DEMOGRAPHICS
Has almost 230 million people(Turkey &
Iran are the largest at over 70 million
people each)
Life expectancy: 71; GDP: almost
$10,000(richest are Cyprus, Turkey & Iran)
Population density: over 160(remarkably
high given the desert-like conditions)
CULTURE
Diverse languages
Central Asia & Caucasus: each have their own
language; closely related to Russian(were
members of the USSR)
Turkey: Turkish
Iran: Farsi or Persian
All of these countries are mostly Muslim(Iran is
mostly Shiite; the rest are Sunni)
CENTRAL ASIA
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan(all once members of the USSR)
Lots of Russian culture still exists
Orthodoxy dominates in some regions; Christianity in some; Islam in most
Region is major producer of oil(especially Kazakhstan)
Area is very dry---water scarcity is major issue
CENTRAL ASIA
Aral Sea used to be a major water source for Central Asia
Sea is only 25% as big as it originally was; and the salt content is five times what it originally was
Reason: overuse of the water supply for agricultural reasons
This is one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in modern history
CAUCASUS COUNTRIES
Includes Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan(all former USSR members)
Located in the Caucasus Mountains
All three have massive internal problems---some involve other countries as well
CAUCACUS COUNTRIES
Chechnya
Russian region is close to the Caucasus, so they experience some of the fighting because of proximity
South Ossetia
Region that wants to break away from Georgia; Georgia & Russia fought brief 2008 war over it
CAUCACUS COUNTRIES
Armenia – Azerbaijan conflict Armenians are mostly Christian; Azeris are mostly Muslim
Nations were at war from 1988-1994; war started when they
were members of USSR
War was fought over a piece of land called ―Nagorno
Karabakh‖; this piece of land is in Azerbaijan
It is made up of ethnic Armenians who didn’t relocate when
the boundaries of Armenia & Azerbaijan were created
Native Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh are basically like
Palestinians in Israel---they want the area to either be
independent or to be a part of Armenia
TURKEY
Turkey used to use Sharia, used to use death penalty, used to limit freedoms
Turkey has changed quite a bit
Major reason: they want in the EU and they know the EU will not take a country that does such things
Talks with EU formally began in 2005--most think they will not be seriously considered until at least 2020
CYPRUS
A major issue involving Turkey is the island of Cyprus
Cyprus is technically an island country
Attracts over 2 million tourists each year
Before Cyprus gained independence, it was claimed by
both Turkey & Greece
Therefore, Turkey & Greece have a history of animosity
towards each other
IRAN
Iran is an Islamic republic; it is also a theocracy
Iran has two leaders
The ―Ayatollah‖ is the supreme leader---he is selected by a very small group of Shiite scholars(kind of like the Pope’s selection in the Catholic Faith)
IRAN
The current Ayatollah’s name is Ali Khamenei --- only was he can be removed is by that small group that selected him
The prior one, the Ayatollah Khomeini, was a significant enemy to America
IRAN After the Ayatollah is the
president
He is ―elected‖ by the people
He is given basically every power that the Ayatollah has---but he must do what the Ayatollah says
IRAN
Until 1979, Iran’s ultimate leader was called the Shah---the shah in 1979 was an American ally
In 1979, a revolution overthrew the Shah and that’s when the Ayatollah Khomeini gained ultimate power
IRAN As a result of that revolution,
Iranian citizens rebelled against all
things that the Ayatollah thought
were unholy---one of these was
anything that was American
This led to heavy anti-Americanism
IRAN
Students who supported the ayatollah took an American embassy hostage in the same year, 1979
52 hostages were held for 444 days
Almost led to a U.S.-Iran war
IRAN
Ever since 1979, our relations with Iran have been unfriendly
Their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was very much anti-George Bush He claims the Holocaust was a myth
made up by Jews He wants Israel wiped off the map He has threatened war if countries try
and stop their nuclear power program(some feel they are trying to build nuclear weapons)
IRAN
Recently threatened to disrupt oil shipments out
of Persian Gulf at the Strait of Hormuz
1/3 of ALL oil
goes through
this chokepoint
Top Related