Tajikistan is a “underdog” among post-Soviet republics. On the one hand, the republic actively cooperates with Russia, on the other hand it tries to find common ground with Europe and the United States. Moreover, after the investment drought of the 2000s, Tajikistan has been actively attracting foreign investment for the past 10 years. However, the country’s authorities have not yet decided on what path to develop: a reliable partner of Russia or a country that actively cooperates with the United States and Europe. The second way, of course, will negatively affect relations with Moscow.
The key to choosing the right path is the attitude of Tajiks to Russia, as well as social ties. And here the language comes to the forefront, in which people from Tajikistan speak and receive information. Here in Europe there is an opinion that the Russian language is leaving all the former Soviet republics in general and from Tajikistan in particular, which, supposedly, can become the foundation for the future distance of Dushanbe and Moscow. However, not everything is so obvious. The fact is that a large proportion of the working-age population of Tajikistan works in Russia. And according to unofficial estimates, about 20% of men go to work in Russia at the age of 18 years. For a good salary in the RF, a Tajik citizen needs to obtain a labor license and pass an examination in the Russian language. It turns out that at least 20% of Tajiks know Russian. And this figure is only growing.
One of the experts of News of Baltic, Raymondas Butkus, recently visited the westernmost Russian city of Kaliningrad, the former German Koenigsberg, which was transferred to the USSR following the Second World War. Raimondas Butkus took part in the events within the framework of the visit to Kaliningrad of the official ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to Russia Imomuddin Sattorov.
According to the ambassador, in Tajikistan the Russian-speaking population does not need help or support. “We have no anti-Russian sentiments. All laws and decrees are issued in two languages – in the state language, in Tajik, and in the language of interethnic communication – in Russian. In addition, Tajikistan has a huge number of Russian-language media: newspapers, the Internet, radio, television. The most active media channels in Tajikistan are Russian. I am generally surprised that there are so many far-fetched information about Tajikistan in Kaliningrad.” – said Imomuddin Sattorov.
Imomuddin Sattorov stressed that the Tajik side constantly appeals to the Russian government with a request to increase quotas for the admission of Tajik students to Russian universities.
The head of the diplomatic mission in Russia noted that Tajik students studying in Russian are already a qualitative indicator of the relationship between countries, and it is necessary to start from schools.
“Today we talked about Russian schools, with the Russian language of instruction. Of course, they are in large cities – Dushanbe, Kulyab, Kurgan-Tube, Khujand, but this is not enough. As a result of agreements with the leadership of Russia and Tajikistan, as early as 2018, five such schools will be built. And plans to bring the number of new schools with the Russian language of instruction to 20”, – said Imomuddin Sattorov.
However, the Tajik ambassador to Russia also acknowledged that students are enrolled in all the leading universities of the world. “Thousands of Tajik students study in the People’s Republic of China, thousands in European universities, in the US, but such a large number of students who study at Russian universities are incomparable with China and the European Union. 20 thousand is studying in Russia! And this is natural, because Russia is our strategic partner – economic, political. We are connected by a common history, “summed up the Tajik ambassador to Russia Imomuddin Sattorov.
According to Raymondas Butkus, Kaliningrad has a sufficient number of migrant workers from Tajikistan who know Russian well and intend to continue working in Russia. In addition, in Tajikistan itself, about half of the population in one form or another receive information from Russian-language media. Labor relations, Russian-language media and historical ties – all this inclines Dushanbe towards the pro-Russian development path.
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