Russia and Central Asia: Evolving Mutual Perceptions and the Rise of Postcolonial Perspectives

The Russia-Central Asia relationship is anything but static: though it may appear stable in many obvious respects, other less visible ones are on the move. If the fundamental geopolitical issues with which Russia has been dealing in Central Asia have remained stable, Russian strategic thinking has adapted to reflect the reduction of its capacity to influence and the changes in the local geopolitical context. On the other side, surveys of Central Asian public opinions show the region as the most Russophile one of the post-Soviet space, yet with nuances that remain to be studied more in depth and dissociated by country. One of most interesting features of the cultural distancing between Russia and Central Asia in recent years has been the rise of a postcolonial perspective on the relationship.