Alexander Sodiqov · February, 2014

Latest posts by Alexander Sodiqov from February, 2014

Tajik Bloggers Ask to Meet With President

  10 February 2014

Every year, the president of Tajikistan meets with selected members of the national intelligentsia in Dushanbe, in late March. These meetings normally feature long speeches by the president followed by endless praise of his work and his answers to carefully scripted questions from the audience.  As the authorities begin [ru]...

Tajikistan: Welcome to the “Facebook Republic of Pitzostan”

  9 February 2014

A government committee in charge of enforcing language regulations in Tajikistan has recently caused many laughs by insisting that the word “pizza” should be replaced with “pitzo” on restaurant signs in the country's capital. According to the committee's chair, “pitzo” sounds more “Tajik”. #Tajikistan has officially renamed pizza “pitzo”. For...

Russian Commentator Apologizes for Mistaking Uzbekistan for Tajikistan

  9 February 2014

Renowned Russian sports newscaster has apologized for mistaking the national team of Uzbekistan for that of Tajikistan during a live television broadcast from this year's Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Responding to thousands of angry messages addressed to him through social media sites, Dmitry Guberniev posted [ru] an apology on his...

“What the Hell Is Tajikistan? Why Do They Even Exist?”

  8 February 2014

Tajikistan is a small and relatively young country unknown to many people throughout the world. Tajikistan Monitor writes: The opening ceremony for this year’s Winter Olympics gave me an opportunity to monitor people’s online reactions to watching team Tajikistan enter the Sochi stadium. Below are just some of the most...

Patients in Uzbekistan “Have Nobody to Rely on Except for God”

  8 February 2014

On Registan.net, Gulnoza Saidazimova paints a bleak picture of the healthcare system in Uzbekistan (part one, part two): [The system is so inadequate and outdated that] a wealthy few head to foreign countries for medical treatment, drawing on their own savings and often those of their close relatives, whereas the majority poor can...