Photo by ppl

In the past two weeks the Tajik blogosphere was very calm and little have been discussed. However, here are some good posts on Tajikistan by different bloggers:

Tawildman reports on how he and his friend Raphael and Brett spent the Chistmas holiday and the New Year in Dushanbe. First he starts talking about Buzkashi, as he explains – it is essentially polo but played with a dead, headless goat. Then slightly moves to a story about Christmas party for 25 people and New Year with a lot of firecrackers and roman candles shot off directly into crowds of people all night.

Tawildman also reports on his journey to Khujand. He went to Khujand from Dushanbe by a plane that he thinks should probably be in a museum. Then he decided to go to Isfara with his colleague by the Soviet car, which dies half on a way back to Khojand and they returned by a bus. He also talks about a Russian cook, Valentina, who was once a nuclear chemist and cooked unbelievable amount of food and force fed him. He also visited one of the biggest bazaars in Central Asia.

Adrienne makes a wonderfull photo-round-up of all her trips to different parts of the world. Tajikistan is also mentioned in this round-up since Adrienne visited this country in summer with her friends/collegues from Habitat. She gives some photos of their work on construction of a house for a doctor, his wife and a 16 years old daughter.

Shams Alibhai is telling a story about her work-trip to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and how she spent seven years setting up two private-sector schools in those countries. She was the Chief Executive Officer for Aga Khan Education Services in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Recently there was invited to Tajikistan the Iranian cartoonist and the editor of cartoons and humor magazine, Javad Alizade. This invitation was based on the initiative of the UN to conduct cartoon workshops.

Presidium of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) dismissed Chairman Masud Sobirov on December 24 and appointed his deputy Saidjafar Ismonov as acting head.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, Mr. Ismonov said Masud Sobirov was dismissed because of his intention to reunite with another wing of the party, led by Rahmatullo Valiev.

“He [Masud Sobirov] was not authorized to make such a decision without the approval of the party presidium,” said Mr. Ismonov. “Such issues should be discussed by all members of the party”.

Members of the presidium were also disappointed with Masud Sobirov’s inefficient leadership. They told journalists that Mr. Sobirov was not attending party meetings and was responsible for the party’s failure to establish a permanent office and launch party newspaper.

“During the presidium meeting on December 24, Masud Sobirov left the meeting shortly after it started,” said Mr. Ismonov. “This indicates that Sobirov ignores the party and disrespects members of the presidium”.

Mr. Ismonov also said the extraordinary congress of DPT on January 14 will appoint the new chairman and give an evaluation of Mr. Sobirov’s leadership of the party.

Masud Sobirov’s dismissal came only a week after the two rival factions of DPT announced they were ready to discuss possible reunion and bring an end to the conflict that divided and weakened the once-powerful Democratic Party.

Mr. Sobirov was behind what many politicians and experts viewed as government-led efforts to divide and marginalize DPT. In April 2006, Masud Sobirov established the faction “Vatan” within DPT that aimed to “rebuild the party’s influence”. The faction soon organized an “extraordinary congress” of a limited number of party members and dismissed DPT’s jailed leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov appointing Masud Sobirov as the new chairman. DPT’s “old guard” led by Rahmatullo Valiev prompted at the government’s involvement with “Vatan”’s schismatic efforts but did not take it very seriously as Mr. Sobirov was not recognized by most political parties and authorities. However, on September 29, 2006, the Ministry of Justice registered Masud Sobirov as chairman of the Democratic Party in a move that many experts and opposition parties described as a revenge for DPT’s boycott of the presidential election [For background see my post of October 5].

Mr. Sobirov’s dismissal makes the prospects of the reunion of rival factions of DPT dimmer than before.

Editor’s Note: What follows is part of a cross-blog survey that explores what Central Eurasia might look like fifteen years from now.

In his most recent post, Vadim predicts a bright future for Tajikistan 15 years from now. While I also have optimistic expectations of the country’s prospects, I believe we will inevitably face more negative developments in a decade.

The bad thing about corruption is that it has a long-lasting effect. I am confident that we will not be able to create working mechanisms to fight corruption even in a decade. The longer people live in the atmosphere of corruption and booming patron-client relations, the more difficult it will be for them to learn to live without it. So, in 15 years we will still have corrupt officials and people willing to solve their problems “quicker” and “easier” by offering bribes and “gifts”.

Another dark side of corruption is that it has allowed some individuals and groups within the society becoming extremely rich while the majority of the population lived in poverty. In 15 years, as the memories of the civil war will fade away and tyrannical regimes similar to Turkmenbashi’s will give way to more democratic governments in the region, our citizens might want to question the results of privatization and demand their “share” of the public good. So, corruption creates a fertile ground for social instability in the future.

I would also very much like to see Tajikistan’s economy developing in the next decades. I am afraid though that in the next 10 to 15 years we not have skilled employees to ensure the growth of Tajik economy. Young people studying today at universities throughout the country will graduate with anything but adequate skills and expertise. This is especially true for law and business schools which are most corrupt and medical and education schools extremely unpopular with students. We do not have modern business, public administration, and IT schools. Without them, the country will not be able to develop.

Another problem we will have in 15 years is connected with the demographic situation. As the birthrates continue to be very high, there will be a greater pressure on the country’s scarce arable land. As the soil degradation continues and our cotton sector destroys the best lands, the country’s growing population will face acuter shortage of food. Besides, if the current demographic trends continue in the next decade, labor migration will create a society where we will have much more women than men. And Tajik men will continue to bring home AIDS from other countries.

There are also other negative phenomena and developments that we might face over the next decade. And of course there should be ways of avoiding or minimizing these negative effects. This blog is a perfect place to start discussion of our future and ways of making it better.

The Ayni-Penjikent road along the Zerafshan river is a fantastically scenic route. After another three to four hour drive, interrupted at some point by a traffic police officer soliciting “choypuli”, we arrived in Penjikent.

The town has certainly changed since the 1990s. It looks more abandoned now. Driving along the major street that used to be “Lenin Street” and was later renamed to “Rudaki” we do not see many passersby.

“There are not many people left in Penjikent,” said Maysara Holikova, teacher in a secondary school. “Most men are working in Russia. Younger boys study in Dushanbe and Khujand. Some women are also in Russia”.

Although the town was not involved in the civil war, it was hardly hit by its effects. Local plants and factories were closed; schools and hospitals were abandoned by highly skilled employees who left the country for Russia. Being geographically and economically closer to the Uzbek town of Samarkand than to any significant Tajik town, Penjikent was most hardly affected bythe Uzbek authorities’ decision to close and mine the border and introduce visa regime.

“It is a dead place,” said Anvar, taxi driver. “There are no jobs for most people. Factories do not work. There is the Taror Gold Plant and some activity in the tobacco plant. Nothing else”.

Taror Gold Plant is one of the rare enterprises in Tajikistan that has managed to attract foreign investment in the 1990s. Since 1997 when the plant was opened, local staff could earn 100 to 200 US dollars a month here. Many residents of the Penjikent district depend on the plant in terms of income. The bad news is that the volume of gold produced in Taror has been reducing over the last years. There are rumors now that the South-African company owning the plant will soon have to close down the production.

“The town is so isolated that even most relief organizations don’t want to come here,” said Rajab, employee of the NGO Save the Children. “Some international organizations visit the place from time to time, do some work and then disappear. There is no consistency in their relief efforts in the district”.

The hope for Penjikent has recently come – as not so far in the past – from Russia. Russia’s world class energy company RAO EES announced it will build three medium-size hydropower plants in the Zerafshan valley. While the project is still far from implementation, RAO EES’s energetic construction of Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant makes many people feel optimistic about the prospects of power plants on the Zerafshan.

Despite severe economic and social hardships, Penjikent is certainly a place with tremendous development potential. Experts suggest that tourism could become the major source of revenues for the town. Penjikent has much to offer foreign tourists.

Penjikent is one of the most ancient towns in Central Asia. On a high, valley terrace, 1,5 km from the modern town are the ruins of ancient Penjikent or Bunjikath, a major Sogdian town founded in the 5th century and destroyed by Arabs in the 8th century. The foundations of houses, a citadel with a couple of Zoroastrian temples, and the city bazaar are still visible in the excavated ruins. But the best of the frescoes (some of them 15 meters long), sculptures, pottery and manuscripts have been taken off to the Tashkent History Museum and St Petersburg’s Hermitage.

On the other side of the town are the ruins of Sarazm, a town of the Bronze Age. Besides, Penjikent is a birthplace of Rudaki, the founder of Persian poetry. Rudaki’s mausoleum is an interesting piece of modern Central Asian architecture.

“Tourism could have a great impact on Penjikent,” said Ali Odinaev, manager in a small tourist company. “We just need to build better roads and a hotel and advertise the place. People would come to see Bunjikath, Sarazm, Rudaki’s mausoleum and the Seven Lakes”

The energy crisis remains to be one of the main topics of discussion in Tajikistan. Alexander reports on the electricity outage in Tajikistan.

The blackouts have been caused by the construction of Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant. The river Vakhsh in southern Tajikistan was closed off today to enable construction of a dam for the plant to go ahead. Construction works at Sangtuda have caused power supply disruptions from the Nurek hydropower plant that produces about 75 percent of Tajikistan’s electricity.

Roxana Saberi from BBC is talking about the children on the streets of Dushanbe. There is a ‘Centre of Information and Orientation of Youth, a UN-backed committee of young people dedicated to taking kids off the streets of Dushanbe.’ Maruf Jumaev is one of the activists of this center. He and other members of the ‘youth committee reach out to these children by telling them they do not have to work and live on the streets, and that going back to school is the key to a better future.’ Thanks to this center many street children have left their jobs washing cars or peddling goods in the bazaar and have gone back to school.

Dina Newman, also from BBC in her turn talks about the girls’ education in the countryside of Tajikistan. She reports that girls drop school to marry. Girls are brought up to be good Muslims and obedient wives, but many are unable to fend for themselves if family links break down. That’s because of the education that they do not get, because their parents do not let them go to school.

Jagannaath reports on the work-schedule of shops, markets and other public places in Dushanbe. She says she did not have spare time to visit bazaars and places of interest: the main department store called Tsum in the city closes its business at 16:00 and the bazaars which open at 5:00 close at around 14:00 or 15:00. She also reports that she could not find any time to visit museum where she could see the lying Buddha (replica of which was exhibited at Aichi Expo in 2005). I think she was the first person to report on that problem in Dushanbe.

Avgustin posted a very interesting article about Vakhan. He is describing the life of the local people who made him feel at home. He was amazed with the hospitality of the local people. He was living in the house of Alisher who worked in MSDP, one of the institutions of Aga Khan Development Network.

Alisher’s parents’ house was a modernized version of traditional Pamiri house, with the main characteristic of the five pillars. This traditional house dated back far before the arrival of Islam, but then each symbol was linked to Islam. The hall was very big, much bigger than those I used to see in Pakistan and Afghanistan sides. It was a very bright room with very big skulight hole, where the sunlight came to illuminate all of the corners of the room. It had also huge glass window, something that was less commonly used in Paksitan and Afghanistan. The wall was covered by traditional designed textile, and as later I found in all Ismaili houses in this valley, this room also had a photo of the Highness Aga Khan.

Editor’s Note: What follows is part of a cross-blog survey that explores what Central Eurasia might look like fifteen years from now.

The history of contemporary Tajikistan began with a lot of problems and difficulties. The most tragic time was the Civil War which followed the break up of Soviet Union. The war left this country impoverished. It is now in the process of strengthening its democracy and transitioning to a free market economy.

Though the civil war is already over the living conditions of the population still remain to be the lowest on the post-Soviet territory. However the recent presidential elections and different surveys prove that the majority of the population is satisfied with the policy run by the current president Rahmonov. He is respected by the population for bringing peace to the country.

Peace and stability are the main factors which make most of the population believe that the present reforms conducted by the government will make their country prosperous. I also want to believe in that.

Actually it is really difficult to say what is going to happen in 15 years from now, but I hope that the life of ordinary people will be much better. So my assumptions are very positive, and I would say that below is the list of my dreams. May be I’m a little bit out of the topic but I think that it is going to happen if not in 15 years then in 30-40 years for sure.

I think that in fifteen years the life of Tajik people will be much better. People will no more experience any political instability: no more wars and confrontations. Tajikistan will continue to strengthen its democracy and will have a free market economy. People will never have such problems as blackouts because there are going to be several huge hydroelectric power stations, such as Sangtuda-1. Each family will have electricity in its house all the time.

The excess of electricity will be exported to other countries and hundreds millions of dollars will flow into the budget of the country. The GDP of the country after several years will be increasing up to 30% each year, or even more.

The new paved roads will connect all the settlements with each other within the country and new roads connecting Tajikistan with the rest of the world will be built. Tajikistan will build a road connecting it with the Indian Ocean which is going to boost the economy of the country. All the Central Asian countries will have direct way to the ocean and Tajikistan will have huge revenues from trade.

Tajikistan is going to have the best planes in Central Asia and no one will be afraid to fly with Tajik Airlines. It will not be the “Scare Lines” any more because the government is going to by in the next fifteen years new planes, mostly Boeings and Airbuses to ensure the safety of the passengers.

The government will start allocating more money from the budget for medicine and education. The life expectancy will increase and the population will be more educated. The education and medicine will be the main priorities for the government in the next fifteen years.

The number of prisoners will decrease and the living conditions of them will be better.

I want to believe that it is going to happen!

Here is the translation of the post that I’ve placed on Tajik-Russian blog. All the sources are in Russian

Recently I’ve heard a story about one guy, who was put in jail for drug-smuggling, and after a year he died of tuberculosis. He was not even thirty years old and he had a little kid. Everybody was shocked. No one could believe that he was a drug-dealer and no one could believe that he could die in such a young age, because physically he was very strong.

Unfortunately, one can hear a lot of such stories in Tajikistan. There are many young people who are put in jail for drug-smuggling and some of them do not come back. It’s a one way ticket. They die of different diseases, mostly of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a widely spread disease in Tajik jails.

48 prisoners in the first half of the year 2006 died of in the jail facilities. The main causes of death are tuberculosis and heart disease…

…nowadays 1,400 prisoners are suffering of tuberculosis.

This statistics was provided this year in July by the head of the Jail facilities department at the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan, Bahrom Abdulhakov. Last year according to the same official 62 people died during the whole year. 115 people were registered as HIV-positive.

Till October of this year in the jail facilities of Tajikistan were kept more than 12 thousands prisoners, but the number was substantially decreased by the amnesty. 3,960 prisoners were released and the prison term of 2,457 prisoners was half shortened in accordance with the amnesty which was dedicated to the fifteenth anniversary of Independence Day. The last amnesty was pursued in 2001. In accordance with that amnesty about 10 thousand.

There are 14 jails in Tajikistan for 8,450 prisoners, and 5 investigative isolation wards for 2,500 prisoners.

This year on 30th of January the number of convicted people in Tajikistan was 9 thousand – 164 people out of 100, 000 of the country population were in jail. This statistics made Tajikistan stand on the 79th position in the world, rated by International Center for Prisons Studies (ICPS) at London University.

In this sense the situation with jails in Tajikistan is much better than in other Central Asian countries. For instance, in Kazakhstan this number equals to 386 prisoners, Kyrgyzstan – 390, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan 489.

Obviously the number of prisoners in our country is lesser but the living conditions of the prisoners leave much to be desired. Only 1,27 somonis (about 35 cents) per day are allotted to each prisoner, while in Kazakhstan 2,000 dollars a year are alloted.

The allotted money is not enough for the normal food, not saying about the medical care and clothing. The sense of kinship is strong in our country and it makes the life of prisoners much easier, because all the necessary stuff they can get from their relatives if it is not provided by the government.

Despite the hardships in captivity, some of the prisoners do not lose hope. Recently, Ferghan.ru citing Varorud reported that in one of the jails in Sogd region one prisoner got married to a girl non-prisoner. It was the sixteenth marriage this year. Last year there were registered 20 marriages in Sogd region.

Here is the translation of some recommendations from AsiaPlus on how to survive during the energy crisis in Tajikistan.

1. Stock up on: optimism, candles, flashlight, firewood (in case if it necessary to cook outside), thermos with hot water and matches;

2. Try to purchase a gas-vessel with gas for gas-stove and also buy a kerosene stove;

3. Regularly ventilate the your accommodation in order to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning (if you use the heating stove);

4. Fill all the thermoses with water and stock up on boiled water. Those who live in the apartments higher than 3rd level should stock up on regular water;

5. Hermetically glue up all the window cracks and cover the doors with thick blankets;

6. In order to preserve the warmth all the inmates should move to one or two rooms;

7. In order to avoid accidents do not leave the gas-stoves on for a night.

A power shortage in Tajikistan caused blackouts throughout the country. Barki Tojik, the Tajik state electricity provider had warned that the total blackout will last for three days and then the power supply will remain limited for almost a week.

The blackouts have been caused by the construction of Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant. The river Vakhsh in southern Tajikistan was closed off today to enable construction of a dam for the plant to go ahead. Construction works at Sangtuda have caused power supply disruptions from the Nurek hydropower plant that produces about 75 percent of Tajikistan’s electricity.

Barki Tojik officials suggested planned shortages would not affect “strategic sites” such as schools, hospitals and airports. They also said other hydropower plants will allow providing limited electricity supply to Dushanbe and Khujand, administrative centre of the northern Sogd Oblast. GBAO, Tajikistan’s largest region located in the Pamirs will also not be affected by the blackout.

Authorities suggest that power blackouts are a temporary measure that will ensure a “better future” for the impoverished nation. With a design capacity of 2.7 billion kilowatt hours per annum, the plant is expected to meet the local energy demand and provide excess power to sell abroad.

In November, when the blockage of the Vakhsh had been scheduled, electricity shortages in Tajikistan came at a severe economic cost. The river blockage had been put off because contractors at the site failed to meet the deadlines.

Meanwhile, IWPR reports that energy experts blame winter blackouts on poor planning.

“Energy experts say management of the project has been poorly coordinated, leading to delays to the start of construction and the ensuing power cuts at the coldest time of the year,” IWPR reports.

Despite Barki Tojik’s claims that the population “has shown understanding” of the inevitability of power cuts, people are disappointed with the way authorities handle energy problems.

“We have had power outages since early December,” said Mohira Rozakova, resident of Dushanbe. “Why could not they put it off until a warmer season? Because of their stupid policy the price of bread and gas increased. They don’t see it through the windows of their palaces and fancy cars”.

Officials with Barki Tojik promised they will resume power supply from Nurek on December 21. However, many observers say there is no guarantee that the power restrictions will not be extended until much later.

While authorities keep promising a better future, the population seems tired of not having decent living conditions. On Wednesday, December 13, residents of Kanibadam in northern Tajikistan organized a rally in front of the khukumat (local authorities). They protested against power and gas outages.

As much as five participants of the rally in front of Kanibadam khukumat have been detained by police. Officials from the local Prosecutor’s Office have suggested that strict measures would be applied to participants of such “unauthorized rallies”. The government has thus sent a clear message that any attempts to question its energy policies will not be tolerated.

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 and other regions up the Zerafshan river went to Tajikistan.

The road from Dushanbe to Penjikent is 270 kilometers long. In summer, you can make this distance in 7 to 9 hours on a good car. In winter, it might take you the whole day to get to Penjikent.

There used to be a direct flight from Dushanbe to Penjikent. It took the old Soviet An-24 only 40 minutes to take you from the Dushanbe airport to the place that for some reason bears the name of Penjikent airport. The flight was cancelled this year. According to the Tajik Airlines (foreigners usually call it “Scare Lines”), the flight was too costly for the company.

In winter, Zerafshan valley is almost as isolated from the rest of Tajikistan as any region in the Mountainous Badahshan (Pamirs). The region is closer, both geographically and economically, to Uzbekistan than to Tajikistan. During the Soviet period, there was a direct road from Dushanbe to Penjikent via the friendly republic of Uzbekistan. As soon as independent Uzbekistan closed off from the rest of Central Asia, Zerafshan Valley became an isolated island.

A massive mountain range separates Zerafshan Valley from central Tajikistan. From April to October, the high-elevation Anzob pass allows cars and trucks passing through the range. From November to March, the road lies under tens of meters of snow.

To link the valley to the rest of the country and ensure constant transport routes, Tajikistan has invited an Iranian company to build a tunnel under the mountains. The tunnel titled “Ushtur”, in construction since 2003, had to be completed this summer. However, after completing most of the work, Iranians were suddenly confronted with the problem of underground water that they have not yet been able to resolve. The tunnel is not officially opened, but Iranians have allowed a limited traffic through the pass to make the valley accessible.

The driver of an old Soviet UAZ skillfully maneuvers his car through frequent turns and serpentines. After a three-hour drive, we reach the tunnel so awkwardly projected by the Iranians. Despite the official report that the tunnel is “almost completed”, it actually looks like a hole in the concrete rock. There is no lighting and no tarmac. It takes us about 20 minutes to drive through the dark tunnel.

On the other side of the tunnel, the road is even worse than before. After another three-hour drive on a narrow road squeezed between rocks and rivers, we are in Ayni.

Ayni is a big village that marks the beginning of the Zerafshan Valley. It is a crossing point of two major routes: Dushanbe-Khujand-Tashkent and Dushanbe-Penjikent.

Sirodj, one of our passengers, gets off in Ayni. He says in winter, Ayni is probably the last place on earth he would want to live if he had a chance.

“We have power for only two hours a day and sometimes don’t have at all” says Sirodj. “There are no jobs and no places to go. Almost all men from Ayni have left for Russia to work as labor migrants. Only women, children and older men are left. I do not know why this village still exists”.

At the Ayni checkpoint, our driver has a brief conversation with the local GAI (traffic police) officers who demand “choypuli” (tea money), a bribe. Our car is rounded by young boys selling dried apricots, nuts and apples. For them, cars passing the checkpoint are often the only source of income.

As soon as our driver gets back in the car, we continue the trip to Penjikent. Starting from Ayni, we drive along the Zerafshan, the river that gives name to the valley.