Registan’s Tajikistan News & Analysis Archive

Tajikistan has attracted less attention at Registan since our launch in 2003, but that coverage has increased in recent years as Tajikistan plays a more prominent role in security and development in South and Central Asia. Several of our authors have research experience in Tajikistan and others have worked on a variety of research and analysis projects on Tajikistan. Our most current coverage of Central Asia news can be found on our front page. Inquiries about our Tajikistan news and analysis, hiring Registan authors to consult on Tajikistan, or any other topic, can be submitted via the contact form on our about page.

Central Asia’s Water Woes

by Joshua Foust

We don’t cover it obsessively, but we here at Registan.net have been keeping a wary eye on the deteriorating state of regional water arrangements and conflicts in Central Asia. Just about every author here, from Michael Hancock to Misha, has written at some point about how management issues are sparking worry and have the potential [...]

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Enforcing the Border

by Nathan Hamm

The picture above, from March 2009, shows the border between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan on the western side of the town of Kara-Suu. In fits and starts since independence, Uzbekistan has defined its separation from its neighbors by various means, one of which is quite easily seen above in the form of a deep trench dug [...]

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Chart of the Day

by Joshua Foust
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Going Backward, Into the Future

by Nathan Hamm
Thumbnail image for Going Backward, Into the Future

In his overview of Central Asia’s downward slide, Josh closes by saying we could spend plenty of time reflecting on why each country in the region has become less free and/or able to provide basic services to varying degrees. While true that each government is dealing with its own particular problems, there is a common [...]

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Central Asia’s Slow Decline

by Joshua Foust

Despite the boosters out there who think Kazakhstan is on a bright shining path to the future, a number of people seem to be avoiding the spin. Joanna Lillis, for example, is straight up mocking the election observers who say this most recent election was super-awesome. She profiles Daniel Witt, who runs the International Tax [...]

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Tajikistan’s Dead Insurgent Lives Forever Online

by Nathan Hamm

The following is a post submitted anonymously — Nathan After taking serious losses in an ambush and a helicopter crash (possibly shot down), Tajikistan’s security forces played catch-up recently and reigned in some cantankerous insurgents in the Rasht Valley. At the beginning of the year the Tajik government announced that an opposition commander by the [...]

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The Old Wound of Child Cotton Picking

by Joshua Foust

The Centre for Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus, School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) has just published report a new report (pdf) on forced child labor in the cotton harvests of Central Asia. It focuses on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, seeking to determine whether either country has made progress in fulfilling its [...]

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Sanctuary in Ferghana

by Nathan Hamm

Oh, hey. Look! Someone’s making a mostly evidence-free claim that “the broad Ferghana Valley, where Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan converge, is turning into a key sanctuary for Islamic militants.” More power to The Dallas Morning News for picking up the story, I guess. But, it’s a pinch of really old news — that there’s this [...]

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Book Review: Hurramabad

by Christian Bleuer

I rarely read fiction anymore, so this book is one of the rare exceptions: Andrei Volos, Hurramabad, Moscow: GLAS Publishers, 2001. Translated by Arch Tait. Hurramabad is a collection of short stories on the theme of ethnic Russians in Tajikistan. The Russians of Tajikistan, who arrived as Soviet administrators and skilled workers, emigrated en masse [...]

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Two Comparisons

by Michael Hancock-Parmer

Our first post not directly or indirectly connected to the crisis in Kyrgyzstan… this is not to downplay recent turns of events, as I’m sure Registan will continue its efforts at coverage/analysis for the English-speaking audience that has a hard time finding aggregation of all the various updates on Osh, Jalalabad, et. al. I want [...]

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