Spanning 4,003,451 kilometers squared, in-between the Caspian Sea and China, Central Asia is home to around 72 million people. The region contains former states that were a part of the Soviet Union such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This region has historically been a place that famous trading routes like the Silk Road passed through. Traditionally, Central Asia has been predominantly Islamic, however, while the Soviet Union occupied the area, Christianity spread rapidly with the growth of the Russian Orthodox Church. Kazakhstan is considered to be one of the more modernized countries in the region, but it is still seen as a third world country and has faced recent social unrest. This region of this world is still developing itself into the modern era however, Turkmenistan has been called one of the most repressive countries in the world which has not helped with the development of the region.