The Central Asian region due to its economic potential and strategic signifi -cance has traditionally been of particular importance for Russia’s foreign policy. It was therefore not surprising that a serious deterioration of the political situation in Afghanistan in summer-autumn 2021 caused by the military defeat and the subsequent collapse of the pro-Western regime followed by the seizure of power by the Taliban raised serious concern of the Russian leadership. The developments in Afghanistan have attracted an increasing attention of the expert community, prompting a fl urry of comments and forecasts. Although many of these papers were published hastily, their assessments and conclusion were usually based on the long-term observations. This paper attempts to provide an overview of the military-political situation in the Central Asian region as it was caught by a new crisis in Afghanistan and as it is seen by both Russian and foreign experts. The fi rst section outlines positions and interests of the key regional and non-regional actors that have a signifi cant impact on the military-political situation in Central Asia. The second section examines the response of the Russian Federation to the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took power. Finally, the third section provides an overview of the latest expert comments and reports that attempt to assess possible implications of those events for the regional military-political dynamics and the national security interests of the Russian Federation.

The main vectors of the US foreign policy strategy regarding the countries of Central Asia (CA) after the collapse of the Soviet Union are analyzed. It is noted that there are three main vectors in the US strategy in Central Asia: geopolitical, economic, and political−ideological, and humanitarian, which in many cases are closely intertwined with each other. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are of the main interest to the United States there. The authors draw attention to the fact that the US strategy in this region has an obvious anti-Russian and anti-Chinese orientation, which has intensified during the crisis of 2021‒2022, caused by the refusal of the United States and its allies to meet the legitimate claims of the Russian Federation adequately to ensure its security.