Abstract. The main idea of this article is to identify the strategic interests of Russia and the United States and their feasibility taking into account the operational institutions and historical experience of development in the Central Asia.  Using in this analysis the concept of strategic interest the author comes to the following conclusions. Firstly, realization of the long-term interests is prevented by the will to obtain short-term benefits. Secondly, a discrepancy between the strategic interest and the “national interest” should be underlined since the latter has a too broad meaning and is often perceived only in the context of the public interest.