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Characteristic of the region |
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Central Asia and Kazakhstan occupy vast territory from the Western-Siberian Lowland in the north to the Plateau of Iran in the south, from the Volga River and Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east. The largest part of the region is covered with steppes and deserts with hot and dry climate which in the south and south-west switch to the rock massif of Pamir, Tien Shan and Kopet Dagh. In the river-valleys, the largest of which are the Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya, and in the piedmont areas there are oases with softer climate.
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Степной пейзаж. Средняя Азия. |
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Peoples
The majority of the population of Central Asia and Kazakhstan speaks languages of the Turkic group of the Altaic language family - they are Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kirghiz, Uighurs, Uzbeks, and Turkmen. Language of the Tajiks which is also spoken by the Central Asian Jews, some Baluchi and Central Asian Arabs belongs to the Iranian group of the Indo-European family. Languages of the Pamir Tajiks belong to the Eastern branch of the Iranian group.
Economy
Natural conditions (environment) of Central Asia have determined the peculiarities of the way the house was run in this region. In the oases the main occupation was agriculture with the artificial irrigation, in the steppes and semi deserts - nomadic cattle breeding, and the borders of the steppes and oases were reclaimed by semi settled farmers-cattle breeders.
Tajiks, the majority of Uzbeks and Turkmen, Uighurs and Dungans belonged to the settled farmers. Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Turkmen of the Caspian Sea, part of Uzbeks were involved in the nomadic cattle breeding. Integrated economy which combined agriculture and nomadic and distant cattle breeding was spread among Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, Turkmen and part of Kirghiz in the estuary of the Amu-Darya.
Settled and nomadic peoples of the region always had quite close trade ties which contributed to the interpenetration of the cultures.
Characteristic of region
Central Asia and Kazakhstan occupy vast territory from the Western-Siberian Lowland in the north to the Plateau of Iran in the south, from the Volga River and Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east. The largest part of the region is covered with steppes and deserts with hot and dry climate which in the south and south-west switch to the rock massif of Pamir, Tien Shan and Kopet Dagh. In the river-valleys, the largest of which are the Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya, and in the piedmont areas there are oases with softer climate.
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