'Tis a comment, of course, on the names of Central Asian nations, which were suddenly thrust upon the American consciousness a few months earlier. Here's a complete list of nations which end in "stan":
- Afghanistan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Pakistan
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
Relaxing the rules slightly, there are a number of other entities that could potentially also qualify as "-stans":
- Bashkortostan: "Subject of Russia" acting as an ethnic autonomy
- Dagestan: "Subject of Russia" acting as an ethnic autonomy
- East Turkestan is actually Xinjiang province in China and has a government in exile
- Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province inside Tajikistan
- Hayastan is an alternative name for Armenia
- Hindustan: In the Kashmiri language this is the name for India
- Iraqi Kurdistan: This is a federal region inside Iraq, but the Kurds would dearly love to have their own nation of "Kurdistan". But the idea isn't popular in the region.
- Karakalpakstan: Autonomous republic inside Uzbekistan
- Tatarstan: "Subject of Russia" acting as an ethnic autonomy
Relax the rules a little more, to allow any nation who's name ends in "-an", and this still adds a few more nations in the region:
- Azerbaijan
- Bhutan
- Iran
- Jordan
- Oman
- Sudan
But that could make the rules too loose, since it could also include the following:
- Cayman Islands (Part of the British Commonwealth)
- Golan (disputed by Israel, Syria, and Palestine)
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Part of the British Commonwealth)
- Taiwan (claimed by China)
- Vatican City
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