Abstract:

Russia's vital geopolitical interests in Central Asia have been renewed in the post-Ukraine war period. From the perspective of geopolitical theory and the New Great Game, Central Asia is very important for Russia from a geopolitical, geostrategic, geoeconomic, and security point of view. Therefore, Russia wants to reconstruct its geopolitical discourse in Central Asia. In the wake of the Ukraine invasion, this study analyses the reconstitution of the Russian geopolitical discourse in Central Asia. Based on critical discourse analysis employed in the paper, it analyses the ways in which Russia has attempted to re-articulate, re-construct and justify its regional power and strategic leverage against the background of international sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Russia has employed various diplomatic, political, strategic, and economic strategies to reconstruct and consolidate its geopolitical discourse in Central Asia as a policy tool. It helped Russia reclaim, maintain and strengthen its influence in Central Asia. The renewed geopolitical discourse of Russia in Central Asia has strengthened Russia’s political influence on the foreign policies of Central Asian Republics (CARs). Due to Russia's successful diplomacy in Central Asia, despite Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the CARs not only did not suspend or reduce their political engagement with Russia but also participated in many events, like all five CAR leaders consecutively participating in the 9th May victory day of WW-II parade every year in Moscow and have not ever voted against Russia in the UN on any matter related to the Ukraine war. The West's decision to isolate Russia after its invasion has further strengthened Russia's already strong collaboration with the CARs. When the impact of sanctions on Russia became evident, the region served as a means for Russia to circumvent Western sanctions through shafting companies and helping to import critical sanctioned goods. The corresponding responses from Central Asia towards Russian geopolitical discourse are influenced by their dependence on Russian transportation and energy infrastructure, extensive hold of Russian companies in oil and gas exploration and exportation, transboundary waterways that cross the region and the dominance of ethnic Russians in the policy-making in CARs governments. These factors bound Central Asia to cooperate and consolidate with Russian geopolitical discourse.