A difficult figure is Emomali Rahmon, a Tajik politician, and the attitude of his compatriots and foreign colleagues is very ambiguous. The share of this talented organizer was a lot of coups and rebellions. His transformations and reforms even for his fellow countrymen sometimes seem rather strange and ineffective. There has been a lot of criticism of him lately. In order to better understand what is driving this leader, you need to turn to his roots, family, by the time the future president of Tajikistan was just taking his first steps in the political arena.
A family
What do we know about the family of Emomali? The future president was born on October 5, 1952 in a large family. He became the third child. At this time, the Emomali family lived in the Kulyab region, in the village of Dangara, in the Tajik SSR. The boy was very proud of his father and older brother. Sharif Rakhmonov, Papa Emomali, was a participant in the Great Patriotic War. He was awarded the Order of Glory of the 2nd and 3rd degrees. Unfortunately, the brother of the future Tajik president, Fayziddin Rakhmonov, died while on duty in late 1950 in the Lviv region, in Ukraine. The politician’s mother, Mairam Sharifova, died at the age of 94 in 2004. This was a big loss for our hero.
early years
Our hero grew up and soon went to high school, which he successfully graduated from. There was not enough money in the family. The young man did not have the opportunity to study further at that time. After graduating from school, Emomali Rakhmon went to work at the creamery in Kurgan-Tube as an electrician.
After that, he served in the Pacific Fleet for three years, from 1971 to 1974. Emomali then returned to the factory to his specialty. The young man was very purposeful. He entered the Tajik State University in the correspondence department and successfully graduated from it later. There was not enough money. He took on any work, having time to work even the seller. From 1976 to 1988, Emomali worked first as secretary of board on a collective farm in the Kulyab region, then as chairman of the trade union committee here, then in party organizations. Soon, a purposeful young man became the director of a state farm in the Dangarinsky district of the same region. In 1992, Emomali was elected to the post of deputy of the Supreme Council of the Tajik SSR.
Children
What does the president dream of at his leisure? That his children and grandchildren all worked out happily. And he, for his part, will do everything for this. Since childhood, our hero dreamed that he would have a very large family. Everything is fulfilled. He has nine children: two sons (Somon and Rustam) and seven daughters (Firuza, Rukhshona, Ozoda, Tahmina, Zarrin, Parvin and Farzon). Let's try to trace the fate of some of them:
• The eldest daughter of Emomali Rahmon, Firuza, became the wife of the son of Amonullo Hukumov, the head of the Tajik railway.
• Son Rustam, born in 1987, at one time graduated from the Tajik National University, was a student of MGIMO courses. In his career, everything went well, probably not without the help of an influential father. Initially, he headed the Office of Business Support in the State Committee, then worked as the head of the Office for Combating Smuggling. A little later, he took over as president of the Tajik Football Federation (he used to play football for the Istiklol club). In 2009, Rustam married the daughter of an influential manager of a large food production in the city of Dushanbe. This wedding was held on a large scale. Emomali Rahmon did not regret the money for this. It was officially announced that the celebration was held within the framework of the presidential bill "On streamlining celebrations, traditions and ceremonies." In fact, it turned out that the rules were violated. The film from the wedding video fell into the hands of the opposition, who hastened to publish it, providing them with relevant, discrediting Emomali comments.
• Second daughter named Ozoda. Also received a good education. She graduated from Tajik National State University with a law degree. She then studied at the University of Maryland and Georgetown University, which is located in Washington. After this, Ozoda worked for some time at the Tajik embassy in the United States. In 2009, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of her home state. It is easy to guess by whose patronage she quickly and swiftly makes a career. Her husband was Jamoliddin Nuraliev, Deputy Minister of Finance of Tajikistan.
• Another daughter of the president - Parvin - married the son of the Chairman of the State Committee for State Property Management Ashraf Gulov. Her second choice was Sherali Gulov, Minister of Energy and Industry.
• Daughter Zarrina works as an announcer on one of the main television channels in Tajikistan. Her husband was Siyovush Zukhurov, the son of the head of communications, the champion of international boxing competitions.
Tajik Civil War
How did Emomali Rahmon come to power? A significant role in this was played by the civil war that unfolded in the state after the collapse of the USSR. After Tajikistan gained independence, Rakhmon Nabiyev became its head. However, the opposition, represented by the Islamists, inspired by the fall of the former regime, strengthened and made an attempt to overthrow it. Under pressure from these forces, Nabiev was forced to leave the political arena.
Power in Tajikistan passed into the hands of the opposition. Only groups led by Sangak Safarov and Fayzali Saidov could resist it. This is where the story of Emomali begins. Rakhmonov adjacent to the union of Safarov. The unrest in the country resulted in a civil war. In 1992, Emomali became chairman of the Kulyab regional executive committee, and then chairman of the Supreme Council. The so-called “Kulyabs” have become the dominant force in Tajikistan. They were supported by Russia and Uzbekistan, who were against possible Islamization within the country. On November 6, 1994, the state held presidential elections and a referendum on the new constitution. As a result of the vote, Emomali Rakhmonov won a victory crushing for the opponents. The opposition said the newly-minted president of Tajikistan falsified the election results. Shortly afterwards, Mahmud Khudoyberdyev, commander of the 1st Motorized Rifle Brigade, rebelled in the city of Kurgan-Tyube, and then in Tursunzade. He demanded the resignation of many senior officials of the country. Emomali had to yield a little to the rebels and remove some of the leaders of the highest power from their posts.
The fight against the opposition
Emomali Rahmon makes a permutation in power. But the riots do not end there. There are many dissatisfied with the new president of Tajikistan. He committed several assassination attempts. The first happened on April 30, 1997 in the city of Khujand. Unknowns threw a grenade at the president’s motorcade. In the same year, a rebellion was raised in the city, spreading beyond its borders. Emomali crushed him, and then began to get rid of his opponents. How? By arrests. Many oppositionists were detained even outside of Tajikistan, extradited to their homeland. There they were waiting for a prison and long-term sentences. On November 8, 2001, a second assassination attempt was made on the president. In none of them was the politician injured.
Strengthening in power
In 2003, a referendum was held in Tajikistan, following which the Constitution should have been amended. The main amendment to the law concerned the tenure of the president. Previously, it was 4 years. Now, the president of Tajikistan had the right to lead the country for 7 years. Most voters supported Emomali, which allowed him to rule the state for another 14 years since 2006 (2 terms). Also, amendments were made to the country's Constitution regarding the age of the president. The restrictions on this issue have been lifted.
Finding ways out of the crisis and optimizing government spending
Even before the Soviet Union collapsed, Tajikistan was considered one of the poorest republics. The civil war, which began in the country immediately after the collapse of the USSR, caused her enormous damage, estimated by economists at $ 7 billion. She claimed 60-150 thousand human lives. To this day, the main problem of the state is the lack of citizens. According to the World Bank, in 1999, up to 83% of Tajik citizens were below the poverty line. In order to overcome this problem, in 2002 the government developed and approved the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. As a result of its implementation, the indicator of material well-being of the population has grown markedly. The president of Tajikistan followed other steps taken to reduce poverty in the country. So, Emomali Rahmon made a bet on the hydropower resources of the state, having completed the construction of the largest hydroelectric power station in Central Asia - Rogun. The project also involved Russia and Uzbekistan. However, these measures did not have the proper effect on the country's economy. But this negatively affected relations with project participants. The economy of Tajikistan to this day is very dependent on the funds earned by citizens outside the country.
Controversial transformations in the lifestyle of fellow citizens
The President of Tajikistan, trying to lead the country out of the difficult economic crisis, carried out several transformations that can hardly be called effective and efficient. Even among his fellow citizens, they cause bewilderment. So, when visiting a school in 2006, a politician noticed gold crowns in one of the teachers. After that, all citizens of the state were ordered to get rid of such "luxury." Moreover, the country's leader banned the holding of lavish ceremonies and celebrations in order to preserve the accumulations of compatriots. The schools no longer spent the last calls and holidays of the primer. It was also forbidden to have a magnificent wedding and funeral. Stag parties, bachelorette parties, bride-shows were also canceled. Anyone who dared to break the law was supposed to pay a fine. It is worth recognizing that all these innovations were not required to be carried out by the family of Emomali Rahmon. The photo of the magnificent wedding of President Rustam's son was on the front pages of all local newspapers. The leader of the country also had other transformations regarding the lifestyle of fellow citizens. So, in 2007, he ordered a decree to change Tajik surnames. He also changed his. Now it sounded not "Rakhmonov", but "Rakhmon". Civil registry offices were forbidden to register children whose surnames ended with "s" and "s".
Relations with Islam Karimov
How the feud between the two presidents began is now difficult to restore. It seems that Emomali Rahmon and Islom Karimov do not like each other for a long time. Some journalists claim that the Tajik president at the meeting on the talks on the construction of the Rogun hydropower plant, spoke sharply to his Uzbek counterpart. According to Rakhmon himself, he not only argued and quarreled with Karimov, but even fought several times.
Criticism of the president
“Emomali Rahmon and his family are involved in corruption” - these words in Tajikistan were not repeated, perhaps only lazy. If we trace how the relatives of the president receive high ranks and posts, then there is no doubt about this statement. Moreover, the fact of the leak of US diplomatic telegrams from Wikileaks also indicates the involvement of the leader of this country in large-scale corruption. So, in one of the documents from 2010 from the American embassy in Tajikistan, it is said that the president’s relatives, led by him, run big business, protecting their personal interests to the detriment of the country's economy. Most of the revenue of companies settles in hidden offshore firms, bypassing the state treasury.
