"According to the World Bank, Tajikistan is more dependent on remittances than any other country in the world. Last year migrant workers sent home the equivalent of 47% of Tajikistan’s GDP. Perhaps half of working-age males are abroad, most in Russia. Kyrgyzstan is third in the World Bank’s rankings, behind Liberia. One-fifth of its workforce are migrant workers. The economic dependence of these two countries gives their former imperial master great influence.
"For the pragmatists[in Russia], one consideration [for Russia to form a bloc with former Soviet republics in Central Asia] is staving off China, now the main economic partner for all the Central Asian republics bar Uzbekistan, often by a large margin
"Moscow has maintained visa-free agreements with most former Soviet republics
My comment:
(a) Bishkek http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishkek
(capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan)
(b) Dushanbe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dushanbe
(capital and largest city of Tajikistan)
(c) Quotation 2 is the only mention of China in the article. There is no need to read the rest. Suffice to say that successive Russian administrations pays lip service to China. It is undeniable , however, that "pragmatists" in Russia "hedge," too, like Americans.