Published: November 19, 2009 07:25 am      

Lecture focuses on former Soviet bloc

TRAVERSE CITY -- Former Soviet Republics in Central Asia are worth watching, a former U.S. ambassador thinks.

Michael Wygant, 73, will discuss Russia and the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia tonight during an evening lecture at Northwestern Michigan College.

"This is an area of growing interest, with economic, natural resources and defense implications," he said.

Wygant worked for the U.S. State Department for 31 years, including high-level positions located in the Soviet Union and Central Asia Republics. He helped to open U.S. embassies in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and also served in Africa, Vietnam and Australia.

Wygant was the first U.S. ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia, an island group in the North Pacific Ocean. He also works for Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation with a concentration on Eastern Europe, following his retirement from the State Department. He now lives in Scarborough, Maine.

Five independent nations in Central Asia -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan -- still look to Russia in their dealings with the rest of the world, existing "always in the shadow of the Russians," Wygant said.

And the area is not without contemporary significance, he said, even though residents there live in historically poor conditions. The area's oppressive past for ethnic minorities drives its current importance, Wygant said.

"This is an area where there could be problems if radical Islam takes hold," he said. "We don't want al-Qaida, the Taliban or any jihadist groups to take hold in Central Asia."

The area boasts some of the largest oil and natural gas deposits in the world and the United States currently uses former Soviet air bases in the region to re-supply troops in Afghanistan.

NMC history professor Jim Press is encouraging his students to attend the lecture. He visited Russia about five years ago and teaches Russian history as part of a 20th Century European history course.

"It's an important issue. Just because the Cold War is over and the Soviet Union collapsed doesn't mean that Russia is irrelevant," Press said.

Wygant's lecture will be the third in an eight-part series sponsored by NMC's International Affairs Forum. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in Milliken Auditorium at NMC's main campus in Traverse City.

Individual tickets are $10, though admission is free for current educators and NMC students. Call (231) 995-1700 for tickets or more information.