Tajikistan
A Tajik singer has summed up his support for Russia’s pro-Putin political culture via music.
Tolinjon Kurbanhanov has mixed music, politics and religion in a melodious melting pot, void of separation and flourishing with his own expression. The singer’s music is openly, politically expressive and far from traditionally, culturally Tajik. Kurbanhanov’s two videos, that though are a few months old – are still, to this day, being viewed by thousands.
Kurbanhanov has made a name for himself by praising Russian political figurehead Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin through song. Singer Kurbanhanov’s first song/video about Putin was released on the eve of the presidential elections in Russia, with aims to encourage folks to – say the least – vote for Putin! The song, titled “GDP”, quickly became an Internet sensation after hitting the Web on February 4th. In less than one month, “GDP” was viewed 1.5 million times. And on May 21st, the video clocked in at 1,310,373 views.
A new book on Tajik culture and history has come to Tajikistan.
On February 14th 2012, the “Kitobi edgorihoi Tojikiston” (“Book of The Historical Monuments of Tajikistan”) was presented in Dushanbe by Tajik Culture Minister Mirzoshohruh Asrori and the head of the diplomatic mission of the United States to Tajikistan, Ambassador Ken Gross.
170 historical monuments, 250 pages, 500 copies, 3 languages; the book is a prime example of what cultural preservation via literature looks like. During the project, professionals from the Ministry of Culture, Academy of Sciences and the State National University came up with over 500 significant sites and monuments throughout all of Tajikistan, and of those, over 150 were chosen for publication.
The publication of this book was made possible by the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation, in Tajikistan.
Read the full story »
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved additional financing of US$ 18 million for the Energy Loss Reduction Project in Tajikistan. The project assists in reducing the commercial losses in the electricity and gas sectors, and lays the foundation for the improvement of the financial viability of the electricity and gas utilities in a socially responsible manner, WOrld Bank’s press-service reports.
The Energy Loss Reduction Project was initially approved in June 2005 and was funded by an International Development Association (IDA) credit and grant of US$ 19 million, and a US$ 8 million grant from the Government of Switzerland’s Secretariat for Economic Cooperation (SECO). The project was restructured in February 2011 to include financing for the assessment studies for the proposed Rogun Hydropower Project. Read the full story »
The snowfall in Tajikistan is legendary, but you’ve really got to experience it to understand why. Thursday was +14 degrees, today it will be
-11; such abrupt changes make it a difficult trip to pack for. I’m sitting in a hotel in Dushanbe looking out of the window at a gentle blizzard, thinking about a trip to the mountains earlier today, stealing a short break, while out on assignment for Oxfam. Below are the photos from that trip. Ah, yes, and one of what I think was a Tajik hair salon named in honor, of glamor personified, Princess Diana, who has obviously been adopted as a national treasure.
Dodojon Atovulloev, according to Wikileaks, is:
“One of the foremost journalists from Tajikistan, Atovulloev has fearlessly sought to get the news out on his native country, where violence and state authoritarianism have been the norm for years.”
Tajik journalist Dodojon Atovulloev – founder and editor of the Tajik opposition monthly Charogi Ruz (“Daily Light”), was stabbed in the Italian restaurant “Viaggio” in Moscow on January 12th. The attack led Atovulloev to be hospitalized at Moscow’s Sklifosovsky Institute, where he underwent surgery.
On January 14th, on their Facebook page, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said:
“Police apprehended a man who was found with blood on his hands within hours of the attack but released him after concluding that he was not connected to the attack. There are no other known suspects at this time, police said.”
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thy own eye?”
Matthew 7:3
Karimov knocks out Rahmon?
Official Uzbek media keep downgrading Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon regime by reprinting online critical articles written by journalists who are, in fact, perfect “Uzbek state enemies.”
Nowadays, apart from finding disadvantages and ‘assisting’ in postponing the construction of the Roghun project in Tajikistan, Uzbek media representatives decided to impose themselves as ready-to-analyze independent online sources on the search for as much information as possible that tells of the Rahmon’s regime’s failures and lies.
One of them, Tashkentskaya Pravda (Tashkent Truth) allowed itself to publish an article from Paruskg.info website, which refers to Wikileaks information, entitled, “Apple Does Not Fall Far From The Tree.”
Shamsullo Gulov, author of the ‘kompromat’ starts with calling Wikileaks a “famous web site” that gives opinions of U.S. State Department employees regarding Rahmon’s family seizing control over main industrial and financial facilities in the counrty. Later on, the author says that the information provided by Wikileaks are “concrete facts.”
Well, first of all, the fact of using Wikileaks as a source of information is something out of reality for Uzbek media since Wikileaks itself, based on American diplomatic cables, called Karimov an “authoritarian leader” and linked his regime with the Uzbek mafia. Read the full story »
After Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed into law a bill “On the responsibility of parents for their children’s upbringing and education” in August, 2011, citizens of the poorest country in Central Asia have mixed feelings — it’s good to make sure their kids will be prevented from going to places where future extremists and fundamentalists are raised. On the other hand, why does the government puts all the religious organizations in one melting pot as if they are going to ‘share’ their negative practices with each other?
To remind, the bill that bans minors from attending religious places of worship, was initiated by the President in December, 2010. It become effective right after it had been published by state media.
Article 8, one of the most contradictory points of the bill, lists parents’ responsibilities, who:
“must not allow children’s particiption in religious organizations’ activities, excluding children officially studying in religious establishments.”
I talked to a few Tajik friends of mine. Here are their opinions: Read the full story »
“I found these paintings, rolled up under the beds of old widows, buried in family trash.
These were forbidden works by artists who stayed true to their vision, at a terrible cost.”
– “The Desert of Forbidden Art”
A piece of documentary art, about forbidden art, has come to Central Asia – again.
The 80-minute long documentary of Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev (writers, producers and directors), “The Desert of Forbidden Art”, was screened on Friday December 9th, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. at the BACTRIA Cultural Center (ak. Rajabovih 15 Street) in Tajikistan’s capital city Dusanbe.
“The Desert of Forbidden Art”, a documentary that “takes us on a dramatic journey of sacrifice for the sake of creative freedom”, narrates how Russian artist Igor Savitsky– the virtuoso man of paint, archeology and collection, particularly of avant-garde art – rescued the forbidden work of fellow artists. Savitsky founded the State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, an art museum based in Nukus, Uzbekistan (capital city of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, in northwest Uzbekistan). The museum opened in 1966 and hosts 82,000 items – comprising the world’s second largest Russian avant-garde collection (after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg).
Last week I gave a lecture at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven on whether or not an “Arab Spring”-style revolution could happen in Eurasia and more specifically in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. My answer was: probably not in the immediate term (say, before five to seven years from now) and not as part of a “chain reaction” from the current Arab Spring. In the long term, some of the regimes will bite the dust, however. The reason for the both likelihoods is actually the same: a combination of youth bulge, social mobility and delayed/stunted social change, modern ICT penetration, and rigidifying first-family regimes. These factors are creating the conditions that keep a revolt at bay for now but could also eventually make an explosion or a coup of some sort inevitable.
A key element of my presentation concerned comparing/contrasting the Arab and Eurasian states. Ultimately, if one lesson from the Arab Spring (and Kyrgyzstan) applies to Eurasia, then it is this: that things at some point can go unexpectedly fast, and that internal dynamics, both within the regimes and within the wider society, are much more important than whatever geopolitical designs or “Great Game powers’ desire for stability” can actually control.
Corruption in Post-Soviet Central Asia is something very familiar to people living in the region. Without bribing, one is destined to see their case be delayed for a long time, very often beyond time limits defined by laws.
Be it application for a new passport, or registration at a new place of living, or even finding a day care for your kid — bribing is the easiest way to get it all done faster and without a hassle.
Transparency International (TI) has released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 (CPI) that ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. According to TI, it is a composite index, a combination of polls, drawing on corruption-related data collected by a variety of reputable institutions. The CPI reflects the views of observers from around the world, including experts living and working in the countries/territories evaluated.
This year Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have proved that they can also have stablility in something — if not positive and progressive, then at least something not really desirable by leaders of developed countries. That something is the abuse of public power. Read the full story »
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