" Russia’s imperial legitimacy relies directly on maintaining rule over Central Asia", writes Marlène Laruelle, a French historian on Eurasia and Europe. On the one hand, the region was an important component of the Empire and the Soviet Union, which allows Moscow to claim its rule over a multi-national and multi-ethnic space. Moscow’s ambivalence towards Central AsiaĪt the heart of the problem is Central Asia, a region Russia has always been ambivalent about. In a way, for Russia, losing Ukraine means trading a European future for an Asian one. While Russia’s population is shrinking, that of Central Asia is increasing, and China’s growing shadow looms over the Eastern part of the former Soviet Union.
Dig a little deeper, though, and one finds an overarching theme: the underlying fear that Russia will be absorbed by Asia.
Most of the reasons behind Russia’s interest in Ukraine are well-known.
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