HISTORY
Tajikistan’s History Spans A Millennium of Evolution
T
ajikistan, a rather mysterious country that few people outside the region know much about, has a rich history deeply influenced by Persian culture.
In fact, it was the Samanid dynasty, founded by Ismoil Somoni more than 1,100 years ago, that led to the emergence of the Tajik national identity. In the 11th century, the name Tajik appeared for the first time — used to describe local Persian speakers by the Uyghur scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari. But the beginning of Tajik people’s history goes back at least to the middle of the first millennium B. C. The poet Rudaki who is regarded as the ‘father’ of classical Persian-Tajik literature was born and lived in the territory of presentday Tajikistan. The Tajiks fell under Turkic rule in the end of the 10th century and remained that way until the 1860’s, when czarist Russia began making conquests in Central Asia. Toward the end of the 19th century, Tajikistan became a strategic piece in the so-called regional “great game” whereby the Russian and British empires vied for control of Central Asia, especially the famed Pamir Mountains. Tajikistan eventually became a federated Soviet socialist republic in 1929. Although part of the USSR for nearly 60 years, Tajikistan preserved its unique national identity while benefiting from the Soviet education and health care system. It was also connected with other Central Asian republics at the time thanks to Soviet transportation and energy corridors. In September 1991, as the USSR was collapsing, Tajikistan emerged as an independent state — and almost immediately faced multiple crises: a tragic civil war that lasted from 1992 to 1997, the end of critical subsidies from Moscow, and the breakdown of well-established regional collaboration and exchange systems. The acute poverty that ensued led many Tajik men from rural areas to emigrate — mostly to Russia — to support their families. Many remain abroad and continue to send home remittances — in 2008, for instance, they
sent home a record $2.6 billion. These remittances represent a large percentage of Tajikistan’s GDP and are like an umbilical cord, making Tajikistan dependent on Russia’s overall economic health. Today, the country must shake off the centrally planned economy it inherited from the Soviet era, along with a communist mentality. With just over 7 million inhabitants, the government is undertaking aggressive measures to lift its population out of poverty. According to the World Bank, the percentage of Tajiks living below the poverty line has been slashed from 83 percent in 1999 to 47 percent in 2009. However, the health care and education sectors still lag behind, suffering from a dire lack of funding. Complicating matters is the fact that 40 percent of all Tajiks are under the age of 14. The desire to usher in stability after a debilitating civil war has spawned a paternalistic approach to governing, led by a powerful president. To that end, Tajikistan does not score very highly in rankings that compare countries’ economic and political freedoms. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Tajikistan at 154th place, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index puts it at 149th, and Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press Index lists Tajikistan at 169th place, with the press seen as “not free.” Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections, said Tajikistan’s parliamentary balloting in February 2010 failed to meet OSCE standards, as did previous elections. The fear that too much democracy might jeopardize the stability needed for economic growth and even breed chaos has so far
Credit: Gennadiy Ratushenko
MUSICIANS IN FRONT OF THE HISAR FORT
stymied the emergence of a real opposition and more vocal press. The Tulip Revolution in neighboring Kyrgyzstan and the ousting of its president Kurmanbek Bakiyev is on the mind of all the governments of Central Asia and a source of concern. With that in mind, the economic prosperity enjoyed by Singapore and its hybrid regime — which blends democracy with authoritarian disciple — is seen as an appealing alternative model. The debate over how far Tajikistan should go democratically, however, overlooks some of the country’s economic advances. The Wisconsin-size country has for two years in a row earned a spot among the top 10 improving economies in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report, ranking 138th in the bank’s 2011 report. On the social front, Tajikistan has been working to assert a modern new national identity while balancing tradition and Islam. Ethnically Tajikistan is composed of Tajiks (80 percent), Uzbeks (15.3 percent) and Russians (1.1 percent). Nearly all inhabitants profess Islam, with 95 percent following the Sunni tradition and 3 percent identifying themselves as Shiites.
1,500-YEAR-OLD SLEEPING BUDDHA AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES Credit: Committee of Youth, Sports, and Tourism
TIMELINE
Page 6
SPONSORED REPORT
April 2011