Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan is the largest of the 5 Central Asian Republics (the others being Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan) which gained their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991and also the one with the most non-Asian peoples, as 36 percent of its population are ethnic Russians. Like the other Republics, it is a hodge-podge state, formed by the Soviet policy of combining ethnic groups in each of its Central Asian Provinces, to prevent union and revolt. Historically this area was overrun by many conquerors: from Alexander the Great, through the Huns, the Arabs, the Chinese, the Mongols, the Turks, and of course, the Russians in the 19th Century. The Kazaks themselves came to form a distinct group of nomads only about 600 years ago. Today, Kazakhstan is seeking to become the Central Asian economic tiger although its policies often seem more frivolous than serious. For more information on Kazakhstan, please click on the above buttons.
