The purpose of this article is to trace the transformation of the presence of the United States and the countries of the European Union in the Central Asian region from the moment of independence to the present, with particular attention to the position of the United States. After the collapse of the USSR, the influence of Western countries increased significantly, affecting many areas of life in the Central Asian states, from security and economy to culture and social problems. In the 1990s, some Central Asian states underwent internal political transformations in terms of social and political values, restructuring of local party systems, reforms of the market system, new ideological and educational platforms, and changes in investment strategies. After the 2001 terrorist attack in the United States, the security component turned Central Asia into a platform for a large-scale operation in Afghanistan, and the security component became significant for the Western / American presence in the designated region. Nevertheless, with the announcement of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014, the West's strategies towards this region have changed significantly, and their immediate neighbors, such superpowers as the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, began to actively influence the development of the Central Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]