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Transformation of the Ethnic Space in Countries of Central Asia in the Post-Soviet Period

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Abstract—In accordance with the concept of geoethnocultural systems developed in Russian cultural geography in the last quarter of the 20th century, the main components of the territorial structure of the ethnic space of the Central Asian region as of 1989 (according to the latest Soviet census) and the 2010s are identified, suggesting a radical restructuring of the ethnic space of the region in the post-Soviet period. That period showed a significant strengthening of the ethnic cores of national geoethnocultural systems and a strong narrowing of the area retaining a considerable influence of the Russian geoethnocultural system. From 1989 to 2017 the population size of the region’s countries increased from 49 to 70 million, i.e., by almost 43%, whereas the proportion of Russians in the region’s population decreased by nearly two times, from 9.5 to 6.9%. In this regard, it is proposed to strengthen the ethnocultural component in the strategy of Eurasian interstate integration, with a focus on the solution of the problems of the Russian population in the young States of Central Asia, which are actively involved in integration processes. The capital cities and territorial units of the Central Asian countries were grouped together according to the degree of ethnic transformation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The capital cities of the states of the Central Asian region experienced the most radical ethnic transformation. Because of a significant migration influx, native ethnic groups began to make up the vast majority of the population, although in Soviet times the Republican capital cities were characterized by a preponderance of the Russian population. A significant restructuring of the ethnic structure of the population occurred in most of the previously predominantly Russian-speaking regions in the north of Kazakhstan. On the other hand, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and several regions of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where the share of the nonindigenous population was low in Soviet times, experienced minimal ethnic transformation.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 20-05-00369).

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  1. Pskov State University, 180760, Pskov, Russia

    A. G. Manakov

  2. Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, 236041, Kaliningrad, Russia

    A. G. Manakov

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Manakov, A.G. Transformation of the Ethnic Space in Countries of Central Asia in the Post-Soviet Period. Geogr. Nat. Resour. 42, 185–193 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372821020074

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