tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12998320.post-1130303844051788862005-10-26T11:17:00.000+06:002005-10-26T11:17:00.000+06:00That's true. I may be mistaken about this, but during the Soviet times the Uzbek language was used widely throughout Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan, after it gained independence, had to deal with the fact that many educated Kazakhs (those who lived in the cities) were not fluent in Kazakh. So this may have something to do with the language policies of these countries. <BR/><BR/>When I visited Uzbekistan in 2000 I was surprised to find out that many ethnic Russians spoke some Uzbek - something that would be very unusual in Kazakhstan. I suppose now, five years later, the use of Uzbek is even more widespread.<BR/><BR/>I agree that Russian-speakers would be fine in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, unless they go to some of the more remote areas. I found that even in bigger towns like Naryn some people had trouble making themselves understood in Russian and needed a Kyrgyz interpreter to communicate with us.MKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04783517418186078842noreply@blogger.com