CENTRAL ASIA
0ne problem in the study of Central Asia is

defining the region's geographical limits.

A narrow but precise definition limits the re-
gion to the five former Soviet republics that lie
to the east of the Ural Mountains and the Cas-
pian Sea and to the west of China. But the defi-
nition can be expanded to include some or all
of the following: Chinese Turkestan, (Xinjiang
Province), Afghanistan, northeastern Iran,
Mongolia, Tibet, Azerbaijan, and the entire Eur-
asian st...