Contrasting Contexts for Entrepreneurship: Capitalism by Kyrgyz Decree Compared to Gradual Transition in Uzbekistan‪.‬

Introduction While post-communist entrepreneurship in Eastern Europe (Dana, 2005; Obloj, Obloj, and Pratt, 2010; Vaduva, Keillor, and d'Amico, 2005), China (Kshetri, 2007; Tan, Yadong and Oded, 2005; and Xiaohong, 2009), and other emerging countries in Asia (Dana, 2002) have raised much research interest, there has been relatively less research about the nature of entrepreneurship in the formerly Soviet republics of Asia. Whereas independence from the Soviet Union enabled the economies of the Baltic States--that had a history of capitalism and independence prior to communist rule--to flourish with a prosperous firm-type sector, the situation in Central Asia reflects a variety of different models.