The economic landscape is largely defined by natural resource availability and the legacy of Soviet industrialization:
Central Asia — twenty-five years after the breakup of the USSR
The comprises 11 sovereign nations across three distinct geographic sub-regions: Eastern Europe ( Belarus , Ukraine , Moldova ), the Caucasus ( Armenia , Azerbaijan , Georgia ), and Central Asia ( Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan ). 1. Geographic Sub-regions and Natural Landscapes
These nations are characterized by diverse physical geography that dictates their economic potential:
: Characterized by vast steppes, deserts like the Karakum, and high mountain ranges in the east. The region is landlocked, making it heavily dependent on trans-boundary river systems like the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. 2. Economic Profiles and Resource Distribution
: A mountainous isthmus between the Black and Caspian Seas, defined by the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains and high ethnic and linguistic diversity.
The economic landscape is largely defined by natural resource availability and the legacy of Soviet industrialization:
Central Asia — twenty-five years after the breakup of the USSR The economic landscape is largely defined by natural
The comprises 11 sovereign nations across three distinct geographic sub-regions: Eastern Europe ( Belarus , Ukraine , Moldova ), the Caucasus ( Armenia , Azerbaijan , Georgia ), and Central Asia ( Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan ). 1. Geographic Sub-regions and Natural Landscapes The region is landlocked, making it heavily dependent
These nations are characterized by diverse physical geography that dictates their economic potential: The region is landlocked
: Characterized by vast steppes, deserts like the Karakum, and high mountain ranges in the east. The region is landlocked, making it heavily dependent on trans-boundary river systems like the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. 2. Economic Profiles and Resource Distribution
: A mountainous isthmus between the Black and Caspian Seas, defined by the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains and high ethnic and linguistic diversity.