TAJIKISTAN - Central Asia's Poorest Dictatorship

If you could connect Europe Russia China India and the Middle East with imaginary lines where they intersect, you will find the main post in our video and what looks like the silhouette of a running rabbit Tajikistan is hidden between two large rivers, the Amudarya and En S Daria, Almost 10 million people live here in an impermeable snowy land mostly covered by mountains more than 3,000 m high. The mountains shaped the borders of Tajikistan, to the east is China, while Kiristan and Usbekistan to the north and to the west, to the south, are the country of Afghanistan, where the Wacan Corridor provides a passage to Pakistan.

Maybe on a map it might look like Tajikistan is a gigantic post-Soviet suburb that's easy to navigate by car, but that's not the case. Driving from west to east, a trip of about 800 km can take about 18 hours. 20 years ago, traveling by car from the capital Dambe to Huan, the second largest city in the Fana Valley, meant driving through the mountains and briefly through Usbekistan, but in 2006 the Iranian company Sairo built and opened The Anzo Tunnel, a 5km long dark tunnel that cost $4 billion, but turned out to be just another classic Italian corruption scheme. Once open to the public, there were huge problems such as lack of lighting, no way to drain water and poor air circulation - basically a dark tunnel.

A dream come true for claustrophobics. What became known as The Tunnel of Death was finally completed and partially illuminated in 2018 thanks to Chinese funding. Later, like every self-respecting Central Asian state, Tajikistan is on paper a de facto personal republic probably sat tropy and, in fact, we refer to the typical X. Soviet official known for his questionable haircut who once He ran a socialist farm, still leads the government, and consistently wins in dubious elections for over 30 years. It is a post-Soviet state. Their baby is the Power Ranger with the hammer and sickle. She is Emomali Ramonov, commonly known as.

Ramon after the collapse of the USSR the OV and his name was crossed out in my book The Hard Life of a Dictator Raman could have had his own section but there are too many rans in the world and not enough books to cover them, ah, I think . I broke something, let's delve into the usual geography and politics. Tajikistan consists of four regions, soed cathlon, the uniquely named districts under the jurisdiction of the

central

government. It is here that the capital, Dambe, gets its name from the city market held on Mondays and the autonomous province of Gno Badak Shan is. the largest and sparsely populated region, with its eastern border, home to about 200,000 Pamier, also known as cloud people due to their high altitude.

The villages even today, although the Pamiri with their distinct linguistic and religious traditions from the Tajiks face severe discrimination from the Dambe government. their leaders imprisoned their families murdered for no reason a recurring story An uncomfortable population targeted for expulsion while they occupy strategic land for the government in gorob bakan you will discover the highest peak in Tajikistan, some rise Beyond 7,000 m one is called Carl Marx and others were known as the communist peak during the Soviet era, it is no coincidence that Tajikistan owns half of Central Asia's ice and accounts for approximately 60% of the region's water resources, placing it in third place in the world. world in per capita water availability If it were not for the fact that half of the population is not allowed access in rural areas, about 2% of households actually have toilets, this is because the infrastructure The existing structure dates back to Soviet times and lacks adequate maintenance plans.

The same goes for energy production according to the classifications of the International Energy Agency of Tajikistan. eighth globally in hydropower potential, however only 4% of this potential is currently in use. The Italian company we built is building the Rogan Dam on the Vax River, a concept that dates back to the 1950s. Once completed, the dam will become the highest in the world, doubling that of Tajikistan. Energy capacity Currently, the country depends on gas and oil imports from neighboring Usbekistan and Turkmenistan Stand Stand Stand Stand You know we dive into details and each former Soviet state has a rich history of the Transoxania that mainly belongs to Tajikistan and Usbekistan today from the stone from the stone from the stone.

Age has been continuously inhabited by the ancestors of today's Tajiks, the culture is closely linked to the Iranian world, often referred to as ancient Persia. In fact, the Tajiks are the only people in Central Asia who do not speak a language of Turkish origin, but rather a variant of the Western one. Near Far SE Iranian is spoken in Iran and Dari in Afghanistan after gaining independence in 1991, Tajik became the official language and Russian serves as a second language spoken by almost the entire population in regards to religion, the majority professes Sunni Islam, however, the Dami government has inserted constitutional restrictions to reinforce the secular nature of the state and prevent the rise of extremism, for example, miners under 18 years of age can enter mosques and minors 35 years old cannot undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, women cannot wear the hijab and men cannot grow excessive beards to sum it up, it is a former Soviet nation, not very religious, with a lot of water, but you really can't use, led by a dictator with epic eyebrows of the 8th century and Trans xonia was under the rule of the Persian shot, except for occasional shots of indo. -Chinese dynasties converted to Islam by the Umad and Abbasid caliphates in the following centuries.

The Tajik lands then suffered invasions from the Turkic peoples and then the Mongols. The term Tajik itself, originally Arabic and Middle Persian, is believed to have been used by the Turkic and Mongol peoples. to refer to those who spoke an Iranian language and practiced the Muslim religion, that is, the Tajiks, in 1785 five certain Turkic Mongol tribes embraced Islam and united to form the Bukara Emirates, an absolute monarchy that ruled Transania for about a century , no worries when the great European powers begin to flex their military muscles things get spicy during the 19th century the seemingly invincible British Empire faced a new rival Tarist Russia the great game as it was called was about strategic interests in Central Asia The British saw it as a crucial link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent for the Russians as an opportunity to expand their empire and obtain valuable textiles in the late 19th century.

This great game ended after many battles. Diplomacy Espionage and Discussion Russia had its eyes on the land south of Modo, instead they ended up with a huge chunk of Central Asia, including the northern part of Tajikistan, which they labeled Russian Turkistan, it was as big as France , Germany, Italy and the southern Hungarian Empire, all in one. Austria Hungary still has a place in my heart, kind of like Czechoslovakia in this. context the emirate of bukata was surrounded and in 1873 became a protectorate of sarus as a whole the region of tajic provided Moscow with cotton fields railway stations and farms in exchange for hospitals and schools with the fall of zarus in 1917 the news of the Revolution made On their way here, the Tajiks tried to follow the path to independence, but it only took a few years for the Bvic army to dampen the uprising in 1924.

Joseph Salon, appointed by L, reorganized the Soviet republics under the Moscow control, at this point the Turkestan ASSR divided into the Soviet socialist republics. of Usbekistan and Turkestan, the Bukar Emirate was completely wiped from the maps and merged with the USBC Republic in the grand scheme of things the Soviet government had to identify and define each nationality to counter possible state threats, for example the Tajiks in the other end of The Iranian world needed a separation from Persia, which later became Iran, to avoid any shared patriotic ideals at an early stage under the threat of exile, they were forced to conform to the USCS.

One of the problems was that the USCS spoke a language of Turkish origin at the same time. At the time when the historically Tajik ancient cities of Bukar and Samaran became part of the Republic of Usbekistan, Tajikistan still claims them because the majority of residents in both cities speak Tajik, Russia soon learned that at that rate the Tajik territories would become problematic; In other words, they applied a div and a government. Strategy In 1929 the Tajik people were given a Soviet Socialist Republic that roughly coincides with the current borders of Tajikistan. Duame, which at the time had just over 3,000 inhabitants, was renamed Stalinabad, the official name until Stalin's death in 1953, although in the Soviet period Tajikistan experienced slow industrial and infrastructure development, the Republic remained the Moscow's poorer, less educated satellite in Central Asia;

However, as history had it, the Soviet Union was on its way to its inevitable collapse. In March 1991, a referendum revealed that 95% of Tajiks wanted to remain part of the reformed USSR led by Gorbachev; However, on September 9 of the same year, Tajikistan declared its independence, the Communist Party of Tajikistan declared independence, and its members anticipated the collapse of the Soviet Union and the desire to retain power. In fact, the subsequent elections confirmed that Ron naive a deputy of the Supreme Soviet as president as president of ao Tajik to govern Dame, however, this time it was another Ramón with a different surname, that's right, emo Mali, with big eyebrows, tried take charge from the beginning, but things quickly went downhill from 1992 to 1996 Tajikistan became a war zone, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and a million people left homeless.

The unrecognized communist government, backed by the UN and supported by the Russian Federation, established control over the northwest, including Dambe. On the other hand, the Tajik opposition united. of the liberalism and democratic forces had strong support from the prime ministers of Gorob Badak Shan and even had the help of the Afghan musin allies, the government faction won and signed an unsupervised ceasefire while ethnic cleansing in the East boosted Ramon's power in the same Ron, who started with big eyebrows, worked as a Soviet bureaucrat managing a farm in Dangara, which is located in the western part of Tajikistan, from there our friendly farmer gradually moved up from farming and tractors to the upper levels of the Soviet bureaucracy until he was elected toik of the Supreme Soviet during a time of civil unrest Raman became a symbol of stability seen as the nation's only hope in '99 he won the Tajik elections with an overwhelming 97% From the votes it is quite evident that in the end only Ramón's family and the hierarchs and his inner circle managed to find solace.

Curiously, Raon won the elections in 2006, 2013 and 2020 after a campaign that was not completely defined and the repression of any group not to sing to the tune of the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan in 2015. Ramon boldly went ahead and declared himself. the founder of peace and national unifying leader King of the first men lord of the Seven Kingdoms father of dragons the cities are adorned with photographs and posters of the benevolent leader and the Tajik National Hotes often serve as celebrations of His Image similar to a Egyptian pharaoh Ramón has seen as one of the richest individuals in the post-Soviet era, nepotism excluded the Talco Aluminum Company, which is technically state-owned but effectively controlled by Ramón's brother-in-law, represents the majority of national exports and serves as a lucrative source.

Of Revenue, the company alone consumes about 40% of Tajikistan's electricity, but profits are channeled through an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands. From there, company funds are spent in the most unthinkable ways. Ramón's wife uses them for extravagant shopping trips while her daughters go rent an entire fleet of private planes. His son Ram is president of the Upper House of the Tajik parliament and is also mayor of Dambe. If you think that Ramon is just another money-grabbing leader compared to the West, think again that he is a cunning Maavalan prince who puts on a friendly face while playing a clever game, apart from the strong ties with the Russian Federation, which has a military base in Dambe.

Tajikistan does not cause any concern for the US and the EU, in fact it has close relations with Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, ah, little one! parenthesis for Putin's 70th birthday Ramón gave him this pyramid of watermelons a key and romantic mix the birthday card could have said eat them allif you want to get out of here alive if you wonder why watermelons Tajikistan has more than 70 varieties and are one of the most exported fruits in recent years Raman has been working closely with China, especially through the new Water Route program Silk, however, has led Tajikistan to accumulate a department of more than one billion dollars, which is a considerable amount.

Xijinping is interested in Tajikistan for three reasons. The first goal is to expand Beijing's influence in Central Asia at the expense of Russia and Iran. The second is to establish military bases to defend neighboring Shin Jang. The third secure control of the country's mineral reserves, starting with gold, coal and aluminum. In this case, shares in the talum gold subsidiary of the state aluminum company are divided equally between raon and the Chinese mining giant Tibet huou mining, which has invested more than 200 million to expand roads, bring electricity and carry out mining at high altitude, it does not end there in 2011, dambe planted more than 1,000 k of the Pamier Mountain territory to the People's Republic of China, ending a dispute that lasted more than 130 years.

In exchange, China renounced its claims to the entire Gorab Badak Shan province, an area where the Pamier population still resides, let's hope Ping doesn't forget that. or you know how things are going today 1,000 kilometers saros tomorrow it could be Gordo Shan once again anyway things look good with another neighboring giant the government of new delhi owns a military base in the south of Tajikistan provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in humanitarian and economic aid and sends engineers to maintain hydroelectric plants in the region. Oh, here's something Tajik audiences really love Bollywood movies, let's address the painful notes of her complicated love-hate relationship with a big-moustachioed man because yes, Raon can't be loved by everyone in the mountainous regions of help Focused on agriculture and pastures, water is precious.

Tajiki San is well aware of this with three territories remaining. which bears the legacy of Soviet rule, one of them, Sarvan Valley, is located on USC territory, while the other two, Vuk and LA Laar municipalities, are located within Kiristan. Former President Islam Karimov mentioned in our Usbekistan video was concerned that the construction of the Rogan Dam could reduce the flow of the river and damage Uzbekistan's textile industry after Kimo's death Relations between Tajikistan and Usbekistan have improved However, the dam remains a taboo topic in Kirstan again, they have opted for a more direct approach with heavy-handed tactics.

In April 2021, Tajik and Kek troops had a confrontation. near the voru in Club, which divides a river that is part of Kirstan Dambe, has in fact claimed and continues to claim ownership of a significant part of that river after an 8-month ceasefire in January 2022, a series of incidents including USC deaths and K border. The guards reignited the dispute with the involvement of heavily armed vehicles. Tensions remain high with at least 100,000 people displaced and even Putin had to intervene to personally try to calm Cal's temper, especially since the Kirek who entered Tajikistan are part of the CST.

Raman did not accept Putin. well, to which he responded rather annoyed, however, the real concern, given Remon's eyebrow-raising power, is clearly Afghanistan because well, um, it's Afghanistan too as a result of the Civil War, there are more Tajiks in Afghanistan than in Tajikistan itself, 11.5 million compared to 9 million with the return of the Taliban to power in 2021 Raman has had to increase patrols on the southern border, but after establishing refugee camps, the sad reality is that Duame does not can afford to accommodate more people. Tajikistan is among the 40

poorest

nations in the world and remains the

poorest

.

In Central Asia, 27% of the inhabitants do not have enough money to lead a decent life outside of agriculture and the praised activities of Ramón. The main source of money flowing into Tajikistan comes from external sources, money from Tajiks working in Russia and from the black market, according to the economist. In 2012, the total trafficking of weapons, drugs and human beings through Tajikistan as a communication between Afghanistan, Russia and Europe accounted for about 40% of Tajikistan's GDP. It's a fine line between a transitional comedy in a failed state and making its government more acceptable to the people. He has strongly promoted the idea that he is the spiritual hair of Ishmael Samani, first airor of Transoxania at the end of the 9th century.

The country's main currency and tallest mountain are actually named after him on the face. Communism PE unlike Brad Pit, although Ramon is aging and some AES. and the pains are starting to show one of the world's longest serving heads of state longer than Italy's lucon hair turned gray but eyebrows inexplicably blacker and thicker than they used to be maybe will hand over power to its Sun soon. What is certain is that the future of Tajikistan and its people is closely linked to this entire history. I've definitely had my sense of humor, but there's not much to joke about, especially when I knew I had 20 minutes of graphics and editing for this crazy video.

However, tell them that in the vast majority of cases surprises come from where we least expect them, even from a State that is supposed to be a friend to everyone, but sometimes they can feel a little abandoned at the mercy of a corrupt leader lost in the vast passes of Central Asia it's finally time the only country I haven't covered yet is Kirstan obviously the missing dragons fear completing the series of countries ending with Stan amazing would you like to see a documentary there in 2024 obviously it would we do? I would love to end this series in such an epic way.

I don't know if you remember the documentary project in Iceland funded by you last year. It had more than 30,000 likes. Well, I think it's time to do the same on Kirstan if you help. finance the project we will film a complete 50 minute documentary without any type of advertising for those who want to end up on the list of all contributors to the project just like in Iceland you will find a link in the description with all the details meanwhile thanks to all to see we hope Ramon's eyebrows always remain thick and lush raisins adastra