Tajikistan Local Politics - The Times Of Central Asia

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War in Ukraine

Why Tajikistan Does Not Prosecute Individuals for Participation in the War in Ukraine

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has been ongoing for nearly four years, and media outlets have repeatedly reported that citizens of Tajikistan are participating in the fighting. However, Tajikistan’s authorities state that no criminal cases have been initiated against citizens on these grounds. The country’s top law enforcement officials have explained their position. At a press conference, Khabibullo Vokhidzoda said that over the past year no citizen of Tajikistan had been prosecuted for participation in Russia’s war in Ukraine. He noted that many of those involved hold Russian citizenship. According to Vokhidzoda, such individuals are legally obligated to fulfill the military duties of the country whose citizenship they possess. “Under Tajikistan’s legislation, we do not have the right to initiate criminal proceedings against citizens who also hold Russian citizenship and who participated in the conflict with Ukraine under an agreement with that country,” he said. At the same time, he clarified that if a Tajik citizen who does not hold Russian citizenship takes part in hostilities abroad, a criminal case will be opened. “The provisions of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan will definitely be applied to such actions. This is Article 401, Part 1 of the Criminal Code, which concerns illegal participation in armed clashes abroad,” the prosecutor general emphasized. He added that the agency currently does not have verified official data on such cases. Vokhidzoda expressed a similar position in the summer of 2025. Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda confirmed that no criminal cases have been initiated in this category. “We do not keep records of how many of our citizens are participating in the war in Ukraine, and we have no obligations in this regard,” he said. For several years, media outlets have reported that thousands of Tajik nationals are involved in the conflict, with some estimates suggesting that the number of fatalities has reached into the hundreds. No official Tajik government body has confirmed or denied these figures. On February 12, reports emerged of the death of 26-year-old Karomatullo Odinaev. His body was returned to his native village of Basmand in Devashtich district for burial. In 2025, the remains of other deceased Tajik nationals were also repatriated. Tajikistan’s legislation prohibits the illegal participation of citizens and stateless persons in armed formations or military operations abroad. Article 401, Part 1 of the Criminal Code provides for a prison sentence of between 12 and 20 years for such offenses. However, individuals who voluntarily cease participation in armed groups before the end of a conflict and who have not committed other crimes may be exempt from criminal liability. Approaches to the issue differ across Central Asia. In Uzbekistan, a 38-year-old citizen was sentenced to three years in prison for participating in the war against Ukraine. According to the State Security Service, between 2022 and mid-2025, 338 criminal cases were opened over citizens’ participation in armed conflicts abroad. In Kazakhstan, authorities reportedly opened around 700 criminal cases in 2025 involving citizens conscripted into Russian military service, with several convictions handed down. Criminal...

Emomali Rahmon

After Absence, Tajikistan’s Rahmon Highlights a Daily Schedule

He’s back. President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan met Kazakhstan’s foreign minister on Monday, two days after welcoming the head of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to Dushanbe. It might seem like routine business for the leader of a country. But the meetings, during which Rahmon was photographed and shown in video, followed more than two weeks during which Tajikistan’s president hadn’t been seen in public. The absence prompted some media and other online questions about his whereabouts and health, possibly prompting the presidency to issue a statement last week that said Rahmon had upcoming meetings. The 73-year-old president, who has held the post since 1994, posed for a photographed handshake with Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev that was posted on the website of Tajikistan’s presidential office. Rahmon’s account on X also showed a video of a meeting between him and Zou Jiayi of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Saturday. In addition, on Sunday, the presidential office posted a video of Rahmon congratulating Chinese President Xi Jinping on the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Speaking in a deep voice, Rahmon sat in front of an image of tree blossoms that are associated with the Spring Festival, which runs into early March. Rahmon´s son, Rustam Emomali, is chairman of the National Assembly and would take over as interim president if his father is unable to serve.

Politics

Amid Questions, Tajikistan’s Presidency Says Rahmon Has Upcoming Meetings

President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan has several meetings in the coming days, his office said this week, following reports that the leader had not been seen in public this month. Rahmon, 73, will meet Zou Jiayi, head of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as well as Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev, who will visit Tajikistan, the presidential office said on Wednesday. Zou took up her job as president of the Beijing-based bank last month. Kosherbayev, who assumed his position in September, was scheduled to visit Kyrgyzstan on Thursday and Friday, media in Kyrgyzstan reported. “Several other events are also planned with the participation of the Leader of the Nation, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon, which we will report on in more detail,” the Tajikistan’s presidential office said. Rahmon’s Telegram channel showed video of him presiding over a meeting with law enforcement officials on January 28. But reports that he had not been seen in public since then stirred online speculation about his whereabouts and health. Similar unverified reports about the president have occasionally circulated in the past, in a country where the government tightly controls the flow of information. Rahmon has been president of Tajikistan since 1994. His son Rustam Emomali is chairman of the National Assembly and would take over as interim president if his father is unable to serve.

Parliamentary Reform

Analysis: Three Decades of Parliamentary Reform in Central Asia — and What Changed

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced his reform plans on January 20, including structural changes to the government. Arguably, one of the least consequential of those changes is replacing the current bicameral parliament with a unicameral parliament. Across Central Asia, over the last 35 years, parliaments have repeatedly switched from unicameral to bicameral parliaments, or vice versa, the number of deputies has increased and decreased, and in some cases, parallel bodies have come into existence and later disappeared. Kazakhstan When the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, each of the former republics, including the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, had a unicameral, republican Supreme Soviet elected in 1990. These Supreme Soviets continued functioning after independence until 1994, and in the case of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, until 1995. In Kazakhstan, in December 1993, the majority of the 360 deputies in the Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve the body. In March 1994, there were elections to the new parliament (Supreme Kenges) that had 177 seats. During the tumultuous year of 1995, the parliament was dissolved by then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled by decree until snap parliamentary elections in December of that year. However, on August 29, 1995, voters approved a new constitution in a national referendum. That constitution created a bicameral parliament with 67 deputies in the Mazhilis, the lower house, and 50 deputies in the Senate, 10 of them directly appointed by the president. Deputies to the Mazhilis were chosen in popular elections. Senators were chosen in indirect elections involving deputies from local, provincial, and municipal councils of large cities. In the snap parliamentary elections of October 1999, 10 seats were added and chosen by party lists, while the original 67 continued to be contested in single-mandate districts. That structure lasted until 2007. Constitutional amendments adopted in late May that year increased the number of seats in the Mazhilis to 107, of which 98 were to be chosen by party lists. Nazarbayev’s Nur-Otan party won all 98 of the party list seats in the August elections. The remaining nine representatives came from the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan, a group representing the various ethnic groups in Kazakhstan that Nazarbayev created in 1995. Eight additional members of the Assembly were given seats in the Senate. The Assembly held its own elections to fill those seats. Kazakhstan conducted a constitutional referendum in June 2022, in part aimed at mollifying discontent that lingered from the mass unrest in early January that year, which left 238 people dead. Some amendments stripped away powers in the executive branch that had accumulated during the 28 years Nazarbayev was president, and more power was given to parliament. Another amendment removed the nine Mazhilis seats reserved for members of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan. One amendment reduced the number of Senate members appointed by the president back to 10, after it had been raised to 15 under a 2007 amendment. Kyrgyzstan A referendum in Kyrgyzstan on constitutional amendments in October 1994 created a bicameral...

Transport Infrastructure

European Investment Bank to Allocate €100 Million for Tajikistan’s Transport Infrastructure Upgrade

The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to allocate €100 million to finance transport infrastructure projects in Tajikistan, according to an announcement by the country’s Ministry of Transport. The funding will support upgrades to existing infrastructure and improve the accessibility of transport services across the country. The investment is aimed at accelerating economic development, reinforcing the national transport network, and enhancing Tajikistan’s integration into regional logistics corridors. The funding is outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Tajikistan and the EIB, which serves as a framework for long-term cooperation. The memorandum was initially presented at the Global Gateway Investor Forum on Sustainable Transport Links between Europe and Central Asia, held in Brussels in January 2024, and was formally signed on April 4, 2025. Implementation efforts advanced during a working meeting on January 19 between Tajikistan’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Azim Ibrahim, and an EIB delegation led by Edvardas Bumsteinas, the bank’s Director for Asia and the Pacific Region. The two sides discussed project parameters, financing mechanisms, fund monitoring, and a preliminary list of initiatives eligible for support. The EIB reaffirmed its interest in “close cooperation” with Tajikistan and stressed that it will prioritize projects with regional significance that foster economic growth and transport integration. Officials on both sides believe that implementing the memorandum’s provisions will lay a foundation for the comprehensive development of Tajikistan’s transport sector and bolster its role as a key transit hub in Central Asia. This initiative complements a parallel effort by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which recently approved €10 million for the modernization of electric public transport in the city of Bokhtar. The EIB is the European Union’s official investment bank, wholly owned by EU member states. It operates in alignment with EU policy priorities and often partners with other European institutions to promote sustainable development globally.

Electricity Supply

Rahmon Outlines Measures to Address Tajikistan’s Winter Power Shortages

President Emomali Rahmon has acknowledged that Tajikistan’s population continues to endure severe electricity rationing during the winter months, and has outlined steps the government is taking to alleviate the crisis. “We are fully aware of the challenges faced by the people of Tajikistan during the period of temporary restrictions on electricity supply,” Rahmon said in his annual address to parliament on December 16, adding that authorities are implementing all necessary measures to address the issue. Rahmon attributed the shortages primarily to rapid population growth and the expansion of industrial production, both of which have significantly increased domestic electricity consumption. He also cited unfavorable weather conditions, including below-average rainfall last autumn, which reduced water inflows into reservoirs that supply the country’s hydropower plants. He noted that since independence, 1.3 million new homes have been built to accommodate over 8.4 million people. In the past seven years alone, 2,600 new industrial enterprises have begun operations, further raising electricity demand. Despite these pressures, Tajikistan has steadily increased electricity production. Over the past decade, annual generation has risen by 7 billion kilowatt-hours, from 17.2 billion in 2015 to 24.2 billion in 2025, an increase of approximately 40%. However, domestic demand is projected to grow by an additional 31% by 2030 compared to 2025 levels. Over the past ten years, investments in the energy sector have added 1,017 megawatts to the country’s installed capacity. A further 200 megawatts were gained through the rehabilitation and modernization of existing plants. One of the most recent projects was the modernization of the Kairakkum Hydroelectric Power Plant, completed in November 2025, which increased its capacity from 114 megawatts to 174 megawatts. While Tajikistan possesses vast hydropower potential, it has long struggled with chronic energy shortages. In response, the government has prioritized large-scale hydropower projects, particularly the Rogun Dam and Hydropower Plant, which is expected to be central to achieving domestic energy security and establishing Tajikistan as a regional electricity exporter. Rahmon announced that the third generating unit of the Rogun plant is scheduled for commissioning in September 2027, marking a key milestone on the path to full energy independence. In parallel, construction has begun on two large solar power plants, each with a capacity of 250 megawatts, in the Sughd and Khatlon regions. Both facilities are expected to be operational by August 2026. He also emphasized the importance of improving energy efficiency alongside expanding generation capacity. Electricity losses remain high, exceeding 3 billion kilowatt-hours annually. Rahmon called for accelerating the rollout of a nationwide digital billing system, which he said has already reduced losses. The introduction of modern digital billing and payment technologies revealed that 30% to 40% of households were previously not paying for electricity. Since the system’s implementation, losses have declined. In the first 11 months of 2025, total electricity losses stood at approximately 3 billion kilowatt-hours, 500 million kilowatt-hours less than during the same period the previous year.