fading Influence in Central Asia
Houthis Vow More Attacks After Strike on Aramco Headquarters Kazakhstan’s membership in competing U.S.-… Eurasianet is an independent news organization that covers news from and about the South Caucasus and Central Asia, providing on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on… Back in 1991, the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States placed the final nail in the Soviet Union’s coffin.
Since then, the CIS itself has proven mostly moribund, falling far short of fulfilling the aims outlined in its1993 charter.
The results of the recent CIS summit in Turkmenistan, marking the 35th anniversary of its formation, offered more of the same, featuring lots of empty rhetoric about the organization’s relevance and happy talk about its future.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin was perhaps the CIS’ biggest cheerleader at the conclave, held at theAvaza resorton the Caspian seashore.
At odds with the organization’s lengthy record of inactivity anddysfunction, Putin’s pumped up the CIS for “having come a long way, establishing itself as an influential regional integration association.” Economically speaking, there is little justification for keeping the CIS around.
But Putin has a very good reason to keep it alive.
Despite its shortcomings, the CIS is a regional vehicle that the Kremlin can use to combat theerosionof Russia’s cultural and historical legacy in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Underlying Putin’s speech at Avaza was a fear that Russia is losing its cultural grip over its erstwhile empire.
Henotedthe CIS had enabled member states to “preserve, and in many areas even broaden … social, cultural and humanitarian ties our peoples forged over centuries of living together within a single state.” He also cast the Russian language as “a powerful unifying force throughout the vast space of the CIS.” He went on to mention a Kremlin initiative launched this year to “preserve the common Russian-language cultural and humanitarian legacy, and to promote and popularize Russian.” The Russian language is undergrowing pressureacross Central Asia.
It remains the primary means of interstate communication for business and diplomacy, but English is gaining ground.
The same holds for a growing number of young people in major cities in the region, including Almaty, Astana, and Tashkent, who seem to prefer to speak English or their local languages, rather than Russian.
Meanwhile, outside major urban centers, many under 35 show only a rudimentary grasp of Russian.
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