Moscow's growing influence in Central Asia stems from the evolution of the region's five states in close correspondence with Vladimir Putin's semi-authoritarian model. Absent adequate resources and consistent policies, however, Russia must engage in complicated manoeuvring in order to advance its interests. The result is not overt geopolitical competition with the West--often defined by the tired notion of the 'Great Game'--but rather a series of at least three separate intrigues, or 'petty games'.

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