Chapter 6

The Kara Kum desert lies within

Turkmenistan

From 1920 to 1991, the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were part of the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

The ________ connects Afghanistan to China

Wakhan Corridor

The Taliban destroyed the Great Stone Statues of ________ in the Bamiyan Valley

Buddha

The largest river in southern Afghanistan is the

Helmand

Turkmenistan's capital city lies along the ________.

Kara Kum Canal

Just south of the Aral Sea, the dominant ethnic group is the

Karalkalpak

In Central Asia, Russians are found primarily in northern

Kazakhstan

The highest urbanization rate in Central Asia is found in

Kazakhstan

The lowest infant mortality rate in Central Asia is found in

Kazakhstan

The Ferghana Valley is divided between Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and

Kyrgyzstan

About 50% of laborers migrating from Tajikistan have gone to the city of

Moscow

________ is the fuel that keeps the countryside of Afghanistan unstable and largely out of the reach of the elected government

Opium

The Taliban were financed by ________, although the movement was mostly made up of displaced local Pashtuns

Pakistan

Part of Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan is formed by the ________ River

Panj

The Taliban movement began in the madrasahs, or ________, financed by the Saudi Arabian government and located on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan

Quranic schools

About ________% of Afghanistan's population is Turkmen

2

About ________% of Afghanistan's population is Tajik

28

By the end of the Soviet period, literacy rates in Central Asia had reached ________ %

98

In the urban sphere where Russianization had a better hold, many people in Central Asia became "________": They considered themselves secularized, but followed Islamic practice for important "life ceremonies."

cultural Muslims

The Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers flow into the

Aral Sea

Southern Afghanistan is dominated by this land use

desert area with limited vegetation

Central Afghanistan is dominated by mountainous areas with limited vegetation except in narrow river valleys and

dry farming and seminomadic herding areas

A Pentagon memo mentions that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of ________ (used in making batteries for cell phones and laptops)."

lithium

Kazakhstan's areas of densest population are found

near the northern and southern borders

During the Soviet era, every Central Asian republic capital had a(n) ________.

opera and ballet theater

Central Asia was regarded by Czarist administrators and Soviet planners as a(n

peripheral, underdeveloped region

Although the soils of Central Asia's steppes are generally rich, much like those of the prairie lands of the U.S. Great Plains, a steppe environment differs from a prairie environment in its generally lower and more variable

precipitation

The highest elevations in Central Asia lie in the

south and east

Traveling from south to north through Central Asia, you would encounter mountains, desert, then:

steppe

The word "talib" (plural "taliban") means ________.

student

About ________% of Afghanistan's population is Hazara

15

The Balochi ethnic group predominates in southern

Afghanistan

The Tien Shan mountains border China and

Afghanistan

Each of the states in this region is named for its largest ethnic group except ________, whose largest ethnic group is the ________.

Afghanistan; Pashtuns

A region dominated by the sect Ismaili Islam is found east of the city of

Dushanbe

About 90% of laborers migrating from Tajikistan have gone to the country of

Russia

The most important destination for laborers migrating from Tajikistan is

Russia

The word "Astana" means ________ in the Kazakh language

capital

Astana, Kazakhstan experiences hot summer, cold winters, and arid conditions; these conditions are typical of ________ climates

continental