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Eastern Europe and Central Asia
This map shows the countries served by the Peace Coprs (as of July 2004) in the territory called "Eastern Europe and Central Asia." All of the countries highlighted in the map above have Peace Corps Volunteers. I put together some information about these countries before I knew that I was going to Ukraine. Just click on whichever country you want to know more about, and you'll be magically transported down the page.
All the information here (with the exception of my beautifully hand-drawn map) comes from one of these three websites: Peace Corps, CountryWatch, or the CIA World Factbook. By the way, the CIA World Factbook has really good maps for each country. Much better than mine!
I've also included links to Lonley Planet, which is a really great source of information (and very readable), especially for travelers. There's so much there, in fact, that I haven't had time to look at most of it.
Quite a bit of the inforation included below was copied directly from the Factbook, which is in the public domain.
Albania
Albania has a narrow coastal plain and a mostly mountainous interior that is lightly forested. A few large lakes stretch along the country's borders with Montenegro in the north and Macedonia and Greece in the southeast. The Ionian coast from Vlorė to Saranda offers some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.
Capital City
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Tirrane
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Population
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3,500,000
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Area
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28,750 km2, or slightly larger than Maryland.
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Climate
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Temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter.
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Languages
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Albanian (Gheg and Tosk dialects) and Greek.
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Religions
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Largely Muslim, but with significant Albanian Orthodox and Roman Catholic populations.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Armenia
The Peace Corps has been operating in Armenia since 1962 (the first Peace Corps Volunteers began serving in 1961).
The first Armenian state was founded in 190 BC. At its zenith, from 95 to 55 BC, Armenia extended its rule over the area of what is now eastern Turkey. For a time, Armenia was the strongest state in the Roman East.
Capital City
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Yerevan
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Population
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3,300,000
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Area
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29,800 km2, or slightly smaller than Maryland.
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Climate
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Highland continental, hot summers, cold winters. High plateau with mountains, little forest land.
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Languages
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Armenian is the official language; Russian is spoken by a significant minority.
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Religions
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The vast majority is Armenian Orthodox.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Azerbaijan
2003 was the first year the Peace Corps began sending volunteers to Azerbaijan.
Some scientists this area to be the most ecologically devastated area in the world. There is severe air, soil, and water pollution, the results of oil spills, DDT used as a pesticide, and toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton.
Capital City
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Baku
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Population
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8,100,000
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Area
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86,600 km2, or slightly smaller than Maine.
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Climate
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Dry, semiarid steppe.
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Languages
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Azerbaijani is the official language, but many people speak Russian.
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Religions
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The vast majority is Muslim.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Bulgaria
In the late 7th century, the Bulgars (a Central Asian Turkic tribe) joined with local Slavic inhabitants to form the first Bulgarian state. Through the following centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century was overrun by the Ottoman Turks.
Capital City
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Sofia
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Population
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7,600,000
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Area
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110,910 km2, or slightly larger than Tennessee.
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Climate
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Cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers. Mostly mountainous with large fertile valleys and plains; lowlands in the north and southeast; Black Sea coast on the east.
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Languages
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Bulgarian
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Religions
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Mostly Bulgarian Orthodox, but there are also quite a few Muslims.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Georgia
Georgian history dates back more than 2,500 years, and Georgian is one of the oldest living languages in the world. Tbilisi, located in a picturesque valley divided by the Mtkvari River, is more than 1,500 years old.
Capital City
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Tbilisi
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Population
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4,900,000
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Area
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69,700 km2, or slightly larger than South Carolina.
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Climate
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Warm with Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast. Generally moderate; mild on the Black Sea coast with cold winters in the mountains.
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Languages
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Georgian
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Religions
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Majority Georgian Orthodox, with significant Russian Orthodox and Muslim populations.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a vast country of desert, steppe, and mountains in central Asia, stretching from the Caspian Sea in the west to Mongolia in the east, from the Siberian forests in the north to the Tien Shan mountains in the south. About 14.8 million people live in an area four times the size of Texas.
Capital City
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Astana
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Population
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14,800,000
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Area
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2,717,300 km2, or 4 times the size of Texas.
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Climate
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Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid.
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Languages
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Kazak is the official language, but most people speak Russian, which is used in business.
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Religions
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Two major religions, Russian Orthodox and Muslim.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Kyrgyzstan
The Peace Corps website calls this country the Kyrgyz Republic, but both the CIA World Factbook and CountryWatch refer to Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan is a land of ice-capped mountains and fertile river valleys, frigid, barren plateaus and rolling hills covered with wildflowers.
Capital City
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Bishkek
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Population
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4,865,000
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Area
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198,500 km2, or slightly smaller than South Dakota.
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Climate
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Dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone.
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Languages
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There are two official languages, Russian and Kirghiz.
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Religions
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The majority is Muslim, but there is also a significant percentage of Russian Orthodox.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Macedonia
The Peace Corps has suspended its program in Macedonia twice, out of concern for the safety and security of its volunteers. First in 1991, when refugees began pouring in from Kosovo. The program restarted 4 months later. Then in July 2001 the program was again suspended, this time due to regional instability. In 2002, after the implementation of the Lake Ohrid Peace Agreement, the Peace Corps went back in.
Capital City
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Skopje
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Population
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2,050,000
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Area
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25,333 km2, or slightly larger than Vermont.
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Climate
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Hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall.
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Languages
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Macedonian, Albanian, Romani.
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Religions
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Majority Eastern Orthodox, with a heavy percentage of Muslim.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Moldova
Moldova has no major mineral deposits, but does enjoy a favorable climate and good farmland. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture (fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco). Moldova imports all supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia.
Capital City
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Chisinau
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Population
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4,400,000
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Area
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33,700 km2, or slightly larger than Maryland.
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Climate
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Moderate winters, warm summers. Rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea.
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Languages
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Romanian, Russian
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Religions
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Almost entirely Eastern Orthodox.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Romania
Do you know where Dracula came from? He was based on Vlad the Impaler, a Romanian monarch from the 15th century.
Capital City
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Bucharest
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Population
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22,458,000
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Area
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237,500 km2, or somewhat smaller than New York and Pennsylvania combined.
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Climate
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Temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Consists mainly of rolling, fertile plains; hilly in the eastern regions of the middle Danube basin; and major mountain ranges running north and west in the center of the country, which collectively are known as the Carpathians.
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Languages
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Romanian and Hungarian
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Religions
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The majority is Roman Orthodox.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth-largest producer.
Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets.
Capital City
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Ashgabat
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Population
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5,500,000
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Area
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488,100 km2, or slightly larger than California.
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Climate
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Subtropical desert. 80% covered in subtropical, sandy Karakum Desert, with dunes rising to the Kopet Dag Mountains in the south along the border with Iran.
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Languages
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Turkmen and Russian.
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Religions
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The majority is Muslim.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Ukraine
Ukraine was the first successor nation of the Soviet Union to invite the Peace Corps to establish a program on its territory.
Capital City
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Kiev (or Kyiv)
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Population
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48,400,000
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Area
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603,700 km2, or slightly smaller than Texas.
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Climate
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Temperate continental; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country. Hot in the south.
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Languages
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Ukrainian and Russian.
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Religions
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Ukrainian Orthodoxy and Ukrainian Greek Catholicism.
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a land of deserts and steppes, snow-capped mountains and fertile oases. The ancient Uzbek engineers created sparkling blue and green tiled domes and thriving caravan cities.
The leading cities of the famous Silk Road-- Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva--are located in Uzbekistan.
Capital City
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Tashkent
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Population
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25,600,000
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Area
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447,400 km2, or slightly larger than California.
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Climate
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Mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters, semiarid grassland in east.
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Languages
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Mostly Uzbek, with some Russian.
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Religions
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Majority is Muslim (Sunni).
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Links
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Peace Corps,
CountryWatch,
CIA World Factbook,
Lonley Planet
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Back to the Top
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