This course aims to analyze the five countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) both from historical (pre-Soviet and Soviet) and recent (post-Soviet) perspectives. In the introductory part of the course, first, the general geographical conditions of the region and some of the most important historical developments that affected the region until the establishment of the five SSRs (Soviet Socialist Republics) are given; then, the disintegration of the Soviet Union is described. In the second part, the common economic, political and social conditions that shaped these five countries during the Soviet era are analyzed. The third part looks at these republics separately in the post-Soviet era, by focusing on their differences as well as similarities.