Kazakhstan:
President Nursultan Nazarbayev is making a name for himself as a leader with a bent towards being like Indonesia's Suharto. He is holding the country together by blocking democracy. However, as far as despotic regimes go, his is a lesser of the evils of post-USSR Asia. The good news about Kazakhstan is that there has not been much strife between the Kazakh majority and the large Russian-speaking population. As well, the economy has not suffered the same ill fate as that of Russia, and the gross national product is actually growing.
A large country south of Russia and northwest of China, Kazakhstan could be an intriguing place for hardy travellers interested in touring places where there are hardly any other tourists. A lot of the country is mountainous, inaccessible wilderness, but the cities and the Aral Sea are heavily polluted. So environmental concerns are taking some precedence now. The capital, Almaty, is an attractive, treed city in a valley where apples are grown. Unfortunately, it is also known for violent and frequent street crimes. Trekking and hiking possibilities abound in the mountainous areas, but word is that you should take a guide rather than venture off alone.