Tajikistan

One of the consequences of rapid urbanisation is the proliferation of huge landfills in contexts where only a small percentage of waste is recycled. In Tajikistan alone, over 2 million tonnes of waste accumulate every year, occupying a total of over 300 hectares of land.

At the Dushanbe summit, discussions developed on the route that would directly connect Russia to India and Iran. Moscow is unable to offer Central Asia the large investments that China and Europe can, but it is trying to catch up in terms of transport and logistics infrastructure.

According to an analysis by the Eurasian Development Bank, it will take another thirty years for the poorest of the Central Asian countries to stop the exodus of its young people in search of work. But even in Dushanbe, demographic changes and xenophobic tensions in Russia are beginning to slow down the phenomenon, with changes that could begin to be seen within a decade.

Perfect posture, white smile, smooth face paired with thick grey or shiny black hair: from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan, heads of state always appear in perfect shape and full of vitality in official images. Some even use Photoshop to add a few centimetres so as not to look out of place next to Donald Trump's stature.

Although more than half of Central Asia's water resources come from the mountains of Tajikistan, most of the country's residents still do not have access to drinking water. Now the government in Dushanbe has launched a programme to provide it to 72% of the population by 2029. But the question remains as to which international donors will actually be able to finance this plan.

President Emomali Rakhmon recently awarded his daughter Ozoda the honorary title of ‘Exemplary Worker of Tajikistan’. This is yet another example of the habit of Central Asian satraps to generously bestow high honours, medals and awards of all kinds on members of their own families.

This year, China became Tajikistan's main trading partner for the first time, with a balance exceeding $3 billion. At the recent SCO summit held in Tianjin, there was also talk of establishing a centre for combating drug trafficking in Dushanbe, and bilateral agreements were signed on the digital economy, renewable energy and transport.

The celebrations marking 34 years since the country regained its independence with the end of the Soviet Union were an opportunity in Dushanbe to rediscover the meanings behind the flag, the country's coat of arms and its national anthem, whose melody draws on a long local musical tradition.

The case of a 15-year-old boy who died in Tajikistan as a result of “exemplary corporal punishment” inflicted by his father has reignited the spotlight on the issue of domestic violence. According to some data, 60% of children under the age of 14 in the country are victims of domestic violence. And despite the prohibitions introduced by law, the problem is exacerbated today by ‘demonstration videos’ sent to relatives or uploaded to social networks in search of social approval.

Of the five countries, only Turkmenistan is not a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in keeping with its traditional international neutrality, but President Serdar Berdymukhamedov was nevertheless present at the parade in Beijing. Trade between the region and China grew by 5% last year and will soon exceed $100 billion. Russia is now forced to play a secondary role.

In Tajikistan, human rights groups accuse the Tajik government of grave abuses in its crackdown against protests in the Gorno-Badakshan Autonomous Region. They point to the deaths of four jailed activists in recent months. Prisoners in the rebel region are reportedly subjected to systematic torture to obtain forced confessions or information to indict other activists who have fled abroad.

It is increasingly difficult for residents to move, with central streets cleared waiting for the motorcades to pass, while cars are lined up in columns on the side streets. Citizens are forced to walk in the scorching heat. In Tashkent, the ‘clean-up’ of the city center can take ‘extreme’ forms, with armored vehicles opening fire on cars that block the way.