Not in my back yard.

That’s the nexus of Russia’s outlook on the U.S. in Central Asia, and Kyrgyzstan is going right along with it.

A report in today’s Irish Times, linked here, elaborates on how Russia is exploiting regional hydro-politics to undermine the United States’ position among Central Asian states. As this piece reports, following Kyrgyzstan’s decision to oust a key U.S. base in Manas to receive a multi-billion dollar Russian aid package, they’re also getting some help developing their hydro-energy resources, a vital need for Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan plays a dominant role in the supply of water and hydropower as it sits on the upside of the Syr Darya river that winds from the Eastern Kyrgyz Mountains down through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan again, and finally into Kazakhstan. Anyone downstream–farmers, tribal well-diggers, and would-be hydro-energy producers–are at Kyrgyzstan’s wims.

Hence, the underlying dynamic for a complicated web of local, regional, and international conflicts over water. These beefs range from regional political squabbles over electricity shortages and localized tribal ground water conflicts to assassination attempts by competing national governments, a topic discussed in an IWPR piece that ran yesterday, linked here. In a broader regional context, the boys over at Registan.net (Much Respect) posted a well-developed look at water issues in the Aral Sea basin, here.

Big water issues, little states.

Enter Russia.

We follow Russian subversion of U.S. influence in the region with keen interest, and can’t help but notice the role Russia wants to play in helping play these countries off one another through hydro-electric energy competition. (We’ve posted here, here, and here, about Russia’s attempts to subvert American influence in its perceived backyard.)

When Kyrgyzstan lacks the financing, technical resources, and engineering expertise to develop its hydro-energy resources, Russia sees an exploitable weakness. On the heels of Russia’s multi-billion dollar aid package to persuade Kyrgyz officials to eject the U.S. base at Manas, lesser-known deals are following to help the country’s Hydro development.

Ironically, Russia is learning from U.S. playbook on energy politics. The United States improved its position in Middle-Eastern affairs and global energy markets through Saudi Arabia’s need to develop vast crude oil resources and establish internal security in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Russia caught-on. They see an opportunity to dominate Heartland Politics through regional hydro-energy development and competing political factions among neighboring states who...

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