Russia’s Central Asian Security Policy in the Putin Era: Tools for Intervention and Control “We do not want a second Afghanistan in Central Asia. Therefore, we will follow a very careful policy.” Vladimir Putin

Abstract

Central Asia has been a strategically important region that Russia has dominated or always wanted to dominate throughout history. Therefore, we can see this in the Soviet Union period or in Russia’s policies after the 1990s. Especially after 2000, with Vladimir Putin becoming the President of Russia, policies on this region gained vitality in every field. One of the most important of these dimensions is the military dimension. In this context, we can cite the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was formed with the participation of other states related to the region within the scope of developing relations with Russia, Central Asia, and which it is trying to be effective. On the other hand, we can see that Russia is trying to extend the terms of use of the military bases left from the Soviet Union in the region and to establish new military bases. Therefore, we can evaluate all these approaches of Russia within the scope of its unwillingness to lose its influence and power in the region and its unwillingness to allow ‘foreign’ forces to intervene in the region.