Attempts by Central Asian nations to rally their citizens to oppose Islamic fundamentalists are hampered by corrupt government. The leaders of the Central Asian nations are all former Soviet officials and none have taken to democracy or economic reforms very well. Their use of repression is driving many of their citizens to see the Islamic fundamentalists as a chance for a better life. Thus the region is beset by three burdens; the economic and political wreckage of communism, self-serving dictators and Islamic fundamentalists who want to establish a region size theocracy.