ABSTRACT
In 2001, like all other former Soviet republics, Tajikistan celebrated the tenth anniversary of its independence. In common with the other Central Asian countries, Tajikistan’s government attempted to mark this event with pomp and ceremony, spending lavishly on military parades and public celebrations, and on the hasty cleaning and decorating of the streets of the capital, Dushanbe. However, no other CIS members commemorated the anniversary in such misery and terror as the citizens of Tajikistan, whose official minimum wage had plunged to around three Somoni (US$1.25) a month, where more than 1 million people faced starvation and where armed bandits controlled a significant part of country’s territory.
