Global Voices » Tajikistan

Tajikistan: Where Size Matters

Chris Rickleton — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:45:03 +0000

Like any ancient Roman politician worth his salt, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon knows the political capital to be made out of large, ostentatious public works projects. Yet unlike the Caesars, Sullas, Pompeys and Catos of the Eternal City, he is loath to pay for them out of his own pocket.

A case in point is the National Library of Tajikistan, hailed as the largest of its kind in Central Asia. The building, whose essential statistics are 52 x 167 metres, amassed over $40 million from the beleagured state budget. Moreover, the Tajik government has asked ordinary citizens of the country to fill up its shelves with any unwanted literature, and, according to a news report by Kloop.tj, requisitioned books from university students under duress.

National Library of Tajikistan. Image from kloop.tj via rfe/rl.

Tajikistan’s external debt stands at $2 billion. The country’s Gross National Product per capita is currently around $2,000, making it one of the poorest countries in the world, and one of the least able to afford such lavish displays of architectural excess.

But this doesn’t appear to concern Rahmon, the post-Soviet republic’s twenty-year head of state. He is infected, some say, by Dubaism, by the desire to build things that are the biggest, tallest, widest, longest (and any other superlative related to size) in the region, world, multiverse and so on. But unlike in the capitals of the United Arab Emirates, there is no oil money to pay for these schemes.

His flagship flagpole project

In an interview in a Voice Of America video posted on YouTube about the President’s 2011 pet project, the tallest flagpole in the world, which at over 165 metres high took $3.5 million from the state budget, Tajik opposition politician, Muhiddin Kabiri, said:

You know what they say. People who are short wear high heels to compensate for their lack of height. If we can’t get people to pay attention to our economy, tourism, high-tech industry, democracy or human rights, then we can get our own citizens and guests to pay attention to projects such as the world’s tallest flagpole.

On his Facebook page, renowned Tajik blogger Zafar Abdullayev brainstormed [ru] an ironic excursion to the largest library in Central Asia, not far from the tallest flagpole in the world:

Tomorrow I am going with my friends to the National Library. I am bringing some of my books. Whoever wants, come with us! 10.00 behind the statue of Ismoili Somoni. Books help you see a completely different life!

But Konstantin Bodarenko [ru] didn’t like the idea of giving away his books:

But I don't want to give away my books - who will need them there?

Abdullaev vowed [ru] that his library tour group would be:

visible from all sides of the town, just don’t confuse us with the flagpole.

To which Rustam Rahmatov replied [ru]:

Just in case..I’ll hoist the flagpole up in my hands and Zafar will be on top of the flagpole!

Abdurahmon Rahmonov had [taj] a positive view of the exercise:

Great Zafar, you are working for the sake of the next generation! If they don`t read today they won`t have a better future. Hopefully (inshallah) there will be more people who read books /readers.

Wobbly regimes don't like independent media

But even joking about the government's ‘Dubaism' is becoming harder in Tajikistan's current political climate. As discontent inside the country continues to grow, Dushanbe has intermittently blocked Facebook, causing users to enter the site via proxies until the block was lifted with help from the OSCE earlier last month.

The Rahmon regime's concern over the social network lies in the fact that Tajiks often use the space as a forum to discuss pressing social issues and political problems. Pages on the site such as ‘Tajikistan Revolution 2012′, although little-visited, are unlikely to lead to a softer stance towards citizen media in the long-term.

The block was part of a broader crackdown on the freedom to publish that began in early March this year. Zvezda.ru, where an article appeared predicting the downfall of the Rahmon regime, and CentralAsia.ru, was also banned, whilst ferghana.ru has long been blocked in the country.

Beyond their suppression of the written word, the Tajik authorities have launched a systematic campaign against religious freeedoms in the predominantly Muslim country. A March 20, United States government report placed the country inside the top sixteen worst abusers of religious freedom in the world, indicating another record the state's ruling family may be trying to break.

Bullish in a recent interview with Euronews, Rahmon said that there could be “no shortcut to democracy” in his country. Speaking of Russia's recent parliamentary and presidential elections, he added:

[Creating] a European or American style democracy in Russia or other former Soviet Republics in just a day or so - this is impossible - it's just a dream.

At one stage, so was building the world's tallest flagpole:

'The highest unsupported flagpole in the world, in Dushanbe'. Image by Radioi Ozodi (RFE/RL).

Author's note: Citizen journalist Tohir Pallaev contributed translations to this article.

Tajikistan: Energy Loss Reduction project continued

Adil Nurmakov — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:12:45 +0000

Avicenna writes about the Energy Loss Reduction Project in Tajikistan, which has just received additional financing of $18 million from the World Bank Board.

Tajikistan: Culture and history conservation via a book

Adil Nurmakov — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:10:19 +0000

Tomyris reports that the “Book of The Historical Monuments of Tajikistan” was presented in Dushanbe, the capital of the Central Asian nation, by Tajik government and the diplomatic mission of the United States to Tajikistan.

Tajikistan: Tajik Voices Muted in Putin Video Debate

Chris Rickleton — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:10:24 +0000

A song apparently dedicated [ru] to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has surpassed 1,000,000 hits on YouTube, becoming one of several politicized clips to gain ‘viral' status on the RuNet ahead of the country's presidential vote in March.

That the voice of “V.V.P” (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Putin's full name and the title of the song) is from Tajikistan, has already been established. So has the singer's name: Tolibzhon Kurbankhanov. Other than this, a lack of information about the hit and its origins has powered online conspiracy theories and anti-migration tirades, discourses in which Tajik opinions have taken a back seat.

VVP – he saved the country/VVP – he protects us / VVP – raised up Russia/ And development just keeps on going,” croons [ru] Kurbankhanov in the song's catchy refrain, his Russian touched by faint Farsi flourishes.

Over at the Eurasianet blog Inside the Coccoon, Katya Kumkova notes the song “extols the virtues of Russia’s former, and, likely, future president, as no other before it.”

Yet a number of Russian commenters questioned whether the video could have come from Putin's PR department, reservations that seem to have more to do with Kurbankhanov's ethnicity than the Kremlin's ability to talk itself up.

A special relationship

While it is no secret that nationalism is on the rise in Russia - a tendency Central Asian migrants have generally born the brunt of - there seems to be a special disdain for guest workers from Tajikistan. Despite the fact that Uzbek labour migrants outnumber [ru] their Tajik counterparts two to one in most Russian cities, it was a pair of fictional Tajik handymen, Ravshan and Jumshud, who were the subjects [ru] of repeated and brutal mockery on Nasha Russia, a popular comedy sketch show on T.V.*

With their status as “the other” endorsed by a frequently racist mainstream media, a Tajik national would indeed seem a strange choice to be the hero of a pro-Putin pop campaign. Hence the theory then, that the video is actually an ultra-nationalist attempt to discredit the Russian premier, as anti-immigrant voters lose faith in the V.V.P political brand (despite Putin's best efforts to appease [ru] them) in the runup to the March 4 ballot.

Certainly, the part of the electorate that may be tempted to vote for a different Vladimir on Russia's day of destiny bared their teeth in the comments section underneath the “VVP” clip:

What a great country we have. The ‘elite' has its money in the west, its children in the west, palaces and football clubs…and we have guest workers and Tolibzhon Kurbankhanov,” vented [ru] Prohor1990

Bashing Putin via Kurbankhanov was a common theme:

In the best traditions of Central Asian despotism. The best proof that under V.V.P we are closer to becoming a Bukharan khanate than a European democracy,” said walery1963, [ru] a comment that earned 28 ‘likes'.

Another popular comment suggested Kurbankhanov had performed the song in exchange for his working papers:

What wouldn't you think up in order to get yourself registered?” asked [ru] OttoZiverT.

A presumed Tajik responded to these racist diatribes with a rueful account of his time in Russia as a migrant:

I came to Russia, with love and hope, but as time passed I developed a hatred and contempt for Russians, since the HATE subsided, only contempt remains,” bejsimpatico [ru] posted.

Bejisimpatico was then told [ru] to put things in perspective by Contessa111:

Don't take it all so personally. Unfortunately it is just the law of group think. In California for instance, everyone hates on the Mexicans, who come to earn money. In Germany they hate on the Turkish guest workers…people are always glad to have someone to look down on from high,” the commenter [ru] advised.

Meanwhile, in Tajikistan…

In the discussion space under the “V.V.P” Youtube posting, comments in Tajik were conspicuous in their absence, migrants from the country being the subject of conversation rather than active participants. In their turn, news agencies and blogging platforms with the .tj domain code seemed bemused by the attention the video had attracted.

A report by Kloop.tj, who publish both in Russian and the country's official language, Tajik, moved to discount allegations by Russian media outlets that Tolibzhon was a “sufficiently well-known pop star in Tajikistan”. As an interview with the Chief of Staff at the Tajik Ministry of Culture revealed:

The name Tolibdzhon Kurbankhanov says nothing to me. Previously, we have not heard of him. This singer is not known to anybody, and he has not participated in Dushanbe in events and concerts. I think he’s an imposter,” said Abdughaffor Abduzhaborov.

An anonymous post on seb.tj, assessed the main message of the “V.V.P” Youtube commenters as “take Putin back to Tajikistan with you.” Beneath this subtitle, it chronicled a host of unflattering comments made about Tajiks by Russian visitors to the “V.V.P” clip.

On a blog “2shanbe.tj” (a play on words; “Dushanbe” is the capital of Tajikistan), a dispatch by the admin similarly listed a store of derogatory comments by Russian Youtube users under the following introduction:

The quality of [Kurbankhanov's] singing, rhyming and the music clip as a whole are, to put it mildly, poor. The majority of users that have viewed this clip showed nothing but irony and sarcasm towards the Tajik people.”

Yet these two posts generated little in the way of discussion, and popular Tajik blogs passed the “V.V.P” clip over, suggesting a general ambivalence among Tajikistan-based web users towards trending nationalist memes - all the more predictable around election time - on the Runet.

* It should be noted that the Nasha Russia sketches involving Ravshan and Jumshud are as much a parody of racism in Russian society and sterotyping of Central Asians as they are a parody of Tajik migrant workers themselves. Nevertheless, the depiction has proved a penetrating one, and has added an extra thorn in prickly diplmatic relations between the two nations. Also, although only 6.7% of Russia's migrants are Tajik, other non-Tajik Central Asian migrants are prone to being referenced as “Tajiks” by passers-by in Moscow. This was the experience of Aida Kasymalieva, who has a brilliant piece up on RFE/RL titled “First Person: Life In Russia As A Non-Russian Child.”

N.B Despite having attained overnight stardom, Tolibzhon Kurbankhanov's genuine views on Putin and the political situation in Russia, ditto his permanent place of residence, remain unknown. In an interview uploaded by the same user who posted the original clip, Kurbankhanov is seen sports bag in hand, thanking his fans, apologizing for not being able to reply to all their fan mail and hinting at a follow up to “V.V.P”. All the while, Dushanbe international airport, Tajikistan, looms large in the background….

Russia and Tajikistan: Pilots Sentenced and Migrants Deported

Daniel Alan Kennedy — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:14:08 +0000

This story began in March 2011, when the crews of two Antonov An-72 planes owned by the airliner Rolkan Investmens [sic] Ltd were arrested in Qurghonteppa, Tajikistan. The planes had arrived from Kabul, Afghanistan. Both planes and their crews were inspected without incident by the customs and border services of Tajikistan. However, later all eight members of the crews were detained by representatives of the republic's Committee on National Security and placed under arrest.

One month later, the captains of the aircraft were indicted and the remaining members of the crews were released. The trial of the pilots began in mid-October, 2011.

Sentencing the Russian pilots

On November 8, 2011, both pilots, Vladimir Sadovnichy (a Russian) and Aleksei Rudenko (a citizen of Estonia) were found guilty of smuggling contraband airplane parts, violating the norms of international air travel, and illegally crossing the border. The court sentenced them each to 10.5 years in a maximum security facility. The sentence was reduced to 8.5 years for each pilot on the basis of a law on amnesties for those convicted. Both Antonov An-72s and a jet engine were confiscated for government use.

According to [ru] a representative of Rolkan Invesmens Ltd, Viktor Pfefer, “a half disassembled engine, which was located amongst the pilots' belongings and was declared [by Tajikistan] to be contraband, could be considered such if it was unloaded on the territory of Tajikistan, but it was not”.

Tajiks: Russia's new enemies?

The reaction from Russia's side was immediately forthcoming. After the Ministry of Internal Affairs failed to solve the problem through unofficial channels, the authorities decided to change tactics. As the website of [the pro-Kremlin Youth Group] “Molodaya Gvardiya” reports [ru], on November 12, activists from the group picketed the embassy and consulate of Tajikstan in Moscow.

Picketing by the movement "Molodaya Gvardiya" at the embassy of Tajikistan in Moscow. The sign reads "Don't bite the hand that feeds you". Photo taken from the movement's website.

Moreover, two days after the guilty verdict, representatives of the Federal Migration Service announced [ru] the arrests of 300 illegal Tajiks whom they planned to deport. However President Dmitri Medvedev refuted claims that a “revenge campaign” was being carried out, stating [ru] that “citizens who break the law must be deported from the country”. Many raised the question of why this hadn't been done earlier. After all, it's not as if illegal immigrants only became a problem yesterday.

Whats more, the Russian authorities justified the deportation of the Tajiks by declaring [ru] the common incidence of Tuberculosis and HIV in migrants from Tajikistan. In total 300 Tajiks were detained in Moscow over the course of three days. The Internet community discussed the massive campaign against immigrants from Tajikistan. Internet users let touches of xenophobia slip in their commentary, such as proposals to introduce a visa regime with Tajikistan, or to indiscriminately deport all Tajiks. All the same, there was criticism [ru] directed at Russia.

наблюдатель

Какая “молодчина” Россия - выгораживает своих. Но, когда так же поступили в Узбекистане в Корепановым, в США с Бутом - душонки не хватило их защищать? […] Стало очевидно: Москва боится сильных стран, и предпочитает не замечать проблему.

Rahmon

Россия ведет себя как истеричная женщина. То все ок, то все из рук вон плохо. Эти горе пилоты сидели шесть месяцев, никого это не волновало, и вдруг такая шумиха.

Nablyudatel'

Good on you Russia, for looking after your own. But when the same thing happened in Uzbekistan with [Yuri] Korepanov or in the US with [Viktor] Bout did you lack the spirit to defend them?[…] It's become obvious: Moscow fears powerful countries and prefers not to draw attention to the problem.

Rahmon

Russia is behaving like a hysterical woman. One second everything is fine and the next everything is hellishly bad. These poor pilots were in prison for six months and no one carred, but now suddenly there's all this commotion

Some bloggers say Russia is using the same problem-solving methods it once used with Georgia or with Ukraine during the Yushchenko period: firstly the indignity of “the blatant disregard for international norms” and then the undertaking of “disproportionate” measures.

There is a connection to be found in these events with the upcoming elections. The editor of Ferghana, Daniil Kislov commented on the action of the action on his personal blog on radio station Ekho Moskvy's site [ru]:

Еще отвратительнее то, что отчеты о массовой депортации подозрительно смахивают на заигрывание с ксенофобски настроенной публикой в рамках начавшейся предвыборной кампании.

What's even more disgusting is that the reports of mass deportations are suspiciously mixed up with attempts to woo the xenophobically inclined public as part of the pre-election campaign.

Inter-user Dilshod went even further in his observations and wrote that he wouldn't be surprised if “Rahmonid [President of Tajikistan Emomalii Rahmon] turned out to be the co-director of this farce, entitled “Saving Private Sadovnichy”.

Economic analyst Boris Grozovsky doesn't agree that the deportations of Tajiks are somehow connected with the pre-election campaign, but reckons [ru] that the Russian authorities have used one of the most amoral means of responding to Tajikistan's actions, despite the existence in world politics of “a wide arsenal of responding to stupid actions undertaken by another state”.

Hidden motives

There are at least two other supposed reasons for the scandal around the pilots and the deportation of the Tajiks. According to the first version, proposed by the analyst Innokent Adyasov, by sentencing the pilots Tajikistan is attempting to “make Russia reconsider its position on the construction of the Rogun Dam, a pet project of Emomalii Rahmon”.

According to the second version, published in Izvestiya [ru], “the pilots became the hostages of ‘international raiders' and shady deals, which the owners of the airline used for tax evasion”.

As things stand, the real reasons behind the scandal can only be guessed at by most of society. However, the uproar around the “pilots' affair” has played into the hands of these same pilots: on November 16, a press release [ru] was issued in which the procurator of Tajikistan's Khatlon Province criticised the sentence handed down to the pilots, calling it disproportionately severe. And once again there appeared signs of interference from forces within: firstly the state prosecutor asked the court to increase the sentence to 13 years and then the procurator adopted the position of his coworker.

It is still not yet clear how this story will end. Never-the-less, one would like to hope that it will not end up impacting on either imprisoned pilots or the disenfranchised Tajik immigrants.

Russia: Nationalist slogans get spread

Ekaterina — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:48:35 +0000

Fergananews writes [ru] on popularity of Russian nationalist slogans against immigrants from Central Asia amidst the looming parliamentary elections: “25 percent of high school students approve of nationalist actions of their classmates.”

Tajikistan: Bloggers compare the two U.S. State Secretaries' visits

Adil Nurmakov — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:15:43 +0000

Tajik civil society and journalists debate the two Secretaries of State’s visits to Tajikistan in 2005 and 2011, neweurasia’s Alpharabius reports.

Tajikistan: The Russian pilot scandal is getting spinned

Adil Nurmakov — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:10:18 +0000

As two Russian pilots have been sentenced in Tajikistan, prompting a huge backlash from Russia’s political class, Alpharabius reviews the situation with little research about the pilots’ mysterious employers.

Global Voices Russian Partners With Neweurasia.net

Ekaterina — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:12:03 +0000

We are pleased to announce partnership of Global Voices in Russian with Neweurasia.net, one of the most prominent citizen media platforms in Central Asia and about Central Asia, which has a large Russian and English speaking audience.

Neweurasia focuses on news and analysis generated by young people from the ground. The site casts light upon under-reported issues and provides a space for young, bright minds to make themselves heard. It was created back in 2005, when several online activists joined forces to develop a platform for blogs with low editing needs and quick, direct publishing.

It is worth mentioning of course, that one of the platform founders was also Global Voices author Ben Paarman. Today, the site has an extensive network of bloggers from five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), who all share amazing stories of lives, achievements and challenges in their countries.

Taking all this into account, the partnership of Global Voices and Neweurasia.net is a logical step, given the activities of the two communities and their similar goals. We are very excited to start our cooperation with one of the most amazing and popular citizen media platforms about Central Asian region.

We started with exchanging our logos. You might have already seen the Neweurasia logo on the Global Voices Russian site and our logo is placed on the Russian version of Neweurasia, which means that Global Voices will be more accessible for a Russian speaking audience. Both sides are open-minded and do not exclude other forms of partnership in the future.

We are grateful to the people who worked hard to make the cooperation possible. So, we owe a big “thank you” to Oliver Dams, project manager and technical manager of Neweurasia.net and one of the founders of the site, and Yelena Jetpyspaeva, social media officer of Neweurasia.net, for being receptive and open to new ideas.

Also, we would like to thank the team of Global Voices in Russian, authors and translators alike, for producing content and making the site interesting for Russian speakers.

Tajikistan: Face-saving sentence for the journalists

Adil Nurmakov — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:56:52 +0000

Journalists Muhammad Yusuf Ismailov and Urunboy Usmonov have been found guilty, but with very commuted sentences following the international pressure on the Tajik authorities, neweurasia’s Alpharabius reports.

Tajikistan: The country in its 20

Adil Nurmakov — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:58:52 +0000

Christian Bleuer is analyzing the newest history of Tajikistan - both its internal politics and its geopolitical stand - as this country marks the 20th anniversary of its independence.

Tajikistan: Rahmon becomes Leader of XXI Century awardee — but who is awarding?

Adil Nurmakov — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:59:16 +0000

Abulfazal informs that Tajikistan president Emamoli Rahmon was awarded with the “Leader of XXI Century” prize for his cultural and political distinctions by the European Council on International Relations, barely known for its activities.

Tajikistan: Minors prohibited from visiting places of religious worship

Adil Nurmakov — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:46:25 +0000

Avicenna says that minors in Tajikistan are prohibited from going to mosques, churches and sinagogues, as the parliament have unanimously approved a bill “On the responsibility of parents for their children’s upbringing and education”.

Tajikistan: The BBC reporter released

Adil Nurmakov — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:06:35 +0000

The Tajikistan authorities have released BBC journalist Urunboy Usmonov from custody. “The international community’s appeal have been heard”, writes Tomyris.

Tajikistan: A BBC journalist arrested

Adil Nurmakov — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:39:40 +0000

Tomyris says that Urinboy Usmonov, longtime local journalist for BBC Central Asian Service, was arrested in Tajikistan for suspicion membership in the Islamic Movement Hizb ut-Tahrir.