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 […]

Zerafshan valley is one of the most picturesque places in Tajikistan. And one of the most isolated too. Centuries ago, the valley was the centre of Sogdiana (Sughdiyon), a wealthy and developed state on the Great Silk Road. During the Soviet rule, the valley was divided in two: Samarkand went to Uzbekistan, while Penjikent […]

If one were to put all of the countries in the world in order by obscurity (at least to the West), Tajikistan would probably rank among the most obscure. As a small, land-locked nation in the middle of Central Asia, it gains far less media attention than its neighbors, who are themselves not […]