Central Asian Perspectives on the Russo-Ukraine War

More than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war continues to reverberate far beyond Europe’s borders—nowhere more so than in the post-Soviet states of Central Asia. Once closely tied to Moscow, the region’s five republics have adopted varying responses to the conflict, balancing diplomatic caution, economic interests, security concerns, and an evolving sense of sovereignty. How are Central Asian governments navigating their relationships with both Russia and the West in light of the war? What role do trade and regional security dynamics play in shaping their policies? And how might a peace settlement reshape the broader geopolitical architecture of Eurasia?

On April 16, the Center for the National Interest’s Central Asia Connectivity Project hosted a distinguished panel of experts to address these and other questions.

—Nargis Kassenova is a senior fellow and director of the Program on Central Asia at the Harvard Davis Center. Prior to joining the center, she was an associate professor at the Department of International Relations and Regional Studies of KIMEP University (Almaty, Kazakhstan). She is the former founder and director of the KIMEP Central Asian Studies Center (CASC) and the China and Central Asia Studies Center (CCASC). Kassenova holds a Ph.D. in international cooperation studies from the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University (Japan). Her research focuses on Central Asian politics and security, Eurasian geopolitics, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, governance in Central Asia, and the history of state-making in Central Asia.

—Medet Tiulegenov is a Senior Research Fellow with the Civil Society Initiative of the Graduate School of Development at the University of Central Asia (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan). Mr. Tiulegenov is also Professor in the Department of International and Comparative Politics at the American University of Central Asia since 2008, a department he previously chaired from 2012-2019. He is an active writer and commentator on Central Asian domestic and international politics.

Andrew Kuchins, Senior Fellow at the Center for the National Interest, moderated the discussion.