Word: uzbekistan
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...they try to project the election returns from Ukraine and Belarus onto all the former Soviet republics. The picture is far too complicated for that. Despite their economic problems, many republics continue -- with good reason -- to fear ethnic and military interference from their former Russian masters. Some, like Uzbekistan, have established authoritarian governments and are no longer willing to cede control back to Moscow. Other states, such as Estonia, Latvia, Kazakhstan and Moldova, view the large minority of ethnic Russians living in their midst as a fifth-column challenge to their sovereignty...
...empire will never be restored and must encourage and support the building of the new independent states. A belt of democratic states around Russia will help Russia build its own democracy. Russia has to build this kind of society. Then it could have a good relationship with Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and others. Russia is in the best position of all of these countries to do this. One thing must not happen, though. No new confrontation should emerge between Russia and the West...
...UZBEKISTAN'S PRESIDENT ISLAM KARIMOV
...human rights: We favor an American presence in Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a guarantor of our democratic development, but you've got to help us, rather than assume moralistic poses. We will build democratic institutions -- but keeping in mind our own special circumstances. Do you think it was possible to create other political parties in a state long-dominated by the Communist Party? We aligned ourselves by the stars atop the Kremlin, and you suddenly expect us to have a democratic state in only two years? Why should this issue become a stumbling block in relations with Uzbekistan...
...methods by which Moscow seeks to woo back the near abroad republics can be crude, often mustered under the broad banner of protecting ethnic Russians. In some cases the tool is brute military force of the sort used in December 1992 when Russian-manned planes from Uzbekistan helped bring down a government of Tajikistan composed of Islamic and democratic groups, and installed pro- communist rulers. In other regions, Russia prefers to flex its muscles by yanking the economic rug out from under a government -- as it did last week when Moscow began cutting off gas supplies to Belarus, Moldova...