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C5+1

How Kazakhstan Initiated C5+1

When U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels to Samarkand in mid-October, he is expected to meet the foreign ministers of all five Central Asian states under a diplomatic format known as C5+1. He will also be accompanied by representatives of more than 100 American companies, underscoring how far the platform has developed since its creation in 2015. C5+1 — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, plus the United States — has become Washington’s principal diplomatic mechanism for engaging Central Asia as a region. It has expanded from meetings of foreign ministers to presidential summits and cooperation on trade, security, connectivity, energy and critical minerals. Less widely known is the role Kazakhstan played in getting it started. S. Frederick Starr, founding chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and a longtime scholar of the region, has argued for years that the proposal that developed into C5+1 came from Kazakhstan rather than from inside the U.S. government. In a detailed account published on September 24, titled How C5+1 Came to Be, Starr identifies Kairat Umarov, then Kazakhstan’s ambassador in Washington, as the diplomat who set the process in motion. Starr writes that shortly after Umarov arrived in Washington, the two discussed the absence of a mechanism through which the United States could deal with Central Asia collectively rather than through five separate bilateral relationships. In 2013, after consulting Astana, Umarov approached Nisha Biswal with the idea of creating a regular consultative mechanism between Washington and the governments of Central Asia. According to Starr, Biswal supported the proposal and subsequently took it to Secretary of State John Kerry, who approved moving ahead with the concept. Afghanistan was initially considered for inclusion, which would have produced a C6+1 format. It was ultimately left outside the mechanism, resulting in the C5+1 grouping that exists today. In September 2014, three Kazakh and three American authors, including Starr, published Looking Forward: Kazakhstan and the United States. The study was prepared with support that included Kazakhstan’s embassy in Washington and called specifically for establishment of a “Central Asia Six Plus One” mechanism. The report argued that the United States lacked a regular platform for engaging Central Asia on a regional basis and proposed a U.S.-Central Asia/Afghanistan partnership. By then, the concept had moved beyond an informal diplomatic conversation. A jointly produced Kazakh-American policy paper was explicitly calling for Washington to establish essentially the same regional mechanism that emerged the following year. Starr says the proposal subsequently received support from Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Karimov wanted the Central Asian meeting held in Samarkand, an arrangement to which Astana and Washington agreed. The five Central Asian foreign ministers and Kerry met in New York on September 26, 2015. They gathered again in Samarkand on November 1, where Kerry described the meeting as the first time the six countries had met as a group in that format. The resulting joint declaration committed them to regular meetings under the name C5+1. [caption id="attachment_57100" align="alignnone" width="1828"] Source: S....

1 month ago

Kazakhstan-China Economic Cooperation

Kazakhstan China Joint Investment Fund to Finance New Projects

Kazakhstan and China are moving to establish a specialized investment fund to finance new projects in Kazakhstan. An agreement on the basic terms of the fund was signed by national investment promotion company Kazakh Invest and Silk Road Finance Corporation on September 25 at the Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum in Almaty. The fund is expected to operate through the Astana International Financial Centre. The forum brought together more than 600 representatives of businesses, government agencies, and development institutions. It began with a minute of silence in memory of 14 Kazakh servicemen who were killed the previous day during military exercises on the Caspian Sea. China is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner. Chinese customs data cited by Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry put bilateral trade at $48.7 billion in 2025, although Kazakhstan’s own customs data recorded $34.1 billion. Kazakh Invest said Chinese direct investment in Kazakhstan reached a record $2.8 billion last year. The two countries have set a longer-term target of increasing bilateral trade to $100 billion. Government figures released for the forum put Kazakhstan’s industrial cooperation portfolio with China at 260 major projects worth more than $62 billion. Transport projects include the Mointy-Kyzylzhar and Bakhty-Ayagoz railway lines, which are nearing completion. Kazakhstan is also working with Minmetals Logistics on a logistics corridor incorporating autonomous transportation technologies and digital systems. Other projects presented around the forum include plans by China’s UBTECH to build its first humanoid robot manufacturing plant outside China in Almaty, and plans to localize the production of oncology drugs with BeOne and INKAR. Transport and logistics projects include the development of Kuryk Port and a smart logistics park in the Khorgos-Eastern Gate Special Economic Zone. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that Kazakhstan’s technology cooperation with Beijing is expanding alongside its participation in U.S.-backed initiatives involving AI and technology supply chains. Forum organizers said beforehand that around 45 commercial documents were expected to be exchanged. Ten agreements highlighted at the event covered projects including an electrolytic aluminum plant and associated wind power facility in Abai Region, wind farms with a combined capacity of 450 MW in Akmola Region, automobile manufacturing, urea fertilizer production, and preparations for a dim sum bond issue by the Almaty city administration on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

1 month ago

Capital Markets

Kazakhstan Capital Market Law Set for Major Overhaul

Kazakhstan is preparing to rewrite the rules governing its securities market for the first time in more than two decades. The draft Capital Market Law aims to make it easier for businesses to raise money on the stock market while strengthening protections for investors. The new law is intended to replace the Securities Market Law adopted in 2003. The draft was published for public discussion in September 2026. Kazakhstan’s stock market has expanded significantly in recent years. As of July 31, equity market capitalization on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) stood at KZT 47.7 trillion, or about $100.5 billion, while corporate debt in circulation had reached KZT 16.8 trillion, or about $35 billion. Despite that growth, state-owned and quasi-state companies and banks remain the main borrowers in the bond market. Private businesses rarely raise money through the exchange, while turnover in already-issued shares remains low. A Law That Grew Along With the Market Over more than two decades, the Securities Market Law has been amended by more than 60 legislative acts. The regulatory framework was built around individual financial products and procedures, and the regulatory policy consultation paper underpinning the reform proposes changing more than half of the existing provisions. Rather than introduce another large package of amendments, the authorities have decided to replace the law. More technical rules would instead be set out in secondary legislation, allowing them to be adjusted without going through the full legislative process. SMEs, the Exchange, and the Liquidity Shortage One of the main aims of the reform is to make the market more accessible to smaller businesses. Around 90% of financing for small and medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan is linked to the banking sector, according to reform documents citing the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund. KASE sought to make the market more accessible to smaller companies as early as 2017 by introducing less stringent listing conditions. But while the exchange could change its own requirements, it could not simplify the state procedures governing securities issuance. A company seeking to sell shares or bonds must prepare legal and financial documentation, register the issue, and comply with disclosure requirements. For a small business, the cost of lawyers, auditors, and other advisers can be disproportionate to the amount it hopes to raise. The draft would therefore allow a separate category for SMEs with simplified listing, delisting, and disclosure rules. Smaller issuers would also be able to use an abbreviated securities prospectus, the document setting out financial information about the company, the terms of the offering, and the risks. Companies making repeat issues would no longer have to prepare the entire set of documents from scratch. Registration is also expected to be digitized and transferred from the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) to the Central Securities Depository, which maintains records of securities ownership. The limited role of private companies is also visible in the bond market. At the end of 2025, outstanding corporate debt totaled KZT 16.2 trillion, or about $34 billion. According...

1 month ago

Water Security

Opinion: Chinese Firms Expand Their Role in Kyrgyzstan’s Water Infrastructure

Kyrgyzstan plays a central role in Central Asia’s water system and is of growing interest to China. According to figures cited by President Sadyr Japarov in April 2026, approximately 50 billion cubic meters of surface runoff are generated annually within the country. About 12 billion cubic meters are used domestically, while around 7 billion, or 14% of the total, flow to China. Kyrgyzstan has five main water-management basins. The Issyk-Kul–Tarim management area includes both the closed Issyk-Kul basin and rivers flowing toward China, making its transboundary component a distinct area of bilateral cooperation. The Aksu River, which originates in Kyrgyzstan and feeds the Tarim River in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is particularly important. Estimates put its contribution at 70–80% of the Tarim’s flow. Given Xinjiang’s importance to China’s domestic stability and the Belt and Road Initiative, these shared waters have economic and long-term geopolitical significance for Beijing. Legal and Regional Context Kyrgyzstan and China established a strategic partnership in 2013, but no publicly available bilateral agreement specifically governs the allocation and management of their shared waters. Neither country is a party to the 1992 UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes or the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. The significant asymmetry in the countries’ economic and negotiating capacities makes the absence of a dedicated water-sharing framework a potential source of vulnerability for Kyrgyzstan. Its importance could grow as water stress intensifies and economic activity in the shared basins expands. For Central Asia, China’s involvement has broader implications. Kyrgyzstan is an upstream country whose rivers supply its downstream neighbors. Chinese participation in water infrastructure adds another external actor to a sector that has historically been one of the most sensitive areas in regional relations. The Changing Nature of China’s Presence China’s involvement in Kyrgyzstan’s water sector includes bilateral assistance for irrigation as well as construction contracts financed by multilateral institutions. These channels coexist, making it important to distinguish Chinese funding from work undertaken by Chinese companies. Kyrgyzstan’s chronic electricity shortage and need to modernize its water and energy infrastructure have created opportunities for greater Chinese involvement. The upgrading of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era in 2023 provided an additional political framework, with hydropower identified as a priority for practical cooperation. Agreements totaling more than $1 billion were signed at the Kyrgyz-Chinese business forum in Urumqi in August 2023, underscoring the broader expansion of economic ties. Chinese companies are also winning contracts funded by international financial institutions. In September 2025, a Sinohydro Bureau 16–Sinohydro joint venture signed a contract for water-conveyance structures and the powerhouse for the second generating unit at Kambarata-2, financed by the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development. The tender had been launched in 2024. The Asian Development Bank lists a $12.8 million contract dated July 2025 for an Issyk-Kul wastewater treatment plant, awarded to a joint venture involving China Road and Bridge Corporation. That contract includes three years...

1 month ago

TRIPP Route

TRIPP Is a Logical Extension of the Middle Corridor

Kazakhstan views the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, as a natural extension of the Middle Corridor that could shorten transport routes to European markets by around 1,000 kilometers, a senior representative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in New York. Erzhan Kazykhan, Representative of the President of Kazakhstan for Negotiations with the United States, made the remarks at the 7th Caspian Business Forum, organized by the Caspian Policy Center in New York on September 22. “For Kazakhstan, it’s not simply a transport route. It’s a strategic investment into our future,” Kazykhan said of the Middle Corridor. “It is a platform for connectivity with the South Caucasus, Türkiye, and Europe.” “Kazakhstan sees TRIPP as a logical extension of the Middle Corridor,” he said, explaining that the route would shorten Kazakhstan’s access to European markets by hundreds of kilometers. TRIPP was announced at the White House summit between Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8, 2025. The planned multimodal route would cross Armenian territory under Armenian sovereignty and jurisdiction, connecting mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave and adding another link to the Trans-Caspian trade network. Kazakhstan Examines Role in TRIPP Kazykhan said Kazakhstan has sent a technical assessment team to examine what role the country could play and is considering participation in construction connected with TRIPP. He placed that interest alongside Kazakhstan’s own investment in transport. Over the past 15 years, he said, the country has invested about $35 billion in the sector and built more than 2,500 kilometers of new mainline railway. The government plans another 5,000 kilometers over the next four years. Kazykhan said the next challenge is making the infrastructure work as a single route, including smoother border crossings and enough long-term financing. Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Economy and Commerce, Bakyt Sydykov, also argued against treating new routes as competing national projects. He said TRIPP, the Trans-Caspian route, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway and other corridors should operate as parts of the same regional logistics system. “The Middle Corridor must become an economic corridor, not only a transit corridor,” Sydykov said. He argued that countries such as Kyrgyzstan should capture more value from the trade moving through the region, pointing to logistics centers, warehouses, processing facilities, digital customs systems and industrial development around the routes. Financing remains another issue. Sydykov said governments could not fund all of the required infrastructure themselves. Mark Cameron, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, said the newly operational Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund is designed to use U.S. government grant resources to establish the commercial viability of projects and help attract additional private investment. Connecting the Routes Türkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci described TRIPP as complementary to the Middle Corridor rather than a rival route. “TRIPP shouldn’t be viewed as a separate or competing corridor,” she said. Ekinci said its importance would depend on how it connects with existing railway, road and port infrastructure. She described the Middle Corridor as the main east-west backbone, with TRIPP potentially filling a longstanding...

1 month ago

Football

Astana to Host Central Asia’s First UEFA Super Cup

Astana will host the 2028 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Super Cup, the first such match to be held in Kazakhstan or anywhere in Central Asia. To stage one of the major fixtures of the European club season, Astana Arena will have to replace its recently installed artificial turf with natural grass and undergo further upgrades. UEFA’s Executive Committee, the governing body of European soccer, selected Astana at a meeting in Thessaloniki on September 15. The match will bring together the winners of the 2027/28 Champions League and Europa League. The Super Cup is played as a single match between the holders of UEFA’s two leading men’s club trophies. In 2027, it will be staged at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam. A year later, the trophy will be contested in Central Asia for the first time. For Kazakhstan, the decision follows several years of work on hosting a major UEFA fixture. In the bidding process launched in 2025, the country sought to host the Conference League finals, the third tier of UEFA men’s club competition, in 2028 and 2029. Those finals ultimately went to Turin and Budapest, respectively, while UEFA separately awarded Astana the 2028 Super Cup. Kazakhstan Football Federation (KFF) General Secretary Scott Munn said the federation had been working on the project for several years. Astana Arena has a capacity of around 30,000 and holds UEFA Category 4 status, the organization’s highest stadium classification. Kazakhstan’s national team regularly plays there, and in the 2015/16 season FC Astana hosted its Champions League group-stage opponents at the stadium. Kieran Maguire, a soccer finance expert and lecturer at the University of Liverpool Management School, sees Kazakhstan’s experience in hosting international matches as one of the strengths of its bid. UEFA’s familiarity with the stadium and the federation’s experience organizing European fixtures would reduce operational risks, but Maguire said the bid’s quality was ultimately decisive. A major renovation of the stadium was completed only recently. The arena closed for repairs in 2024, with work covering the roof and its retractable mechanism, engineering and fire-safety systems, screens, media systems, and ticketing infrastructure. The old pitch was also replaced with new heated artificial turf, which received UEFA certification in December 2024. Kazakh media reported that around KZT 15 billion, or about $28 million, was allocated for the renovation. In January 2025, the Astana City Maslikhat, the capital’s elected representative body, reported that the renovation had been completed in line with UEFA recommendations. Ayan Alzhanov, head of the KFF’s International Relations Department, said UEFA specialists will conduct another inspection of the arena and determine what additional work is required. “Astana Arena has UEFA Category 4 status. Our national team has played many official matches here, and Champions League games have been held here. So UEFA knows our stadium," Alzhanov said. The cost of preparing for the Super Cup has not yet been announced. It is also unclear whether the natural-grass pitch will remain after the match. Another challenge is distance. Astana is considerably...

1 month ago

Sportsmanship

Kazakhstan’s MMA Gold Medalist Comforts Tajik Opponent at Asian Games

A mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from Kazakhstan embraced and comforted his distressed Tajik opponent after defeating him to win gold at the Asian Games in Japan. It was one of the more striking scenes so far at the Games, which began on September 19 and run until October 4. China was at the top of the medal standings with 78 medals, including 48 golds, on Wednesday. Japan and South Korea were in second and third place, respectively. Kazakhstan was fourth with 19 medals, including seven golds. Kadyrbek Shynbayev, a 22-year-old MMA fighter from Kazakhstan, won Tuesday’s final in the up-to-71-kilogram weight category, beating 25-year-old Behruz Khurshedzoda of Tajikistan by a 3-0 judges’ decision. The fighters were competing in the “modern” variant of the combat sport, in which they wear shorts and a rash guard, or tight athletic shirt, instead of the traditional gi, which consists of a jacket, pants, and a belt. Shynbayev let out a roar of triumph after the result was announced, and his team celebrated on the sidelines. He paraded for a moment with a national flag wrapped around his shoulders, but then noticed Khurshedzoda on his knees on the competition mat, visibly overcome by his loss. Shynbayev, in blue, approached his red-clad adversary and embraced him. Still wearing their bulky gloves, the two men talked. Khurshedzoda tapped his own head with his glove. Then the pair stood up together and hugged one more time as videographers and photographers recorded the scene at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center. The Sports.kz news portal described Shynbayev’s actions as a “beautiful gesture” and posted a video of the scene on Instagram. Kazakhstan’s Jibek Joly TV showed Shynbayev and other medal winners being welcomed at Almaty airport after returning from the Asian Games. Shynbayev also won the Asian MMA Championship title in January. At that time, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense identified him as a military private. Tajik media, including the state-run Khovar news agency, reported on Khurshedzoda’s contested road to the final in Japan. In the semifinal, judges awarded victory to his opponent, Yryskeldi Duisheev of Kyrgyzstan, but Tajikistan’s delegation appealed, and the decision was reversed in Khurshedzoda’s favor. Duisheev received a bronze medal. MMA includes striking, grappling, throwing, and submission techniques. The sport made its debut at the 2026 Asian Games, which are being held across Aichi Prefecture, including Nagoya. The Asian Games are held every four years.

1 month ago

Archaeological Heritage

In Search of Immortality: A Journey Through the Land of Korkyt Ata

On the steppe near the Syr Darya, the wind itself plays the Korkyt Ata Memorial Complex. Passing through 40 metal pipes inside the monument, it produces a long, haunting sound intended to evoke the kobyz, a traditional bowed instrument closely associated with Korkyt Ata. The memorial stands in Karmakshy District of Kyzylorda Region, 18 kilometers northwest of the village of Zhosaly. Built in 1980 by architect Bek Ibrayev and physicist and acoustician Sovet Isatayev, the complex was extensively reconstructed in 2014. [caption id="attachment_56742" align="aligncenter" width="1538"] Korkyt Ata Memorial Complex[/caption] Korkyt Ata, known in other Turkic traditions as Dede Qorqud or Dede Korkut, is a legendary sage, musician, and storyteller. In Kazakh tradition, he is closely associated with the kobyz. [caption id="attachment_56777" align="aligncenter" width="1536"] The kobyz, a traditional bowed instrument associated with Korkyt Ata[/caption] In 2018, the epic culture, folk tales, and music associated with Korkyt Ata were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity following a joint nomination by Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. UNESCO describes the tradition as comprising 12 heroic legends and 13 traditional musical compositions passed down through generations. The Kazakh version of this story has its own landscape: the banks of the Syr Darya. “According to legend, Korkyt learned that he was destined to die at the age of 40 and set out in search of a place where death could not reach him. He traveled through different lands, but wherever he went, he saw graves,” says journalist and tour guide Mira Zhakibayeva. [caption id="attachment_56751" align="aligncenter" width="1536"] Mira Zhakibayeva[/caption] Korkyt returned to the Syr Darya and made a kobyz from wood, camel skin, and horsehair. When he played, the world around him seemed to stand still. In folk memory, music became his answer to death: a person cannot live forever, but what they create can outlive them. The memorial’s architects translated the legend into metal and stone. Four vertical steles resemble a kobyz, while the metal pipes inside sound in the wind, making the monument seem to change its voice with the weather. Nearby are a museum, an amphitheater, and the so-called Pyramid of Wishes. Visitors circle the structure before entering to make a wish. The museum offers a closer look at the tradition of the kui. In Kazakh culture, a kui is an instrumental composition traditionally associated with a story, mood, or image. Korkyt is considered one of the earliest figures in the kobyz kui tradition. The landscape around the memorial preserves much older layers of history. [caption id="attachment_56774" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Archaeological finds from ancient Zhankent[/caption] Not far away lies Zhankent, also known as Yangikent, a medieval city in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya. It is closely connected with the history of the Oghuz, a confederation of Turkic tribes that played an important role in Central Asia in the early Middle Ages. Zhankent stood along routes connecting Central Asia’s agricultural oases with the Eurasian steppe. Archaeological excavations have uncovered residential quarters and evidence of irrigation and metalworking. “It is...

1 month ago

Intra-regional trade

Central Asia Trade Rises 25% as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Dominate

Central Asian countries are trading more actively with one another, although the regional market continues to be dominated by its two largest economies, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In January-July 2026, the five countries exported $8.1 billion worth of goods to their neighbors, up 25.4% from a year earlier. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan accounted for more than 80% of those shipments. Smaller bilateral routes have expanded as well. Uzbekistan’s trade with Kyrgyzstan increased by more than half, while trade with Tajikistan rose by 45%. Trade between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan rose by a factor of 3.3 after several years of border closure and sharply reduced economic ties. In absolute terms, trade between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan remains the region’s largest bilateral flow. The figures were published by Uzbekistan’s Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR). Kazakhstan remains the region’s largest exporter. Over the seven-month period, it shipped $4.5 billion worth of goods to its neighbors, accounting for 55.9% of total intra-regional exports. Uzbekistan exported $2 billion, representing another 24.7%. Kazakhstan’s Central Asian neighbors still account for a relatively small share of the country’s overall foreign trade. In January-July, its total foreign trade turnover amounted to $87.75 billion. Central Asia accounted for around 6.7% of Kazakhstan’s total trade and 8.9% of its exports. By contrast, Kyrgyzstan’s trade volumes are much smaller, but neighboring markets are considerably more important to the country’s exporters, absorbing almost one-third of its exports. During the same period, Kyrgyzstan exported $523 million worth of goods to its neighbors and imported nearly $1.5 billion. Tajikistan buys considerably more from its neighbors than it sells to them. Its imports from Central Asia increased by 35% to $1.2 billion, while exports rose 6.2% to $209 million. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan account for around 94% of Tajikistan’s trade with the region. Figures reported by Turkmenistan’s trading partners show that the country exported $844 million worth of goods to neighboring countries. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan remain its main regional markets. The Eurasian Development Bank estimated that trade among Central Asian countries reached $12.3 billion in 2025, nearly double the 2020 level. Kazakhstan accounted for 54% of regional exports, as The Times of Central Asia previously reported. New transport and energy links are developing alongside intra-regional trade. In February, the World Bank approved an $846 million guarantee to mobilize $1.41 billion in commercial financing for a railway project in Kazakhstan. The project includes construction of the 201-mile Mointy-Kyzylzhar railway line on Kazakhstan’s section of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or Middle Corridor. The new line is expected to shorten the route by 149 kilometers and relieve congestion on heavily used sections of the corridor. Central Asian countries are seeking closer integration of their power systems. In January, the World Bank approved the 10-year Regional Electricity Market Interconnectivity and Trade Program, with indicative financing of more than $1 billion, to establish Central Asia’s first regional electricity market. Cross-border electricity trade currently amounts to only around 3% of the region’s total electricity demand. In an earlier CERR analysis, researcher Ruslan Abaturov argued...

1 month ago

Cold War

Opinion: Weaponizing Faith – The Cold War Roots of Central Asia’s Security Dilemma

Central Asia’s contemporary security dilemma is partly rooted in Cold War strategies that transformed Muslim identity into a factor of geopolitical competition. Washington viewed Soviet Central Asia’s Muslim populations as a potential pressure point against Moscow. The Soviet Union itself mobilized Central Asian Muslim personnel during its intervention in Afghanistan. These policies did not alone create later radical movements, but they contributed to a regional environment where existing grievances, ideological narratives, and transnational networks could be redirected and intensified. The origins of Washington’s interest in Soviet Muslim populations as a strategic factor emerged during the final years of the Cold War. In 1977, the Nationalities Working Group, an interagency task force within the National Security Council, was established to examine vulnerabilities among the Soviet Union’s non-Russian nationalities. Declassified U.S. records show that American officials studied ethnic, cultural, and religious identities as possible sources of pressure against Moscow. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, this approach became part of Washington’s broader effort to weaken Soviet influence. Through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the United States provided assistance to Afghan resistance organizations, while Saudi Arabia contributed significant financial support. Pakistan’s military government under General Zia-ul-Haq favored Islamist factions among Afghan resistance groups, helping connect military assistance with religious mobilization against Soviet forces. During his visit to the Khyber Pass in early February 1980, U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski addressed Afghan resistance fighters, declaring: "That land over there is yours. You will go back to it one day because your cause is right and God is on your side." The remarks reflected how the anti-Soviet struggle was framed not only in geopolitical terms but also through religious language and symbolism. [caption id="attachment_56711" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Soviet T-62 tank leaving Afghanistan; image: U.S. Department of Defense.[/caption] The Afghan conflict was also fought through education and information campaigns. Between 1986 and 1992, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded an approximately $50 million educational program through the University of Nebraska–Omaha’s Center for Afghanistan Studies for Afghan refugees and schools. Research has shown that some textbooks incorporated violent imagery, references to weapons and combat, and themes glorifying holy war and the duty of martyrdom. Produced for wartime Afghanistan, these materials reflected, and arguably helped sustain, a militarized ideological environment. Islamic religious life in Central Asia had its own deeper roots. Despite Soviet restrictions, religious learning survived through underground hujra networks and unofficial scholarship. Figures such as Muhammadjon Hindustoniy-Rustamov, born in the Fergana Valley and later one of Soviet Central Asia’s most influential unofficial Islamic scholars, shaped generations of students even as Afghanistan became an arena of international rivalry during the 1980s. Moscow also used Central Asian Muslim identity for strategic purposes. The 154th Separate Spetsnaz Detachment, known as the “Muslim Battalion,” was composed largely of Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen soldiers from the Soviet Turkestan Military District. The unit participated in Operation Storm-333 in December 1979, the Soviet operation that killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin and installed Babrak Karmal. The selection of Central Asian...

1 month ago

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