Notes on Tajikistan
Matt Lakeman's travel notes on Tajikistan explore its diverse cultural influences, economic disparities, and China's significant involvement in infrastructure development and economic growth. The narrative unveils Tajikistan's intricate socio-economic landscape.
Read original articleIn his travel notes on Tajikistan, Matt Lakeman describes his experiences in the country, highlighting its unique blend of Soviet, Islamic, Persian, steppe, and Himalayan cultures. He provides an overview of Tajikistan's key statistics, such as its population, GDP, and economic indicators. The author also compares Tajikistan to other "Stan" countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan, emphasizing their distinct characteristics. He delves into the wealth distribution within Tajikistan, noting the apparent affluence of the capital, Dushanbe, in contrast to the rural poverty prevalent in other areas. Lakeman attributes this development divide to China's significant influence on Tajikistan, describing it as a "Chinese colony" due to geopolitical partnerships and investments. The author discusses China's involvement in Tajikistan's infrastructure development, particularly in Dushanbe, and the country's economic growth driven by mining activities and remittances. Overall, the narrative sheds light on Tajikistan's complex socio-economic landscape shaped by historical, cultural, and geopolitical factors.
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Depends on which locals. Younger generations never really cared about this. All my friends have always found the movies hilarious, especially the first one.
When the sequel was released, the government finally started acting like adults: https://youtu.be/eRGXq4t9wY4
I'm pretty sure this is also caused by generational change in the government.
It's a beautiful country if you love hiking or mountaineering, though certainly has a lot of practical challenges. The article did a very good job of explaining the local situation in Tajikistan and giving you a bit of a feeling of what it's like to be there.
> I asked about the criminal justice system and I was told there wasn’t much of a formal one. My companion explained that most matters were handled internally by families. For instance, if a 20-something got in a fight with another 20-something and the cops got involved, the police would most likely contact the families and let the parents and brothers sort that shit out with a warning not to cause trouble again. The families would enforce order through shaming, threats of social ostracization, and possibly physical violence.
In Iran, provinces are called Ostan and some Ostans' names end with -stan (e.g. Ostan of Kurdistan).
By the way, since it's not clear from their names, it may be worth noting that Tajiki and Persian are two dialects of the same language.
for those who are curious about traveling in central asia in general, there is a great travel blog of sorts called caravanistan -> https://caravanistan.com/forum/
the main website is useful for travel logistics but i find myself returning to the forum pretty often to see travel updates from people on the ground in those places. really interesting to me to read about various border crossings between countries, what to expect when traveling around/between countries, etc
I do not see dysfunctional countries as beautiful. I prefer well functioning countries where things get done and people understand each other.
I guess the author likes to see people suffer?
Fascinating pair of countries, and highly recommended to go travel and get off the beaten track.
Just to nitpick, however:
> Got independence from the USSR in 1991 and had some power struggles until a Soviet guy took over in 1994 and then won a brutal civil war against a coalition of Islamic extremists and has been running the country ever since
Calling it Islamic extremists is a bit reductive. The coalition (United Tajik Opposition) was with the Islamic Renaissance Party, a couple of pro-democracy parties which were supported by the majority of the intelligentsia, and also included a party for Pamiri Autonomy. The most common thing among them is they were all united against the Communists.
Source: I am Tajik and was born around the Soviet Union collapsed. Also studied the history of the civil war
Just like the author I (from India) travelled with a couple of Europeans, a German girl and a French guy. I very much enjoyed my time there, especially in the Pamirs. I stayed with a local family who hosted me in Khorog. I went hiking, watched Afghan villages from across the border, and also worked remotely.
It was also the most vertically integrated place I've ever encountered. I've worked in a lot of places outside of EU/US and it's the only one where I've felt you could stick most people on the country on an organigram.
In the long term, I can see it bleeding more territory to China due to the significant difference in military power and aggression. This is so long as there isn't a NATO-like structure to keep Chinese aggression in check, constituted of its neighbors.
Inb4 those weirdos who go all in on nurture, but then refuse to discuss nurture, leaving the terrain to conspiracies and racists.
Also the hospitality is pretty legendary.
> I have to admit that I find it kind of funny that Tajikistan spent $3.5 million to win an extremely petty international prestige project contest, and then it lost a few years later to a country with 30X the GDP per capita and 100X the GDP. Saudi Arabia’s lead lasted for seven years until Egypt took the top spot and Russia slid into second place
Quite amusing to see how a man writes about -stan and Saudi Arabia but his mind is firmly not on these countries.
> On this particular point and some others, I wondered whether my companion had an overly rosy and maybe sanitized view of Tajik culture, which isn’t uncommon for immigrants to have toward their homeland.
Or maybe he didn't want to speak freely with some foreign rando. Especially some foreign rando from America. Cue in the next three paragraphs.
> due to an apparent combination of local fashion sensibilities and I guess fabulous Persian hair
That's a funny observation but this is how you instantly recognize Tajik from any other guy from Central Asia.
> How can two countries have so many military fights that result in direct casualties, including straight-up artillery barrages over the border, and not actually declare war on one another?
> I have no idea.
I have no idea how some country can travel to literally the other side of the planet and yet not actually declare war on the country it is invading. *shrug_emoji*
> And of the better armed one-third, I swear, most didn’t have clips in their AKs. Meaning, they either carried no ammo or only a single round in the chamber.
Or they are required not to have a loaded magazine[0] in the firearm because they aren't in the constant direct threat and don't have a need to respond instantly.
I know, it's hard to comprehend to someone from "I bring a loaded AR in Taco Bell (along with two Glocks and assortments of EDC tactical knifes) else I'm feel like naked" nation, but no magazine in a firearm doesn't mean there is no magazines at all.
> Claim 2: The “Taj” in “Taj Mahal” refers to the Tajik people.
After the turmoils of 1990s many ex-USSR countries tried to invent their ancient connections, so if you hear something along that - keep a salt shaker nearby.
> Buzkashi
Oh, yes, a lot of this types of.. activities in the Central Asia. The included video is hilarious for the reaction of the announcer and the comments[1]
Overall this article is.. obviously biased by the US-tinted glasses. I found myself reading it for the author perspective, less for the actual content.
[0] Yes, it's a magazine:
> Clip (firearms)
> Not to be confused with Magazine (firearms).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clip_(firearms)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magazine_(firearms)
[1] It's in the article but if you are lost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JUn8MsEyPs
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