Energetika a geopolitika postsovietskej Strednej Ázie: Rusko a Uzbekistan
Energy and Geopolitics of Post-soviet Central Asia: Russia and Uzbekistan

Summary/Abstract: The author of this article claims that at the end of 1980s, at the end of the reorganization period, European and Slovak specialists warned that Central Asia would be on the verge of a millennium crisis situation in terms of religion, demography, ecology and energy. The five new independent states established in the Central Asia region after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 were Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. All of these states are Islamic and have a common soviet history. The main languages in these Central Asian states except for Tajikistan are Turkic. In this article the author pays attention to geopolitics and the strategic oil and gas resources found in this region. Uzbekistan was one of poorest countries during the collapse of the Soviet Union. According to confidential statistics, 45% of the population of Uzbekistan received wages below the official minimum wages of the Soviet Union. The author notes that at that time, the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan was Mr. I. Karimov. A total of 4675 million tons of oil and gas was produced by the members of CIS (Commonwealth of Independence States) in 2002. This is approximately 13% of total world production. Russia produced 71%, followed by Kazakhstan with 25%; the remainder was produced by Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Historically, Central Asia lay within Russia’s sphere of influence and interests. On the other hand, Central Asia has potential concerning the diversification of the supplying of oil and gas. The author notes that all Central Asian States of the post Soviet period stand on the threshold of large political change. This factor, along with religious issues and the unjust financial distribution of oil and gas revenues will have an influence on the stability and balance of the region and on its geopolitical comfort.

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