0:00:05 > 0:00:10Tajikistan - once one of the smallest and poorest republics of the USSR.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17A land of more than 90% mountains.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30I am Khayrulla Fayz, and this is where I was born.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35In the last 20 years, my country has moved from communism
0:00:35 > 0:00:39to capitalism, from atheism to a rediscovery of Islam.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49These changes have had a huge impact.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Two decades after independence from the Soviet Union,
0:01:03 > 0:01:08how do my fellow Tajiks feel about their past and their future?
0:01:13 > 0:01:16What's their relationship now to the old power, Russia?
0:01:18 > 0:01:21And does anyone still remember Lenin?
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Crossing the mountains on the long journey home.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50We are heading north to the very heart of central Asia.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53It's a six-hour drive from the capital Dushanbe
0:01:53 > 0:01:55to my village, Isfisor.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Tajikistan has been through tough times since the end of the Soviet Union.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09The economy collapsed, and a civil war
0:02:09 > 0:02:11devastated the south of the country.
0:02:26 > 0:02:3120 years on, I want to know what's changed.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34What is it like growing up in Tajikistan today?
0:02:39 > 0:02:41The familiar streets of home.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Isfisor is one of the biggest villages in the country.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55In my childhood, most people here worked on cotton farms
0:02:55 > 0:02:58or in local factories.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05The official language of Tajikistan is Tajik - a form of Persian.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12- Salaam alaikum! - THEY GREET EACH OTHER
0:03:17 > 0:03:23In Isfisor we speak Uzbek, the language of the country's second-biggest ethnic group.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27At school, we also learned Russian.
0:03:27 > 0:03:33When I was a boy, it was normal to hear all three languages on the streets of our village.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39This is my street, and it's called Enlightenment Street.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44Number 16 is my house. You can see grape vines there.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51Those are a typical feature for any Uzbek, Tajik household in our area.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58Now, this is our front door. It was built probably 70 years ago,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01older than my dad,
0:04:01 > 0:04:07and it was brought from a house where he was born. Let's go inside.
0:04:10 > 0:04:17It's so good to come home. This is my mum and my sister.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21And my favourite aunt, Husnuzhon, who has joined us for tea.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55In the 1970s, Auntie Husnuzhon was trying hard to be modern and Soviet.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57We all looked up to her.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01She worked as a technician in the local cotton processing plant.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05She lived in a block of flats with all mod cons.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09She'd even been to the Baltic Sea on holiday,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11the height of glamour back then.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Many of Auntie Husnuzhon's colleagues were Russians,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42and it was clear where the real decisions were being made.
0:06:05 > 0:06:11Tajikistan was one of the 15 republics that made up the USSR.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16Under the Soviet system, everything, from education to industry,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20was run centrally from the capital, Moscow.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Soviet citizens who wanted to be successful
0:06:23 > 0:06:28had to speak Russian as well as their native language.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Lenin was the father of our great state,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35the embodiment of the Communist ideal.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42We all took it for granted that the Russians were in charge,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46but looking back now, wasn't it strange that an Uzbek cotton worker
0:06:46 > 0:06:50from Tajikistan was taking orders from a Russian from Moscow?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Not everyone thought the Russians were better,
0:07:28 > 0:07:34but their way of doing things seemed more exciting and sophisticated.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Cotton was Tajikistan's biggest cash crop then, and today it still is.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Like all Tajik children, I missed months of school working in the cotton fields.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58Abduali Abdumanonov has been a cotton farmer all his life,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02and I bet I can still remember my cotton picking skills.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28My turn now.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33It's coming back to me.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42Or maybe not. But what's so special about Tajik cotton?
0:09:03 > 0:09:09In Soviet times, Tajikistan used to produce a million tonnes of cotton every year.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11They sell a lot less now.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12But it is hard to see how a job picking cotton can make you prosperous any more.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16An average worker picks 50 kilos a day,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18and earns the equivalent of three dollars.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24With the cost of living soaring, it's not surprising
0:10:24 > 0:10:29that most young Tajiks no longer see this kind of work as a viable option.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36LIVELY TRADITIONAL SONG
0:10:38 > 0:10:41In the days when cotton was profitable,
0:10:41 > 0:10:43it was organised centrally.
0:10:43 > 0:10:49Thousands of workers served a Soviet-wide system.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Manufacturing operated in the same way.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Our area was the heart of industrial Tajikistan.
0:11:01 > 0:11:08The Kairakkum carpet factory supplied carpets all over the USSR and Eastern Europe.
0:11:08 > 0:11:107,000 people used to work here.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13But it's a very different story today.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22When the Soviet Union collapsed,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26the carpet factory's network of suppliers and customers fell apart.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Abdumutalib Abduloev is the general director.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Now those Soviet ministries are gone,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and it's up to Mr Abduloev to rebuild the business.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Facing tough competition, Mr Abduloev has decided
0:12:51 > 0:12:55to carry on the tradition of making carpet portraits.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00They are popular, but the orders are coming in slowly.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04There is only work for 400 people here now.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16It's a story repeated all over the country.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22So if cotton doesn't pay, and manufacturing jobs have dried up,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25what do Tajiks do now to find work?
0:13:26 > 0:13:30The answer is, they leave and go to Russia.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Tajikistan has become a nation of migrant workers.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43About a million of them work in Russia now,
0:13:43 > 0:13:48and the money they send home is keeping the economy going.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00It's Wednesday afternoon, and the weekly train to Moscow is just about to leave.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07These migrant workers know it could be months
0:14:07 > 0:14:10or even years before they see their families again.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16I wondered how that must feel.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25Anwarjan has been doing this journey for 13 years.
0:15:39 > 0:15:45More than 10% of the Tajik population is now working away from home.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48It's tough for those who leave,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52but it's also really hard for those who are left behind.
0:16:08 > 0:16:16This is Tohva. Her husband, son and two daughters are all working in Russia.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21She lives alone with her four-year-old grandson, Mahsudjan.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21With the money the family sends from Russia, Tohva has done up the house.
0:17:22 > 0:17:28But she misses them a lot, and wonders if they'll ever come home.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26So what about those who decide to stay, like my old friend Abdujalil Ortikov?
0:18:27 > 0:18:28CAR HORN BEEPS
0:18:28 > 0:18:31He's always been up for a challenge in life.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34At school, we called him Gorbachev,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37after the reformist Soviet president.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39- Salaam alaikum. - Salaam alaikum. Hello.
0:18:41 > 0:18:47'These days he's one of northern Tajikistan's most successful businessmen.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51'We are on our way to his haulage company.'
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Abdujalil employees 70 people
0:18:56 > 0:18:59and transports goods all over Tajikistan.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04The World Food Programme is one of his big customers.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Almost all our classmates have gone to Russia.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14So why wasn't Abdujalil tempted to leave?
0:19:16 > 0:19:18TRANSLATION:
0:19:41 > 0:19:46'Abdujalil and his brothers bought the company in 1998
0:19:46 > 0:19:50'when it was being sold off by the state.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55'Like many Tajik entrepreneurs, he is now using new technology
0:19:55 > 0:19:57'to make contacts and to build up the business.'
0:20:28 > 0:20:31But it isn't easy doing business in Tajikistan.
0:20:31 > 0:20:37Official reports rank it as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38Is this a problem for Abdujalil?
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Of course, everyone's experience is different.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09But since I've been in Tajikistan,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13many people have complained to me about corruption.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16And it's a hot topic in the local press.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Our local market is twice the size that it used to be.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28And trade is booming.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36But the goods on sale are mostly cheap imports from China.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42Competition like this is a huge challenge for Tajik business.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45But Abdujalil is taking it in his stride
0:21:45 > 0:21:47and he's determined to remain upbeat.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24TAJIK MUSIC PLAYS
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Driving into Khujand, the regional capital,
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I can see how it is changing.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Heavy traffic, foreign cars, adverts everywhere.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44And so many young people on the streets.
0:22:44 > 0:22:50They seem much more relaxed and sure of themselves than we used to be.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54What's giving them this new sense of confidence?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Khujand's newest attraction.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13A popular spot for wedding parties.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15A place to pay respects.
0:23:18 > 0:23:24This is Ismail Samani - a revered 10th century king.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26And a new hero for a new country.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32What does this new statue say about the new Tajikistan?
0:23:32 > 0:23:36I asked Mansur Hajibeyov, the man who designed it.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39TRANSLATION:
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Ismail Samani was always important to people here.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23But it was Emomali Rahmonov, the Tajik president,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26who chose him as a new Father of the nation.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31History says Samani was a wise ruler
0:24:31 > 0:24:33who saved his people from destruction.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40President Rahmonov would like modern-day Tajiks to say the same about him.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46He took office in the dark days of civil war.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Tajiks fought Tajiks in a bitter struggle for power.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57When peace finally came, he led the new government.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02And almost two decades later, he is still very much in charge.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09'Before Ismail Samani, Lenin used to stand on this spot.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14'His statue towered over my childhood.'
0:25:16 > 0:25:20In the run-up to independence, he was finally taken down.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23I asked Mansur where Lenin is now.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52This is Lenin's new home - a field on the edge of town.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55I like the fact he's still here.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59To me, it says that even though communism has gone,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03it's still a part of history.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Unlike some other Soviet states,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Tajikistan isn't trying to rewrite the past.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17The Soviet era also had a sinister side - an obsession with secrecy.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20And a sometimes scant regard for public safety.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27This is one of the legacies of Tajikistan's Soviet past.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29This hill is actually a uranium dump.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Just up the road from here is the factory that produced
0:26:34 > 0:26:38the material for the first Soviet atom bomb.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40It's not far from my home.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43In my childhood, we used to come here to play.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50The Leninabad Mining and Chemical Plant
0:26:50 > 0:26:53used to be one of the most secret places in Tajikistan.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57It was built in the 1940s
0:26:57 > 0:27:01to process uranium ore being mined in the surrounding area.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07A whole town was built to support the factory.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Most of the people who lived and worked here were Russians.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15MAN SINGS PASSIONATELY
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Viktor Butenko was one of them.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23He came to Tajikistan in the 1960s
0:27:23 > 0:27:27to sing in the uranium factory choir.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30TRANSLATION:
0:27:38 > 0:27:43For me, Viktor embodies the image of the loyal Soviet citizen.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Because it supplied the defence industry,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03the factory often had important visitors from Moscow.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47Us locals had no idea what went on at the uranium factory.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52We knew they were making something secret and precious.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55We thought, maybe it was diamonds.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57It seems incredible now.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03My village is less than 10 minutes' drive from the plant
0:29:03 > 0:29:07but we might as well have been living in another country.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31VIKTOR SINGS
0:29:31 > 0:29:36When the USSR collapsed, work at the plant dried up.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41Most of the Russians left. Only some older people stayed on.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47These days, Viktor lives alone and he supplements his pension by busking.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54His audience are the same locals who weren't thought good enough
0:29:54 > 0:29:56to work at the plant in the old days.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00They're looking after him now.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11APPLAUSE
0:30:11 > 0:30:14The beliefs of Communist times are gone now.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17A new faith has taken their place.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23This is Isfisor's new mosque.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26Allahu Akbar.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30Alla-aa-aa-hu Akbar.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33It didn't exist in my day.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37Now it's the focal point of the village.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Before communism, Central Asians were Muslims
0:30:42 > 0:30:47and we never completely forgot the traditions and beliefs of the past.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52In the privacy of our own homes we would mark important
0:30:52 > 0:30:59milestones by reciting players, handed down from our grandparents.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03Ahmadjon Rahmatullaev is the deputy imam.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07He was our neighbour.
0:31:07 > 0:31:14And he remembers the time when studying Islam could get you into serious trouble.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17TRANSLATION:
0:31:38 > 0:31:43Friday prayers are now part of the rhythm of life in Isfisor.
0:31:43 > 0:31:49Islam gives structure to the day and hope in uncertain times.
0:31:50 > 0:31:57Imam Ahmadjon says Islam is also the glue helping to stick Tajik society together.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33WOMEN SHOUT EMOTIONALLY
0:32:33 > 0:32:39But for some Tajiks, Imam Ahmadjon's gentle brand of Islam is not enough.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Disillusioned by poverty and unemployment at home,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53and inspired by jihadi abroad, some people have turned to radical Islam.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Several hundred Tajik men, including some from Isfisor,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03have been jailed for belonging to banned extremist groups.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27President Rahmanov's response to the problem
0:33:27 > 0:33:34has been to introduce a new law banning anyone under 18 from going to a mosque.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38I noticed there were still some children at Friday prayers.
0:33:38 > 0:33:44So I ask Imam Ahmadjon how the new law was affecting him.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28'I didn't push Imam Ahmadjon further
0:34:28 > 0:34:33'because I could see this was a subject he found uncomfortable.'
0:34:34 > 0:34:41In Tajikistan, no one is ever very far from the watchful eye of the authorities
0:34:41 > 0:34:47and at a time when Islam is often in the news for all the wrong reasons,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50Imam Ahmadjon has a difficult path to tread.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06If there are fewer children in the mosques these days,
0:35:06 > 0:35:08then they seem to be more than ever in the schools.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17This place brings back lots of memories.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21I spent 10 years of my life running up and down these corridors.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24Tajik poets on the wall.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27In my day, it was pictures of Lenin.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34I dropped in on Year Nine and their teacher.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43Here we are in the classroom.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47It has been 24 years since I have come back.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51Nothing has changed, except now they teach Tajik.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08Like me, these young people all come from Uzbek-speaking families.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13When I was a pupil here, they didn't teach the Tajik language at all.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17TRANSLATION:
0:36:42 > 0:36:44'I wondered who these teenagers look up to now.'
0:36:52 > 0:36:54CLASS: Lenin.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Beckham.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03Ismail Samani.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06'So they still know who Lenin is.'
0:37:06 > 0:37:07'Just about.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12'But in the classroom, like out on the streets, Ismail Samani has
0:37:12 > 0:37:14'definitely taken his place.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18'But when you ask about their real heroes,
0:37:18 > 0:37:20'things don't seem so different.'
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Popstars and sportsmen,
0:37:33 > 0:37:35just like in my day.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38'Watching the lesson here it strikes me
0:37:38 > 0:37:40'things are more relaxed than when I was a pupil.'
0:38:21 > 0:38:25Speaking freely was not something we were ever encouraged to do.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29Even today, many people in Tajikistan seem scared to say
0:38:29 > 0:38:31what they really think.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35After all, this is still a country where you can get
0:38:35 > 0:38:38arrested for saying the wrong thing.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42I hope, when these 15-year-olds finally leave school,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44things will be different.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47SINGING
0:39:00 > 0:39:02It's Independence Day.
0:39:02 > 0:39:08Time for everyone to put on their best clothes to celebrate.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12We've come to watch the parade organised by our local council.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14TRADITIONAL BAND PLAYS
0:39:32 > 0:39:35They are putting on a pageant about recent history.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39The tragedy of the civil war.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42GUNFIRE, SCREAMING
0:39:46 > 0:39:50MOCK GUNSHOTS RING OUT
0:39:51 > 0:39:54WOMEN CRY
0:40:03 > 0:40:08I think the civil war defined our new nation, bringing us together.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Determined it would never happen again.
0:40:15 > 0:40:20In Communist times we had parades just like this -
0:40:20 > 0:40:24with slogans, portraits and flags.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Although Tajiks are singing to a different tune now,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40the shadow of the big northern neighbour firmly remains.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43When I look at this crowd, there aren't many men.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47They've all gone to Russia to work.
0:40:47 > 0:40:52People are still waiting for real independence with jobs at home in Tajikistan.
0:40:53 > 0:41:00But until we turn our economy around, that is just not going to happen.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07As I think back over my journey and the people I have met, it seems
0:41:07 > 0:41:12everyone is crossing their fingers and hoping things will get better.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17For some Tajiks, life offers more chances now than it used to.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43Many people are struggling, but there is a determination to get on.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58There is a lot of optimism, despite the challenges ahead.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23So what about Lenin? Does he still matter?
0:42:23 > 0:42:27I think he is feeding into the past.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Yes, he is still a presence in street names and statues,
0:42:30 > 0:42:34but the younger generation are on a new path now.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36Tajikistan is moving on.
0:42:57 > 0:42:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd