Tajikistan

Several of the country’s major business groups have formed a network to promote the idea that collaboration is more productive than competition, and they are now working together to find common paths to strengthen the national economy. Their efforts begin with social projects such as supporting low-income families, schools, and student hostels.

The country holds vast potential for the development of solar energy, yet it is still in the early stages of this journey. As a result, to heat water for tea, people often have to light a coal fire while waiting for a bit of electricity to arrive — electricity that is still rationed to just a few hours a day, especially during the winter.

Since the collapse of the USSR, the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia have been debating whether to abandon the Cyrillic alphabet in favour of Latin script. Some argue it more closely reflects the phonetics of Turkic languages, but the issue is entangled with broader calls for “de-Russification” in the context of the war in Ukraine. Even in Kazakhstan—where Nazarbayev launched the transition with the aim of completing it by 2031—serious doubts remain.

The goal of the program is to help inmates return to a "dignified life" in society. The state is prepared to allocate nearly $3.6 million for a five-year plan. The real threat of radicalization arises within prison walls. The exponential increase in convictions is linked to the political class's crackdown on dissent.

n Tajikistan, construction has just been completed on a special hangar for the luxurious presidential aircraft that Emomali Rakhmon purchased from Mexico, which could no longer afford the maintenance costs. This is the latest example of a widespread trend among heads of state throughout the region.

After much hesitation and meetings at the level of individual countries, now in Samarkand the European Union has openly declared its intention to ‘raise relations to the level of strategic partnership’ with the region as a whole. But local leaders, who aim to ‘diversify’ their foreign policy, are waiting to see how many resources Brussels will really put on the table.

With the border agreement, after four years of deadlock, air links have been re-established and trade routes re-opened. The agreement could usher in a period of strong economic growth, especially for Tajikistan, the most underdeveloped country in all of Central Asia.

The Eurasian military alliance has presented new guidelines for law enforcement operations to be applied in all member states to prevent ‘terrorist infiltration’. Last year 420 illegal organisations were identified, but there were also many summary actions against Tajiks after the attack on Krokus City Hall. Dushanbe is insisting that its citizens fully legalise their residence status in Russia by the end of April.

In the centre of the Tajikistan capital, the start of the demolition of a historic tea house, a world-famous meeting place for writers and artists, to make way for new modern buildings, is sparking heated discussions. The Lokhuti theatre, itself a masterpiece of Tajik architecture, also seems destined for the same fate.

While mosques are filling up with large crowds from Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan, commercial initiatives related to the Muslim holy month are multiplying. And most telephone operators are also offering electronic almsgiving services, with QR codes approved by religious administrations.

The agreement between Kyrgyz and Tajiks-sealed by the embrace between Žaparov and Rakhmon-affects as much as 1,000 kilometers of border and and comes after discussions and clashes dating back to the twentieth century, when both states were under Moscow's control. As recently as three years ago, armed clashes had occurred with several casualties on both sides.

President Rakhmon has reinserted Tirgon, the ‘rain festival’ which according to tradition took place on the longest day of the year, a tradition linked to local epics, but which today takes on a new meaning in the fight against the drying up of rivers and basins throughout Central Asia.