| Summary/Abstract |
Until quite recently it was customary for expert and political circles in Central Asia to claim that Russia had no coherent strategy towards countries of the region. This statement revealed an additional undertone after the European Union had adopted a Central Asia strategy in 2007: "Even the EU has a strategy for Central Asia, but Russia..." The phrase was completed in various ways, but the bottom line remained unchanged, underscoring Russia's lack of a long-term political and economic plan for the region.
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