[elcid1970]

At least "Borat Sagdiyev" makes people in the West aware of Central Asia for the first time. I was stationed near Karshi, Uzbekistan. Central Asian countries are lost hidden world to most Americans. I only knew of Tashkent and Samarkand in school. I thought Uzbekistan would become U.S. friend, then there was Andijon.

It's not like East vs. West anymore. So complicated.

[Nikolay Lee Sea Cin]

there are much differences between Kazakhstan and other central-asia states. Kazakhstan is on of the richest post soviet state with highly educated population and have huge industry(metallurgy,oil&gas,machinery)