Despite the common historical and cultural heritage of Tajiks and Iranians, Tajiks love Russia more than Iran. IRNA reports that according to the recent poll conducted and published by Weekly View, shows that ‘33 percent of those questioned consider Iran as one of Tajikistan’s main strategic partners.’

The English of IRNA is a bit difficult to understand but if we look at the numbers it shows that first among the favorite countries for Tajiks goes Russia and second Iran.  

The poll, published by Weekly View, shows 37.3 percent of those polled view Russia as Tajikistan’s strategic partner.

The poll also shows that 11.5 percent of the people viewed the US, 9.7 percent China, 6.2 percent the European Union and 2.3 percent the Commonwealth of Independent States as Tajikistan’s strategic partner.

High-school and university students are getting more and more ‘excited’ about the upcoming examination period. Exams and tests usually start at end of May or early June. For some people it is going to be a period of sleepless nights but for others just a period of “money-spending”.

Today it is not a big secret that the salary our teachers and professors receive is not enough for living. One should be a complete altruist to be satisfied with this amount of money. Obviously, it is one of the root causes of the corruption at educational institutions. But does this justify the fact that teachers and professors claim money for grades?

I asked my friend about his exams yesterday and was quite surprised when he calmly told me that it would cost him around 150-200 US dollars to get to the next course. It seems like our teaching staff and students have some kind of mutual understanding. Most of the students do not mind paying considerable amount of money to take their exams and pass this “sleepless period” having a good sleep every night.

Actually, it is a bit scary since soon people may start considering bribery as something normal – a way out - if you do not want to break your brains. I find this unacceptable. It was ridiculous when the anticorruption agency arrested a poor teacher from a remote district for a bribery demonstrating their competence a while ago. It is clear that by punishing those teachers who were not cautious enough, our government will not solve the problem. Their activity leaves an impression that corruption is fought only at hospitals or schools while corrupted officials stay untouched.

I understand that by making such loud statements about fighting corruption our government simply wants to improve its image on the international arena. That is exactly why we take one of the leading positions on the list of the most corrupted countries. Corruption in Tajikistan is a “system” problem as many specialists say and it should be addressed systematically. One thing is clear - bribery goes far beyond our schools and universities and is never justified.

The solution of energy crisis in Tajikistan can not be handled without negative influence on the impoverished population. Recently the head of Barki Tojik (electricity monopolist) announced that there was made a proposal to the government to double the price for electricity. According to him this will make the hydropower sector more attractive for investors.

He said that currently, 1 kWh of electricity costs 3.2 dirams [about one cent] in Tajikistan.

“Such a low price for electricity does not attract investors. We had to appeal to the government, and if it helps us, the people will pay for 1 kWh of electricity twice more, i.e. 6.4 dirams,” Samiyev noted.

Yesterday AsiaPlus reported (rus) that the price for electricity was increased to 4.8 dirams/kWh. This is a price for the population. The price for enterprises is a bit higher. This information was released by the Ministry of Economy.

Early a deputy Minister of Economy announced that by 2010 the price for electricity will constitute 2,5 cents for one kWh

“This price will make more sustainable the country’s energy system and will make it more attractive for investor”, said the deputy minister.

AsiaPlus makes a good notice that as of today the minimum wage in Tajikistan constitutes 20 somoni which equals about 6 (six) USD.

sent by Khorsheed Bakhshayesh
Dushanbe 

Mayor of the Tajik capital has appealed to heads and workers of all ‘managing subjects of the capital’ – irrespective of the patterns of ownership and departmental subordination – to transfer 50% of their monthly salaries in coming May and June to the Raghun Dam construction account. The appeal follows President Rahmon’s recent address to the nation where he explained the current state of affairs in the dam by giving contradictive figures about the annual amount deducted from the state budget to resume construction operations. The first phase of the construction needs approximately $600m, he stated. It sounds like a mission impossible for a country with an estimated $700m annual budget. 

In a statement issued on Monday, the Dushanbe municipal government points out that, if the appeal is heeded, ‘economically active part of the city-dwellers can donate $10m by July 15 to facilitate completion of the Raghun hydroelectric power station’. The statement emphasizes Raghun’s crucial importance in Tajikistan’s energy independence, and Dushanbe inhabitants are encouraged to take part in achieving the goal. 

Members of both upper and lower chambers of the Tajik parliament have already set an example by deciding to donate their one month’s wages to the Raghun account, said Mahmadsaid Ubaidullaev, Mayor of Dushanbe and the head of the upper chamber. It is not clear yet whether other Dushanbe citizens will follow suit voluntarily or their share will be deducted automatically. 

Tajikistan is still known as the poorest country of the post-Soviet Central Asia with $1,600 of GDP-per capita as of  2007. The average monthly income of its inhabitants does not exceed $35. These facts put in doubt people’s willingness to contribute to the dam construction.  

However, it is not the government’s first charitable appeal to the nation. During 1990s many ordinary citizens of Tajikistan contributed to the Sangtuda-1 dam construction, but the figures of their contribution have not been revealed. 75 % of the construction is funded by the Russian RAO-UES. 

It is quite presumable that other municipalities would follow the pattern and issue similar appeals in their own domains. According to some observers, Dushanbe has made such an appeal with a perfect understanding that the past winter crisis is still fresh in minds and it could trigger people’s active participation in constructing the dam. Nevertheless, with 60 percent of the nation below the poverty line government’s optimism could face the lack of enthusiasm among masses, unless artificial enthusiasm is created by government at all levels like in Soviet times.  

Yesterday I saw off one more friend of mine who left for the United States of America. Many young people today in Tajikistan seek opportunities to leave our country with a hope to get better education and/or earn money. A year ago I heard American consul in Tajikistan said that in one day at least 10 people are interviewed for obtaining visas at the US embassy, and at least 5 of them get the right to enter the territory of the United States. Most of them apply for student visas.

How many bright and talented young people have already left our country? How many are planning to? It is a serious question to consider. Such policy of open doors may be run on purpose just to weaken our country so that it gets more and more dependent on foreign aid and intervention. If the US government keeps letting in so many students every year, Tajikistan in about 3 years will lose those that could somehow make a difference in here.

Is it so bad in Tajikistan that students prefer to work illegally (most of them do babysitting or wash dishes at second-quality restaurants or cafes) to make their living in the USA? In the end, American dream remains a dream for most of them so it may serve as a good life lesson for them.

On the other hand according to the statistics a good half of the students eventually return home. Of course the brightest students find the way out and stay in the States. The reverse of the medal is that those who come back will have more chances to find decent jobs in Tajikistan or run their own business. Unambiguously, it is high time for our government to start thinking of better mechanisms of motivating young people to stay in their homeland.

The British Ambassador to Tajikistan Graeme Loten has criticized the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) for their apathy towards the population’s hardship during the past winter. The IRPT did not follow the pattern set by other opposition parties to taunt Rahmon’s administration for power shortage that caused newborn deaths and winter havoc in the country. 

The British Ambassador spoke on the 35^th anniversary of the only legal Islamic party of Central Asia in Dushanbe. He said, he did not believe that criticizing the government for its shortcomings contradicts patriotism. On the contrary, he added, raising your voice in such a condition and suggesting a way out of crisis is exactly what ‘patriotism’ is supposed to mean.  

However, Muhyiddin Kabiri, the leader of the IRPT, is convinced that the government’s feebleness was obvious during the crisis and the party had not seen it appropriate to criticize authorities as the country could have ended up enduring a bigger loss. The party was not willing to destabilize the country, hence refrained itself from lashing authorities, Kabiri added. The IRPT leader thinks that time has changed and from now on problems of the society will be cited and the factors of the problems will be pointed out. 

Kabiri’s rapid shift in stance might have been prompted by an unprecedented criticism for passiveness by a foreign ambassador. Graeme Loten had not been known for his frankness in discussing Tajikistan’s internal problems. Actually, Tajikistan had never seen an ambassador brave enough to question the government’s attitude. But British diplomacy with a precedent of having an blunt rebellious ambassador like Craig Murray in Uzbekistan proved to be different in Tajikistan too. The British Embassy in Dusanbe took over the role of the local presidency of the European Union in Tajikistan on July 1, 2007, and in November 2007 Tajik legislation was criticized by Graeme Loten as the local chair of the EU. He said:

“Tangled legislation must be simplified, information on investments must be more transparent and, most importantly, corruption must be fought at all levels.”

In another attempt to emphasize the authorities’ association with corruption, Loten travelled to Kulab district to deliver the British aid to local people personally bypassing the governmental conduit; an act undertaken by fewer heads of diplomatic missions. 

Loten’s criticism of the Islamic Renaissance Party was indirectly addressed to the government. By admonishing the party, the Ambassador was actually emphasizing the government’s deficiency in tackling the most basic problems of the population. Tajik government unaccustomed to diplomatic straightforwardness might find his “intrusiveness” quite upsetting. However, Britain as a main donor of Tajikistan will never come out as a loser of any potential diplomatic dispute with Dushanbe.

Tajik media have been publishing more articles on regionalism lately. Unsurprisingly, most of them defend the unwritten ideology of the present political neopatrimonial establishment and some of them support it explicitly, like Safvat Burhanov’s article published in the latest issue of Ozodagon (Dushanbe), who calls for further preserving regionalist affiliations. According to him, regionalism saves nations from dissolution. The writer has failed to base his arguments on a convincing logic, thereby strengthening well-based theses on regionalism’s devastating effects upon a nation’s consolidation.

The following is the latest part of my research on regionalism in Tajikistan called Regionalism Vs Nationalism. The full version of the paper could be found in tajikistanweb.com.

Five years of modern Tajik history (1992-1997) have been stained with blood. The society reached the boiling point with the Union’s break-up and the collapse of the intertwined economic system where Tajikistan stood at the lowest level of significance. But some observers believe that it was Tajik regionalism in all its forms that caused the war. (more…)

Usually when I talk about Tajikistan blogs at neweurasia I prefer naming/categorizing them as Tajik-Tajik blog, which means a blog about Tajikistan in Tajik language, or Tajik-English blog (this one), or Tajik-Russian. The same way of categorizing can be applied to all media outlets in Tajikistan. At first glance you can not notice a difference between the Tajik-Russian or Tajik-Tajik media - except the language. But if you come closer you can notice a very important detail: the Tajik-Russian media can be more critical towards the government than the Tajik-Tajik media.

Recently a popular radio station Imruz (Today) - which broadcasted in Tajik - was shut down. No one knows the real reason for that but experts claim that it stopped working because of its critical content. RFE/RL has a good piece on that.

Unlike many other local radio stations, Imruz did not avoid criticizing the country’s political scene. All politicians, including opposition leaders and critics of the government, have had access to the station. One of its recent guests was Rahmatullo Zoirov, the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party and an outspoken critic of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

This is not unusual that critical media outlets fall under pressure, but it showed us that the Tajik-Tajik media outlets are more vulnerable because they could be more influential. Despite the fact that Tajiks have been under the influence of Russian language for many decades, people get to know this language less and less, especially in the regions.

In the interview for RFE/RL an independent journalist Rajabi Mirzo makes clear the importance of Tajik-Tajik media.

Tajik-language media have much more influence and impact in Tajikistan and therefore they could become more dangerous [for the government],” Mirzo says. “Radio Imruz was the first local FM station to broadcast its programs entirely in the Tajik language. It focused on subjects that so far have only been covered by Russian-language radios. So it wasn’t acceptable for many people [in the government].”

If you are a wealthy person living in Tajikistan, it means that either (1) you’re a governmental official, or (2) you’re a former governmental official, or (3) you’re a businessman who avoids paying taxes, or (4) you’re an entertainment star, or finally (5) you’re a drug-smuggler. If you’re not a governmental official and you are wealthy, it means you have krisha (patron – governmental official, literally means “roof”). That is how I understood the recent survey conducted by Avesta (rus).

RFE/RL summarizes the results of this survey in English.

According to Avesta, rich people in Tajikistan do not officially disclose their assets in order to avoid paying taxes. This makes it impossible to know exactly how big their financial fortunes are. So Tajikistan’s list of the 100 richest people is alphabetical order.

The problem with taxes is obvious as it is obvious that if you start your own business, it will be yours till it becomes successful. Once your business is successful you have to share it with someone or give it away for the minor price. It has already become a tradition in our country.

Avesta news agency wrote in introducing the list that its list of wealthy Tajiks is based on the quantity and prices of the people’s houses, cars, businesses and other assets, as well as the frequency with which they appear in expensive restaurants. Avesta said the list does not include wealthy Tajiks living abroad or those who made their fortunes in drug-related activities.

So, if you’re a true taxpayer and a law-abiding person you’ll always live in misery in this country. And if it is so, then why would people live in such a country? It is better for them to go to Russia or any other country, work on construction sites, get paid and live their lives. Even if it is not they way to become wealthy at least they and their families will live in affluence.

Here is an interesting article by IWPR about the cross-border problems that occur in Fergana valley - the region divided between three states (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). Tajikistan always had relatively good relations with its neighbor Kyrgyzstan but seems like it is not going to last any longer. There is a problem which is very difficult to solve. The water problem.

After the long and harsh winter came a very warm spring and people in the densely populated Fergana valley started cultivating the ground. Here appeared the problem.

The incident began on the evening of March 26 on the border of Kyrgyzstan’s southern Batken district and Isfara in Tajikistan. About 150 Tajiks, accompanied by their district government chief and police officers crossed what, according to Kyrgyzstan at least, is the border.

Equipped with a digger, they proceeded to try to destroy a dam that was blocking an irrigation canal that feeds the land around the Tajik village of Hoja Alo as well as areas on the Kyrgyz side.

You all know the problem with these borders in the Fergana valley. There is only one definition for it – mess. I think it will be a long lasting problem that will not let the neighboring Central Asia countries have good relations. Therefore they will never be able to integrate into a Union, similar to European one, which is vital for all the countries in this area. And it means that this region will always be an unstable region.