Tajikistan Culture

Tajikistan Culture and Mass Media

Newspapers in Tajikistan

According to THESCIENCETUTOR.ORG, Tajikistan is a country located in Asia. Newspaper reading has been steadily declining in Tajikistan since the mid-1990s due to lower household incomes. In addition, newspapers with weak finances have had difficulty surviving the sanctions of the authorities in connection with the elections. In 2008, the total edition of all newspapers in Tajikistan exceeded 200,000 copies. Largest is the weekly magazine Charhi Gardun (‘ Fates of Fate ‘) with an edition of about 15,000 copies.

The largest audience has the two major state TV channels of the Russian Federation, which reach out to large parts of Tajikistan with their satellite entertainment programs. The state-owned radio (founded in 1928) and television (founded in 1959) have received competition from a number of local stations that usually only cover one city. Tajikistan has several small news agencies. About 1% of the population had internet access in 2008.

Culture

According to ANIMALERTS, the Tajiks belong to the Persian cultural circle and have had great cultural significance for the whole of Central Asia. Their Persian language was used as a literary language in much of the area long after the Persians lost their influence there.

In old cultural cities such as Samarkand and Buchara, which is now located in Uzbekistan, the upper class spoke Persian. In ancient times, the Tajiks were often traders and skilled craftsmen, living along the so-called Silk Road between China and Europe. Among the resident Tajiks, the written word came to play a greater role than for the nomadic people who had oral narrative traditions.

The oldest Tajik literature is considered part of Persian. Perhaps the greatest Tajik writer is considered to be Abu al-Qasim Firdawsi, who was born in the 900s in Transoxania (see Modern History). The millennial anniversary of his work The King’s Book (Shah-name), which is the Tajik and Persian national epic, was celebrated in 2010. The renaissance of the old traditions and the emphasis of the native language has made Firdawsi popular today. In the capital Dushanbe, he has had to replace Lenin as a statue.

Among the Tajik writers and poets of the 20th century are Sadriddin Ayni and Mirzo Tursunzoda. Tajik poetry is often performed with music. Falak is a popular form of melancholy folk music.

2020

May

The Minister of Health is dismissed

May 5th

Health Minister Nasim Olimzoda is dismissed by President Rahmon. No reasons are given, only that Olimzoda is moved to another position. Tajikistan reported its first 15 cases of coronary infection on April 30 after long diminishing the threat of the pandemic. When the Minister of Health is replaced, the country has 293 registered cases of coronary infection and five deaths in covid-19.

April

Coronapandemin reaches Tajikistan

April 30th

Tajikistan has registered its first cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Five people in Dushanbe and ten in the northern region of Sughd have been tested positive. Thus, the corona pandemic has also reached Tajikistan as one of the last countries in the world.

The migrant workers return home

April 17

Countries of Tajik migrant workers are forced to return home when job opportunities in Russia and Kazakhstan disappear in the wake of the corona pandemic and oil price collapse. The country’s finance minister warns of major negative consequences for the economy, as referrals from migrant workers make up a large part of the country’s income in foreign currency. The Finance Minister estimates that the losses will be approximately $ 650 million. The government has applied for $ 240 million in support from the IMF. Tajikistan has not yet reported any case of coronary infection.

President Son becomes Senate President

April 17

Rustam Emomali, son of President Rakhmon, is elected president of the Senate. He is unanimously elected by all senators. Some judges say that the election of Rustam Emomali as Senate chairman is another sign that he is destined to succeed the father in the presidential post eventually. According to the Constitution, it is the Senate President who is deputy in the absence or resignation of the President. Rustam Emomali is mayor of Dushanbe and will retain that post.

Support money from the World Bank

2 April

The World Bank presents a rescue package of $ 1.9 billion to be distributed among 25 developing countries. The money is a contribution to the fight against the corona pandemic. $ 11.3 million goes to Tajikistan, which at the time reported no case of covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

March

Rahmon’s party wins the election

March 1st

Parliamentary elections are held without any real opposition to President Rahmon’s ruling People’s Democratic Party, which receives just over 50 percent of the vote (47 of the 63 seats). Five other parties are taking office in Parliament: the Agrarian Party (7 seats), the Economic Reform Party (5 seats), the Communist Party (2 seats), the Socialist Party (1 seats) and the Democratic Party (1 seats). This is the same position as in the 2015 election. The Social Democratic Party, which is the only real opposition party, receives less than 1 percent of the vote. The turnout is 86 percent. OSCE election observers judge the election as undemocratic and mention a number of irregularities and shortcomings.

January

Over 100 Islamists arrested

January 28

The country’s state prosecutor announces that 113 people have been arrested for membership in the banned Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood. Among those arrested are a regional civil servant from northern Tajikistan and about 20 employees at higher education institutions, including a university lecturer. The arrests were made in December 2019. The Islamist party IRPT was banned and terrorized by the government in 2015. The strongest opposition to President Rahmon’s regime has previously come from an Islamist perspective, but in the March 2020 elections no more religiously based parties are represented.

Tajikistan Culture

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