People, Languages, and Religion
People
• Several ethnic
groups (all part of
larger ethnic group,
Turkic), including:
– Kazakh
– Kyrgyz
– Turkmen
– Uzbek
– Russian
Languages
• Each ethnic group
speaks its own
language.
• In most countries,
more than one
language is spoken.
• When the Russians
conquered the
region, they
established Russian
as the official
language.
• They also
introduced the
Cyrillic alphabet,
but most countries
now use the Latin
alphabet.
Religion
• Traders and
conquerors brought
their religious
beliefs to the
region.
• Islam is the main
religion in Central
Asia.
• Most of the region’s
Christians attend
the Russian
Orthodox Church