While people in Moscow are already queueing outside foreign exchange shops to get rid of the ruble, eyeing the current 9.1% price inflation rate, neighbours of the “Russian bear” are likely trembling in fear.
Until a year ago, the Russian economy was flying high on the wings of a seemingly endless oil-fuelled boom, which showered economic migrants with hard cash to send back to their origin country. With the economic depression on the horizon and investors pulling their money out of the country by the billion each month, Russian companies have already started cutting wages and making redundancies.
Poor former Soviet republics with a troubled recent past like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are suffering the most. Millions of Tajik migrants live in Russia and send much of their salary back home. According to World Bank data, remittances in Tajikistan make up 42.1 % of the Central Asian republic’s GDP, making it the world’s biggest recipient.
A staggering 60% of those remittances come from Russia. If we consider that over a million Tajiks – half of the country’s workforce – work in the giant neighbouring country, we see why Russia’s incoming economic depression may potentially wreck those countries.
Neighbouring Kyrgyzstan is in a similarly desperate situation. The small mountainous state has a 32% share of GDP of remittances.
It has been calculated that Tajik growth will slow to 6.5% this year from 7.4% in 2013 as a result of the drop in worker remittances in the January-September period. Both Tajikistan, a state of 8 million, and Kyrgyzstan have a troubled post-soviet past. From 1992 to 1997, a civil war marred the prospect of economic growth in Tajikistan, which borders with Afghanistan and China.
Tag: Tajik language
Voter Education Campaign in Tajikistan | OSCE
Before Tajikistan’s presidential elections in 2013, the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, in co-operation with the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda conducted a door-to-door, person-to-person voter education campaign throughout the country. The campaign targeted women and potential first-time voters. From 22 October until 4 November, 60 voter educators reached 115,037 voters explaining procedures for casting a ballot and that proxy voting is prohibited.
Ethnologue report for Tajikistan
See language map.
[See also SIL publications on the languages of Tajikistan.]
Tajikistan. 7,011,556. National or official language: Tajiki. Literacy rate: 99%. Immigrant languages: Aimaq, Armenian (6,000), Bashkort (5,410), Belarusan, Dungan, Georgian (810), Hazaragi, Kazakh (9,610), Korean (13,000), Lak (860), Lithuanian (470), Osetin (8,000), Romanian (580), Russian (237,000), Standard German, Tatar (80,000), Turkish, Turkmen (14,000), Ukrainian (41,000), Uyghur (3,580), Western Balochi (4,840). Information mainly from S. Akiner 1983; B. Comrie 1987; A. Kibrik 1991; T. Sebeok 1963. The number of individual languages listed for Tajikistan is 12. Of those, all are living languages.
Arabic, Tajiki Spoken
[abh] 1,000 in Tajikistan. Population total all countries: 6,000. Khatlon Province, Vakhsh Valley villages; Kuliab and Leninabad cities. Mainly small villages. Also in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan. Alternate names: Arabic, Bukhara Arabic, Buxara Arabic, Central Asian, Jugari, Tajiji Arabic. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Farsi, Western
[pes] 50,000 in Tajikistan (Johnstone and Mandryk 2001). Alternate names: Persian. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
Kyrgyz
[kir] 64,000 in Tajikistan. Classification: Altaic, Turkic, Western, Aralo-Caspian
Parya
[paq] 3,000 in Tajikistan (2008). Population total all countries: 4,250. Hissar Valley. Also in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan. Alternate names: Afghana-Yi Nasfurush, Afghana-Yi Siyarui, Laghmani, Pbharya. Dialects: May be Marwari [rwr] dialect, related to Panjabi[pan], or Laghman dialect of Southeast Pashayi [psi] of Afghanistan. Subgroups: Kalu, Jitain, Juni, Maggar, Bisiyan, Mussali, Shuiya. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Unclassified
Pashto, Southern
[pbt] 4,000 in Tajikistan (1970). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern, Pashto
Sanglechi-Ishkashimi
[sgl] 500 in Tajikistan. Ethnic population: 1,000 in Tajikistan (1990 A. Kibrik). Dialects: Ishkashimi (Ishkashim, Eshkashmi), Zebak (Zebaki), Sanglich. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern, Pamir
Shughni
[sgh] 40,000 in Tajikistan (1975 SIL). 20,000 Shugan, 1,500 to 2,000 Oroshor, 15,000 Rushan. Population total all countries: 60,000. Ethnic population: 73,000 (1990 A. Kibrik) including 50,000 Shugni, 2,000 Oroshor, 18,000 Rushan, 800 Khufi, 3,000 Bartang. Gorno-Bagakhshan, Pamir Mountains. Also in Afghanistan. Alternate names: Shugnan-Rushan. Dialects: Rushani (Rushan, Roshani, Oroshani), Bartangi (Bartang), Oroshor (Roshorvi), Khufi (Khuf, Chuf), Shughni (Shugan, Shugnan, Shighni, Khugni). Khufi and Bartangi dialects may be separate languages. Oroshani may be separate from Rushani. Not intelligible with Sarikoli [srh] (called ‘Tajiki’ in China). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern, Pamir, Shugni-Yazgulami
Tajiki
[tgk] 3,340,000 in Tajikistan (1991). Population total all countries: 4,457,500. Also in Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation (Asia), Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Alternate names: Galcha, Tadzhik, Tajiki Persian. Dialects: 4 groups of small dialects; no distinct boundaries. Dialect blending into Dari Persian [prs] in Afghanistan. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
Uzbek, Northern
[uzn] 873,000 in Tajikistan. Classification: Altaic, Turkic, Eastern
Wakhi
[wbl] 7,000 in Tajikistan (1993 UBS). Ethnic population: 20,000 in Tajikistan (1990 A. Kibrik). Gorno-Badakhshan, Pamir Mountains. Alternate names: Guhjali, Khik, Vakhan, Wakhani, Wakhigi. Dialects: Western Wakhi, Central Wakhi, Eastern Wakhi. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern, Pamir
Yagnobi
[yai] 12,000. Zafarabad; north of Dushanbe; Yagnob River, (the homeland) high mountain valley. Alternate names: Yaghnabi, Yaghnobi, Yaghnubi, Yagnabi, Yagnob, Yagnubi. Dialects: Western Yagnobi, Eastern Yagnobi. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Northeastern
Yazgulyam
[yah] 4,000 (1994 UBS). Ethnic population: 5,710. Along Yazgulyam River, Gorno-Badakhshan Ao. Alternate names: Iazgulem, Yazgulam, Yazgulyami. Dialects: Upper Yazgulyam, Lower Yazgulyam. Little dialect difference. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern, Pamir, Shugni-Yazgulami
Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.
TAJIK DANCE INITIATIVE
Tajikistan July – August 2011
During the summer of 2011 six members of our performing arts ensemble were able to travel once again to Tajikistan. The group included dance artists Kristen Sague, Hannah Romanowsky, Mariam Gaibova, Emelie Coleman, musician/composer Neema Hekmat, and Sharlyn Sawyer (ostad Sharlyn) director/artist AACS-BA. The purpose of our journey would be to renew friendships with our Tajik counterparts through TDI now a fully independent local Tajik arts organization based in Dushanbe. During our stay we would have the opportunity to study dance, collaborate with local artists and perform in various settings, and inspire future joint projects.What follows are first hand accounts of the travels and adventures of 2011, as experienced by Afsaneh Art & Culture Society – Ballet Afsaneh members, and honored dance artists/scholars Hannah Romanowsky and Kristen Sague.
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Further Links
Porous and Violent, Afghan-Tajik Border Is a Worry for the U.S.
HAMADONI DISTRICT, Tajikistan — Using a raft made of scrap wood and the inner tube of a truck tire, four armed men recently crossed the river from Afghanistan to a tiny, nameless border settlement here and kidnapped the two adolescent sons of a local army recruiter.
With their hostages, they then crossed back into Afghanistan and called the recruiter, demanding $55,000. They threatened to kill his sons and sell their organs on the black market if he refused.
Such kidnappings, along with murders, armed clashes and other violence, have become persistent features of life along Tajikistan’s extensive border with Afghanistan. A largely unprotected expanse of severe peaks and dusty plains, the border is practically all that separates the former Soviet republics of Central Asia and beyond from the chaos of one of the world’s most war-ravaged countries.
VIA: NY Times; Porous and Violent, Afghan-Tajik Border Is a Worry for the U.S.
On the Rise in Tajikistan, Islam Worries an Authoritarian Government
After decades of enforced secularism, the people of this impoverished former Soviet republic have been flocking to their traditional religion with all the zeal of born-again movements anywhere in the world.
The authoritarian government here could not be more worried. Spooked by the specter of Islamic radicalism and the challenges posed by increasingly influential religious leaders, the Tajik authorities have been working fervently to curb religious expression.
Bearded men have been detained at random, and women barred from religious services. This year, the government demanded that students studying religion at universities in places like Egypt, Syria and Iran return home. The police have shuttered private mosques and Islamic Web sites, and government censors now monitor Friday sermons, stepping in when muftis stray from the government line.
Last month, lawmakers took what many here said was a drastic step further: they passed a law that would, among other things, bar children younger than 18 from attending religious services at mosques.
Tajikistan’s provinces
Village “Lost” Between Tajik and Uzbek Lands
Residents of a village on Tajikistan’s northern border with Uzbekistan feel they have been cast adrift by their government.
The village of Platina, with around 1,600 residents, lies in the Spitamen district of Tajikistan.
Tajiks and Uzbeks live happily side by side, but both face the same difficulties – lack of medical facilities in the area and a shortage of work.
Tajik families, however, face an additional difficulty as there is no local school, so their children have to attend an Uzbek school six kilometres away. As well as having to travel a long way to school, they are studying the curriculum and history of Uzbekistan, and using Uzbek instead of their native Tajik as the learning medium. Apart from the linguistic differences, they have to learn Latin script for Uzbek instead of the Cyrillic used for Tajik.
The audio programme, in Russian and Tajik, went out on national radio stations in Tajikistan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tajiks to Strengthen Border With Afghanistan
As the international troop withdrawal from Afghanistan draws closer, Tajikistan is trying to strengthen its long frontier with that country as a safeguard against attempts to export instability.
Since Tajikistan took over border protection from Russia, whose troops performed the role until 2005, it has sought donor funding to modernise and consolidate its defences.
New border posts have been built or are planned, but existing ones are in need of refurbishment. And the Tajik frontier force is still using obsolete arms, equipment and radios from the Soviet era. Its vehicles date mostly from the early 1980s.
The audio programme, in Russian and Tajik, went out on national radio stations in Tajikistan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tajikistan Khojand Food Market Central Asia. Xujand Panjshanbeh Baazaar
Travel to Khojand Market on the Silk Road in Central Asia. Xujand Panjshanbeh bozor Baazaar Khujand Tajikistan khodjand tourism trip. Tajik persian food traditional culinary restaurant cooking soups kabob bread dried nuts and fruits. Exotic adventure by Kambiz Taleghani usa iran camera: Abdumalik Sodikov.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdV5inV8v4M&w=560&h=315]