The former Soviet republics of Central Asia are of increasing strategic importance, yet they remain something of a mystery to outsiders. Firdevs Robinson and David Stead report on the challenges facing these new states
Central Asia is moving centre stage after decades of being on the periphery of world events. With rich resources of oil and gas, and shifting alliances since the end of the cold war, the region has become a new arena where the world's major powers are struggling to gain influence. Yet these vast lands, once the crossroads of great civilizations and the hub of major trade routes, remain largely a mystery to outsiders.
The 1990s, Central Asia's first decade of independence, was a period of transition from Soviet republics to five new states. The region is coping with nation-building in the face of unviable borders and often hostile ethnic relationships. Led by authoritarian Soviet-era politicians, Central Asia's young nations are finding it hard to build successful market economies and improve their citizens' lives.
Kazakhstan - more than twice the size of the four other Central Asian republics put together - is fast becoming the political and economic leader of the region.
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Kazakhstan lies in the great Eurasian steppe, reaching from the Caspian Sea to China. It is more than twice the size of the four other Central Asian republics put together, roughly as big as western Europe. It sits between Russia, China and Iran, holds some of the world's largest deposits of oil and gas and is fast becoming the political and economic leader of the region.
In leafy cosmopolitan Almaty we met ambitious young Kazakhs, full of optimism for the future. "We don't know where we are going," said one, "but we will be the first to get there." In contrast, a seven-hour car journey through bleak landscapes brought us to the site of one of the world's biggest man-made ecological disasters, the Aral Sea. The sea has been shrinking year by year since Soviet times, but is now showing signs of recovery on the Kazakh side of the border. In the tiny village of Tastubek, Aral fishermen are reclaiming their fathers' long-forgotten trade and already exporting their catch abroad.
Another region-wide environmental threat is that posed by radioactive waste produced by the Soviet mining industry. The town of Mayli-suu in Kyrgyzstan is set in a spectacular mountain valley, the beauty of which hides a long-kept secret. On the edge of the town are uranium 'tailings' that are at risk of leaking into the Mayli-suu river. Local and international experts are trying to avert possible contamination of the rivers feeding the water systems of the Fergana Valley, home to more than six million people from three Central Asian countries.
The jewel of Kyrgyzstan is Issyk Kul, the second largest mountain lake in the world. Its sky-blue waters, show no trace of a by-gone era when the lake served as a secret testing ground for Soviet torpedoes
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Kyrgyzstan is a country of magnificent scenic beauty and biodiversity, often called 'the Switzerland of Central Asia'. It was closed to foreigners until just 15 years ago. The jewel of Kyrgyzstan is Issyk Kul, the second largest mountain lake in the world. Its sky-blue waters, framed by majestic snow-clad mountains, show no trace of a bygone era when the lake served as a secret testing ground for Soviet torpedoes. Kyrgyzstan's leader, President Kurmanbek Bakiev, seemed upbeat, but, a year after the tulip revolution that brought him to power, he is grappling with political instability and allegations of nepotism and corruption. On the streets there is concern about the influence of criminal gangs battling for control of drug supplies, mainly from Afghanistan.
If Kazakhstan is the wealthiest state in Central Asia, then Uzbekistan is its historical and cultural centre. But it faces international isolation and severe criticism for the repressive policies being pursued by the regime of President Islam Karimov. The Uzbek crisis, set alongside political uncertainty in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, raises big questions about where Central Asia is heading. Analysts are divided on the future prospects for the region - but all agree that it cannot be ignored. China, India and Russia are all vying for influence in Central Asia, hungry to secure energy supplies. Both Russia and the US have airbases in Kyrgyzstan, recognising the strategic importance of a region which borders Afghanistan - still seen as the major breeding ground for Islamic militancy and drug trafficking.
View some of the programme-makers' photos from their trip
Firdevs Robinson is Editor of BBC World Service's Central Asia & Caucasus service. David Stead is Executive Producer of Religion and Weekly programmes.
