Since Independence, new official discourses in each of the Central Asian States have attempted to condemn, more or less virulently, the former Soviet regime. However, one should not be deluded by leaders and governments’ thundering declarations about official change and renewal, and by the multiple discourses that exist around a specific national way of development. Despite the reforms launched since 1991 and whatever political leaders’ true or simulated willingness to engage in such a process, less than a decade and a half is not sufficient to remove the political-economic system that was dominant for several decades.

 In Western journalistic circles, Central Asia is often viewed as a new area located close to sensitive countries (e.g. Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan), on weapons and drug routes and threatened by possible Islamic destabilization. One could deplore such a mass-media perception, which lacks any historical hindsight. Contemporary Central Asia is first of all a cultural space with more than a century and a half of a Russian-Soviet legacy. The idea of a political, religious and national renewal quite often seems to be an optical illusion, resulting from the prior obscurity of Central Asia: the independence of 1991, which is often presented as a rebirth, actually appears to be both an outcome and a beginning. 

This issue of Cahiers d’Asie centrale adresses the question of continuity between Soviet and Post-Soviet Central Asia, a rarely addressed but fundamental thematic to understanding the contemporary situation of the area and to escape many cliches. It does not view continuity as a postulate and neither denies the reforms that have been engaged in nor the several quick evolutions that have taken place over recent years. It acknowledges the violent shock caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the real “rupture” felt by Soviet citizens. However, this issue firstly aims to show the general public the many Soviet aspects that are too quickly forgotten about but which cannot be ignored in order to understand the evolution of these countries, especially their present move towards authoritarianism. It also aims to remind academic circles about the difficulty in carrying out research about Central Asia without a knowledge or at least consciousness of the Russian-Soviet experience, essential in order to avoid the mirage of a “rebirth”.