Silk Road Rising

Four countries. One Soviet inheritance. Four very different paths.

In 1991, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan inherited the same collapsing Soviet economy. Thirty-five years later, they sit at the heart of the Middle Corridor, the trade route linking China and Europe without passing through Russia, and they are drawing investors from Brussels to Beijing and the Gulf.

In Silk Road Rising, economist and investor Dr. Gil Feiler tells how each country rebuilt itself: Georgia's radical war on corruption, Azerbaijan's oil wealth and search for a second engine, Kazakhstan's managed modernization and Uzbekistan's dramatic opening. He then compares them theme by theme, from banks and state companies to trade routes, great-power rivalry and migration, and closes with quantified scenarios to 2040.

Inside you will find:

• Four country stories, from the chaos of the 1990s to October 2026
• About twenty case studies, from Kaspi and SOCAR to Georgia's police reform and Uzbekistan's 2017 currency revolution
• Charts, tables and a timeline that make the numbers clear
• Practical guidance for investors and policymakers

Clear, current and grounded in decades of experience in the region, this is an essential guide for investors, policymakers, students and anyone curious about one of the world's fastest-changing regions.

About the author: Dr. Gil Feiler is an economist and investor. A former university lecturer specializing in the economics of the Middle East, he has advised multinational companies, served on corporate boards in Germany and the United States, and worked for many years with Bank of Georgia. He chairs Georgia's first real estate fund and is a partner in Forest Investment House, which invests across the Silk Road countries.