When the Soviet Union collapsed back in 1991, traffic was never a problem in the cities of Central Asian and the Caucasus. Just a few boxy Ladas and tankish Volgas, for example, roamed the streets of Almaty, which, back then, was still Kazakhstan’s commercial and political capital. Now, Almaty’s streets get clogged at rush hour and some say the smog there is worse than in LA. This photo essay documents how cities in Central Asia and the Caucasus have changed over the past two decades.