Personality cult in Tajikistan
The issue of personality cult has never been discussed in Tajikistan that much as it is discussed today. Recently there appeared several articles in the Internet which have become part of this discussion. In previous years Rahmonov publicly said that he is against the personality cult and gave orders to remove all his portraits from the public places and make less emphasis on his personality. However the situation is changing before the forthcoming elections and Ramonov does not seem to be that much against it as he was several years ago.
I heard from several of my friends that Rahmonov is now everywhere thanks to television, radio and newspapers. It seems like nothing else is happening in the country and nothing else is important but him. He must be seen and heard everywhere. Local population has no other chance but watch and listen to the endless speeches of Rahmonov. Nargis Zokirova is reporting on IWPR website that ‘Tajiks are particularly annoyed because programmes suddenly switch to the presidential specials without any prior announcement’.
Wherever President Rahmonov goes, state television and private TV channels have to broadcast all his speeches - whether they are about international relations or potatoes. Then they repeat them…
In early August, there was wall-to-wall coverage of a conference on potatoes which the president happened to be attending. News bulletins carried regular updates over the two days the meeting lasted, and the airwaves were cleared for a special programme on his remarks…
Recently there were also published several books devoted to the activity of the president Emomali Rahmonov since 1992. These books are supposed to be one of the main source for those who want to know the history of independent Tajikistan. The Novie Izvestiya published an article about these books and it provides some excerpts from them which show how the authors of these books glorify the leader of the country. They project the positive image of the president and make him as an infallible ruler.
The books on Rakhmonov are full of hosannah to the president who is extolled as a messiah by the authors and condemned as the Tajikbashi by the opposition. “Teacher of teachers, savior of the nation, the best popular politician, another Ismoili Somoni [first Tajik leader]
There is another article where the author Umedi Sardor on Ferghana.ru says that people who are surrounding the president and those who occupy high governmental positions have some kind of competition in glorification of the president. The governor of Sogd region K. Kasimov went further than others in flattery. Here are some excerpts from his report which was devoted to 2700 years of Kulyab. This report was published in the local newspaper “Leninabadskaya Pravda”. I made some translation because there was no translation on Ferghana.ru
“The knowledge is connecting us with the civilized world. This idea is seen in the learned works of His Excellency E. Rahmonov. The appeals of the head of state, especially the report of dearest E. Rahmonov is an unforgettable lesson of peace and knowledge, which was conducted on 1st of September this year in the Tajik Agrarian University. It was full of ideas and care about the future of the Motherland and further development of the nation. Each Tajik scholar and poet beginning from Rudaki and Avicenna to Sadriddin Aini and Bobojon Gafurov were the favorite teachers of our people. I was carefully watching and listening to the thoughtful and intimate speech of His Excellency E. Rahmonov on Central television and became proud of our Head of state because he also stands on the same line with our great philosophers.”
The most scaring thing about all these examples is that this flattery is done on the state level and the president is getting used to it. I think soon there will be more and more glorification of the “savior of nation” after he is elected for the next term. The modern methods of elevating the president to the heavens has been inherited from Soviet Union which in its turn has deep roots in the history of Central Asian region. Seems like it is part of our culture to make our leaders as infallible sages. I remember, when I was a small boy I joked about the bold head of Gorbochev, my grandmother became angry said that I could not say like that because the Padishah (king) is the shadow of God on earth (!). I think that people in the rural areas of Tajikistan think the same about Rahmonov.
on September 22nd, 2006 at 8:55 am
Oh, some people certainly do believe he is a padishah! Still, some only pretend to believe. Anyway, if you watch local TV and read the papers, you should have noticed that one mention president Rahmonov without adding “janobi oli” (”your excellency”) to his name. People familiar with the Tajik language traditions know that Tajik-speaking people have used the “janobi oli” title only to address monarchs. In the contemporary Tajik language, there is no imperative to use special linguistic forms when mentioning a person, with an exception of religious prophets. So, the very wording of our political and media community have significantly contributed to Rahmonov’s cult of personality.
This story about 7 new books by Abdufattoh Sharipov, President’s press secretary, released ahead of the national holidays, has really made me laugh. The question I would ask Mr. press secretary is what else he is doing except for writing books about “janobi oli”? Is book-writing an integral part of his job and actually what he is paid for? If yes, I have an objection! I pay taxes and I do not want my tax money to be spent on paying for Mr. Abdufattoh Sharipov’s writing talent.
Anyway, I think the next book by this author will be titled something like “Janobi Oli Emomali Rahmonov and His Contribution to Struggle Against the Cult of Personality Throughout the World”.
Alexander Sadikov
on September 22nd, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Yes, there is a certain degree of personaly cult and it’s gaining momemtum. Sad thing is very little will be done about it.
on September 25th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
There also seems to be a great deal of admiration for who Rahmonov as someone came from nowhere and has skillfully seen-off domestic and international foes to secure his position - much like the myth of “Karimov the outsider”.
on September 26th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
It seems that resemblances to other Central Asian presidents with personality cults may become more common currency from now on, as this extract from a Kommersant article shows:
Впрочем, увеличивающееся сходство с туркменским коллегой, похоже, ничуть не смущает Эмомали Рахмонова. На днях он издал указ, запрещающий всем государственным служащим иметь золотые зубы. Такую реакцию господина Рахмонова вызвала учительница, которую глава государства заметил во время посещения одной из школ. “Учителя жалуются на маленькие зарплаты, а зубы – золотые,– негодовал президент.– Как представители международных организаций могут поверить в вашу бедность, если рот учителя полон золота? Не наша это культура и не наша традиция”
(http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-y.html?docId=707332&issueId=30209)
In brief, for non-Russian speakers, it seems that Rakhmonov has issued an edict banning state workers from wearing golden teeth. This is more than reminiscent of a similar law passed by the Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov some years ago.
on September 26th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I’ve put a post about the artilce that Peters is talking about. See here http://tajikistan.neweurasia.net/?p=101
on September 28th, 2006 at 12:02 am
This person uses swear words, so I\’ve deleted his comment
on September 28th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
It was surprising to see Rahmonov’s portraits everywhere in Tajikistan - you don’t hear much about his personality cult comparing to other CA leaders. Not anymore, apparently, now it’s a competition, and analogies come up as soon as you read the headlines.
On the Independence day Tajik TV was showing Rahmonov meeting Presidents of other countries, Saudi princes, and so on (what an achievement to meet Ahmadenijad or Karzai, really). The story about 8 books stroke me too (there was 1 written only about the year 2004 in Rahmonov’s life). Other stories we’ve seen is the type of “Rahmonov being close to people” - he married hundreds of couples in Dushanbe, gave them home appliances and $100 each, and told about his own wedding, when he was late from “kolhoz”.
One newspaper in Kazakhstan published Nazarbaev’s portrait 27 times in one issue before his 2005 elections. I’m sure we will see much more of Rahmonov’s admirers before the elections, too.