Dushanbe and Tashkent is targeting "strategic partnership"

On friday, march 9, at the meeting in dushanbe, the presidents of uzbekistan shavkat mirziyoev and tajikistan emoMali rahmon signed a number of documents on the norMalization of relations between the two countries. Agreed, in particular, to abolish the visa regime between uzbekistan and tajikistan, as well as to resume road, rail and air transport. The tajik president has promised to gradually recover on the border the work of all 16 checkpoints. In response, the uzbek leader said that soon the relations between the two countries reached the level of "Strategic partnership. " sirs fight, at lackeys forelocks crack something like this translated into Russian, you can submit a picture of the protracted cold war between uzbekistan and tajikistan, caused by the quarrel between the two leaders.

From this argument two aspects of the ethno-historical and economic. Let's start with recent history, what it has done for the population of the two countries during the years of soviet power. In 1924, the political topography of the bolsheviks conducted a national-territorial delimitation of central asia. The result was the emergence of the tajik autonomous republic within the uzbek ssr. This option was not the most successful.

The fact that the tajiks somewhat arrogantly refer to uzbeks (something similar to the attitude of our citizens to the villagers). Tajiks consider themselves a nation more ancient culture and history, hence this slight snobbery. The bolsheviks were far from such ethnic intricacies and therefore put the tajiks in a subordinate, dependent position from uzbek neighbours. Later error tried to fix it. In 1929, tajikistan was transformed into a full-fledged union republic. But osadochek remained, moreover, of tangible and visible.

Uzbekistan attributed to a tajik enclave, which includes the ancient cities – samarkand and bukhara, who constitute the pride of the history and culture of the tajik nation. Admittedly, uzbek leaders felt the nuances of ethnic relations and behaved with sopodchinennosti neighbors not only correctly, but even defended the interests of tajikistan in Moscow's high offices. This tradition survived for many years even after the actual adjustment of the republics of rights. More populated and stronger economically uzbekistan is in every way watched over their "Well-born" neighbors. The uzbek policy is explained to have been invented in tashkent thesis about "One nation with two languages". However, it's not only languages.

Peoples are actually different. Tajiks – is, according to ethnographers, North persians. Hence their peculiar language, which some experts consider to be a dialect of farsi. Other – an independent linguistic branch of the persian language. The majority of tajiks living in Northern Afghanistan, about a third of the nation (one of the largest in central asia) tajikistan joined. The uzbeks are turkic-speaking.

It is believed that they are based on ancient Iranian tribes, ethnogenesis much has changed after the invasion of central asia the mongols and other nomads. The ethnonym "Uzbek" was brought into use after the actual assimilation of the indigenous population with invaders and decision in the appeal of the variety of the turkic language. For this simple picture of the differences between the two peoples lies a thousand nuances, known only to the locals of those places. Sometimes these differences led to ethnic conflicts, however, economic reasons (disputes over the allocation of water, land, etc. ). The communist government, these conflicts had skillfully treated without eliminating the reasons for their breed. So by the time of independence, tajik and uzbek republics, they have developed a certain base of conflict.

It is apparent, first of all, in relations between the two leaders. At first, the president of tajikistan emoMali rahmon traditionally called his uzbek counterpart islam karimov "Atamis" ("Our father"). Then accused karimov's oppression of the tajik. Rahmon recalled how once, during a visit to uzbekistan, he approached the resident and asked him to give his nationality. The man with a wary glance at present at the conversation of the president of uzbekistan and said, "I – samarkand". Probably claim rahmon was something reasonable.

At least, when karimov tajiks in uzbekistan began to be written only half a million people. Unofficial sources extend the size of the tajik diaspora to 11 million. Over time, disputes between rahmon and karimov began to develop into a quarrel. Once at the closed press conference, tajik president admitted that karimov he "Many times argued, twice even came to blows. Once we nazarbayev has separated and the second time kuchma.

And i said to him, "Samarkand and bukhara we're gonna get!". Water and gas as a bone of contention. The revelation of rahmon moved from a closed press conference in the public space. The uzbeks did not react, kept silent. But supervisory experts quickly bound time summits, which were attended by tajik and uzbek leaders, with the subsequent overlapping boundaries between neighboring countries, introduction of visa regime, blocking of transport communications and other inconveniences, which gave two presidents of their nations. Meanwhile, the claim of tajiks in samarkand and bukhara, if they had a value in these conflicts, not the first.

The controversy was due to mutual supplies of gas, electricity, "Disposal" tajikistan water of the vakhsh river. In soviet times, has built a cascade of six hydro power plants. Began to build and the largest – the rogun hpp, but fell into a protracted. However, the capacity of existing stations was missing for the summer flood period to provide energy to the tajik republic and even support neighboring uzbekistan, which stopped for the summer prevention of its gas-fired power plants. In winter, the situation mirrored changes. Due to the low fall electricity to the tajik hydroelectric power station, now the republic has supported the uzbek power plants.

This years the established order began to unravel in the years of independence of the two republics. It got to the point that the shortage of electricity in tajikistan during winter periods exceeded one third of total energy consumption of the republic. The situation was aggravated by the fact that uzbekistan started to hold not only electricity but also natural gas. In tajikistan, people were without light and heat, were freezing. Sometimes it leads to tragedy.

For example, "In the winter of 2008 in the country due to the lack of power killed a newborn child" – these words of president rahmon. Now, the tajik leader not only abused uzbek "Atomize" last words, but were looking for a way to save their republic. The solution lay on the surface – finish building the rogun hpp in the upper reaches of the vakhsh. Below the cascade to build two more stations smaller sangtuda hpp-1 and hpp-2. At this time, worried already in tashkent. Here talking about the "Utilization of tajik vakhsh water".

The threat was serious. The world knows such examples. That's good the americans have been regulated water his famous colorado river. They have built reservoirs, dams, dikes, drainage outlets, and colorado ceased to flow into the pacific ocean, quietly dissolving into the sands of the american desert. The last time the river, as they say hydrologists, "Kissed by the ocean" in the high flood of 1998.

The ocean is experienced, but the adjacent mexican territory became a zone of ecological disaster. A new hydroelectric power station on the vakhsh promised close to this picture. Uzbekistan reacted strongly and blocked the border of tajikistan. Compartment it from contact with the world through their territory. For dushanbe it was, in fact, the only (through the territory of uzbekistan) communication, connecting it with other countries.

There was an international conflict. For tajiks stood up Iran, which has already gone into the construction of sangtuda-2 hpp. Tehran has achieved some relief. Other partners of tajikistan helped him to establish road links with Russia (through kyrgyzstan), China (with international karakoram highway), Afghanistan. Russian energy completed construction of sangtuda-1.

In 2016, the riverbed of the vakhsh river was blocked for filling the reservoir of the rogun hydroelectric power station. It was clear that sanctions against karimov, rahmon does not work. You need to sit down and negotiate, but old grudges and personal ambitions prevented the restoration of relations. Only after the death of islam karimov in tashkent came in direct contact with dushanbe. New uzbek leader shavkat mirziyoev spoke about the norMalization of relations with the tajik neighbors and even met personally emoMali rahmon. Began to change not just rhetoric.

Last summer, the tv channel "O'zbekiston" has shot a film called "Uzbekistan–tajikistan: friendship, tested by time". Ministry of foreign affairs of uzbekistan posted the film on his website. Later, speaking at the international press club in tashkent, the minister of foreign affairs of uzbekistan abdulaziz kamilov described the tape, "O'zbekiston" as "A very good movie about the tajik-uzbek relations". With such signals, a convergence of the two countries, culminating in a march 9 signing of documents breakthrough in bilateral relations. Whether they like would like shavkat mirziyoev, strategic, time will tell. Too much of a problem between tajiks and uzbeks has generated recent history. While there has been progress in rebuilding contacts between the two countries.

The norMalization of economic relations. In its lower point, the annual trade turnover between tajikistan and uzbekistan was estimated only 2. 5 million dollars (as are some exclusive swiss watch). Now the countries want to get the mutual trade to $500 million, as it was in their best years. However, the biggest test of friendship "One nation with two languages" will be the development of far.