Citizens of Tajikistan, starting from March 2016, cannot give their children Russified surnames and patronymics with the endings “-ov”, “-ova”, “-ovich” and “-ovna”. This was stated by the deputy head of the Civil Registration Office (CRA) of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan, Jaloliddin Rakhimov, Radio Ozodi reports.

The corresponding document was issued by Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon back in March, but this became known only today. Instead of Russian endings, it is proposed to use Tajik ones.

“According to this law, surnames will be formed using the Tajik endings “-zod”, “-zoda”, “-ӣ”, “-iyon”, “-far”. These are native Tajik endings. For example, "Karimzod" or "Karimzoda". But the ending “-zod” is not forced; citizens can choose endings such as “-pur” for their surname,” he said.

In addition to those listed, the list of allowed endings also includes “-on”, “-yon”, “-er” and “-niyo”. You can also give a surname and patronymic without using endings.

With those citizens who still oppose the reform and insist on maintaining Russified endings in the surnames of their children, registry office employees, according to him, conduct explanatory conversations.

“We explain that the goal is the Tajikization of surnames. They understand. If the situation does not change, then in 10 years our children will be divided into two groups: one will be proud of their Tajik names, the other will have foreign ones. We must have national and patriotic feelings,” said Jaloliddin Rakhimov.

The changes should affect only newly born citizens of Tajikistan, but not the adult population.

“These changes do not apply to those who had Russian endings in the past and do not intend to change their documents. But if this is carried out according to their at will“Wonderful,” said the official.

However, he did not explain whether “Tajikization” of a surname is mandatory, for example, when an adult citizen of the Republic of Tajikistan changes his foreign passport due to its expiration date.

For example, from now on you cannot add the prefixes “-mullo”, “-khalifa”, “-tura”, “-khoja”, “-shaikh”, “-vali”, “-okhun”, “-amir”, “-vali” to names. Sufi,” which, the authors of the law claim, were borrowed by the Persians (the Tajik language is a variety of Persian) during the Arab conquest. Until this day, names with such prefixes were widely used in Tajikistan.

At the same time, a committee on language and terminology under the government, together with the Academy of Sciences, is creating, according to which citizens of Tajikistan will have to give names to their newborn children. The list was supposed to be made public before July 1, but experts are still working on it.

In addition, starting from July, relatives - children of brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts - are prohibited, and all other citizens will have to mandatory undergo a free medical examination and donate blood. Without the presentation of such certificates, the civil registry office will not have the right to enter into marriages.

It was reported that migrant workers returning from abroad will also be required to undergo a medical examination for various infectious diseases. However, when this measure will come into force and how technically it will be implemented is still unknown.

The abandonment of Russified surnames and patronymics gained popularity in 2007, when the President of Tajikistan Emomali Sharifovich Rakhmonov changed his name to Emomali Rakhmon. Following him, most Tajik officials began to change their names en masse. After some time, this trend began to decline and Russified endings became relevant again, as citizens began to experience difficulties due to national versions of names at Russian airports.

Tajik names, like the Persian ones, until the beginning of the 20th century were in many ways similar to the Arabic nominal formula. The bulk of Tajik names are of Persian and Arabic origin. There is also a fair share of names whose origins have Zoroastrian roots. Many people name their babies after geographical features: Daryo- river, Koch- mountain, Tabriz, Kabul- names of cities, etc. Also, in most cases, Tajiks name their children by the names of their grandfathers and ancestors, while, when congratulating the family on the addition, everyone adds the phrase “Let it grow in accordance with the name,” but this type of assigning a personal name becomes increasingly rare.

Surname

Tajiks, like all Persians, generally did not use surnames, but used many different additions to the personal name, indicating geography (place of birth, residence). In addition, various titles and nicknames were common:

• Darvish(Taj. Darvesh; Pers. درويش‎) - Sufi theological title.
• Janob(Taj. Ҷanob; Pers. جناب ‎) - master, a polite title like “excellency”.
• Hoxha(Taj. Ҳоҷi; Pers. حاجى‎) - made a pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Hon(Taj. Khon; Pers. خان‎) - a noble title.
• Mashhadi(Taj. Mashhadi; Pers. مشهدى‎) - one who has made a pilgrimage to Mashhad or was born in Mashhad.
• Mirzo(Taj. Mirzo; Pers. ميرزا‎) - educated.
• Mullo(Taj. Mullo; Pers. ملا‎) - Muslim theologian.
• Ustoz(Taj. Ustoz; Pers. استاد‎) - teacher, master.

The appearance of official surnames arose at the end of the reign of the Russian Empire and the establishment of Soviet power, including in the territory of Central Asia inhabited by the Tajik population, which obliged Tajiks, like other peoples, to have surnames. After arrival Soviet power Tajik surnames have been modified (or appropriated) by most people; they replaced the endings of surnames with “-ov” (Sharipov) and “-ev” (Muhammadiev). Also during this period, some people still had surnames whose endings were not of Slavic origin. For example: “-zoda (zade)” (Makhmudzoda), “-i” (Aini).

After Tajikistan and other Soviet republics gained independence, native Tajik and Persian surnames returned and became popular among the Tajik population of these countries by changing the endings. Currently, the most popular endings for surnames are: “-zoda (zade)” (Latifzoda), “-i” (Mansuri). It is also common to change surnames by shortening endings. (for example, the former Emomali Rakhmonov, the current Emomali Rakhmon). In addition to these endings, surnames whose endings end in “-ov” (Sharipov) and “-ev” (Muhammadiev) are also used, which in Soviet era were the main endings of surnames.

The most famous Tajik names

Tajik names mainly borrow Persian names due to the common language, culture and history of these peoples. In addition to Persian names, there are borrowings from Arabic and Turkic names. Also popular are the names from the times of the existence of Sogdiana, Bactria and other ancient historical states that are of Zoroastrian origin. Despite almost a century of Russian rule over the territory of present-day Tajikistan and Central Asia inhabited by the Tajik population, the Russian language and Russian names did not influence the emergence of new names of Russian or Slavic origin among the local population, including Tajik.

Tajik names from Shahnama

• Orash (name from Shahnama)
• Ozad (name from Shahnama)
• Afshin (name from Shahnama)
• Ashkon (name from Shahnama)
• Anushervon (name from Shahnama)
• Ardasher (name from Shahnama)
• Bakhrom (name from Shahnama)
• Bakhor (name from Shahnama)
• Bahman (name from Shahnama)
• Bejan (name from Shahnama)
• Behrouz (name from Shahnama)
• Buzurgmehr (name from Shahnama)
• Tur (name from Shahnama)
• Takhmina (name from Shahnama)
• Parviz (name from Shahnama)
• Pari (name from Shahnama)
• Manizha (name from Shahnama)
• Navzod (name from Shahnama)
• Salm (name from Shahnama)
• Som (name from Shahnama)
• Siyovush (name from Shahnama)
• Siyomak (name from Shahnama)
• Sitora (name from Shahnama)
• Zarina (name from Shahnama)
• Eraj (name from Shahnama)
• Faridun (name from Shahnama)
• Isfandiyor (name from Shahnama)
• Shirin (name from Shahnama)
• Kayumars (name from Shahnama)
• Kavus (name from Shahnama)
• Rustam (name from Shahnama)
• Khusraw (name from Shahnama)
• Khurshed (name from Shahnama)

Mahmud (Muslim name).

Literature

• Gafurov A.G. “Lion and Cypress (about eastern names)", Publishing house Nauka, M., 1971
• Nikonov V. A. “Central Asian materials for a dictionary of personal names”, Onomastics of Central Asia, Publishing House Nauka, M., 1978
• The system of personal names among the peoples of the world, Publishing house Nauka, M., 1986

The black list included not only Russian names and surnames, but also the names of things, goods, animals and birds.

The Tajik authorities have officially banned the registration of patronymics and surnames in the Russian manner. The document was signed in March by the country's President Emomali Rahmon. This was reported by the Izvestia publication, with reference to the deputy head of the civil registration department under the Ministry of Justice, Jaloliddin Rakhimov.

Russian endings “ov”, “ova”, “ovich”, “ovna” will replace national endings, for example, such as “zod”, “zoda”, “pur”, “ien”, “far”, etc., reports the website of the Tajik radio “Ozodi”, in an interview with which Rakhimov commented on the innovation.

From now on, the assignment of names and their correct spelling in Tajikistan will be strictly controlled for compliance with culture and national traditions, Rakhimov said. The list of acceptable names is contained in the government-approved Register of Tajik National Names. They, like patronymics and surnames, according to the official, must be clearly justified in the Republic of Tajikistan by “historical values ​​and Tajik national culture.”

Rakhimov complained that there are still residents of Tajikistan who, contrary to state regulations, want to keep the endings “ov”, “ova”, “ovich”, “ovna” in the surnames and patronymics of their children. You have to talk to them and explain the highest state task - the Tajikization of surnames. “We must have national and patriotic feelings,” Rakhimov explained the meaning of the law. This information somewhat contradicts reports that the ban allegedly applies exclusively to persons of Tajik nationality, and national minorities, which include Russians living in Tajikistan, will be able to name their children in their traditions.

From now on, officials directly explain, it is prohibited to call a child by a name that is alien to the Tajik national culture. But that's not all. The list of prohibitions includes the names of animals and birds, as well as the names of things and goods. In addition, the same list includes offensive names and phrases that humiliate the honor and dignity of a person, as well as dividing people into castes. It's about about the so-called pseudonyms: mullo, khalifa, tura, hoja, huja, sheikh, wali, okhun, amir, sufi, etc.

Let us recall that in 2007, the President of Tajikistan changed his name from Emomali Sharifovich Rakhmonov to Emomali Rakhmon, after which many officials followed his example.

Already in 2009, Tajik deputies adopted new law"About the state language." It obliges all citizens of the republic to know Tajik and completely excludes the provision on the “language of interethnic communication”, which recognized Russian. The initiative of the bill was made by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon himself.

Similar trends are taking place in other countries of the former USSR.

In 2009, Lithuanian authorities announced that they were preparing legal basis in order to allow residents of the country to change their surnames, abandoning Russian suffixes and thus making them “more Lithuanian”.

In 2013, a scandal occurred in Latvia when the court of the port city of Liepaja accepted a statement from a local resident, Sergei Antonov, who complained about the local registry office, which denied him the right to register a newborn child under a Russian name.

Sergei Antonov wanted to name his baby Miron, but he was refused, citing local law. According to him, everything male names must have the Latvian ending “s”, because these are the rules of the state language. If he had agreed, his child's name, according to documents, would have been Mirons. Given name would be consonant with the Latvian word mironis, meaning “dead”. But Sergei Antonov did not agree.

Estonia has a law on names, adopted by parliament back in 2005. It limits the possibility of getting too common surnames. There are many popular Russian surnames in it - Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov, Orlov, Golubev, etc.

Also recently, a petition appeared on the official website of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with a proposal to change the Russian surnames of the country’s citizens to Ukrainian ones.

“In order to further decommunize our state, I propose to remake Russian surnames and names in the Ukrainian way. Ivanov - Ivanenko, Kuznetsov - Kuzmenko, etc.,” wrote the author of the appeal.

In March of this year, amendments to the law “On state registration acts of civil status”, signed by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon. Soon after this, registry offices were instructed to no longer issue documents to ethnic Tajiks with “Russian” spellings of surnames and patronymics, media reported.

On April 29, the deputy head of the civil registration department under the Ministry of Justice, Jaloliddin Rakhimov, in an interview with Radio Ozodi (the Tajik service of Radio Liberty) explained the essence of the introduced amendments and the unofficial order that followed them. According to him, the assignment of names and their correct spelling will henceforth be carried out in accordance with culture, national traditions and the Government-approved Register of Tajik National Names.

The official said that in accordance with the new law, a surname can be formed from the name of the father or from the root of his surname with suffixes forming the surnames “-i”, “-zod”, “-zoda”, “-ӣ”, “-iyon” , "-headlights". It can also be formed from the father's given name or from the root of the father's or mother's surname without adding suffixes to form the surname.

“These are native Tajik endings. (…). But the ending “-zod” is not forced; citizens can choose endings such as “-pur” for their surname,” he pointed out possible alternatives.

“The conditional Karimov will become either Karimzoda, or Karimiyon, perhaps Karimi, and there is another option with Karimpur. The fictitious Nargez Shafirova will have the surname Shafiri or Shafirdukht (feminine ending),” CAA-network.org commented on the innovation.

Rakhimov also said that the patronymic name will be formed using the suffixes “-zod”, “-zoda”, “-er”, “-niyo”, “-far” or without these suffixes (some of which coincide with the suffixes that form surnames) .

He complained that there are still some irresponsible citizens who want to keep the endings “-ov”, “-ova”, “-ovich”, “-ovna” in their children’s surnames and patronymics. But they are trying to convince them. “When we talk to them, we explain that the goal is the Tajikization of surnames, they understand. If the situation does not change, then in ten years our children will be divided into two groups, one will be proud of their Tajik names, the other will have foreign ones. We must have national and patriotic feelings,” the official said.

“It is prohibited to give a child a name that is alien to the Tajik national culture, [to assign names meaning] the names of things, goods, animals and birds, as well as offensive names and phrases that humiliate the honor and dignity of a person, and divide people into castes. Adding to the names of persons the pseudonyms “mullo”, “khalifa”, “tura”, “khoja”, “khuja”, “sheikh”, “vali”, “okhun”, “amir”, “sufi” and the like, which contribute to schismaticism among people is prohibited,” he voiced one of the points of the “amended” law.

The last provision makes sense - the listed endings indicate that the bearers of these names belong to the hereditary upper class of Central Asia (the so-called “white bone”), a kind of caste that traces the family tree back to the prophet, the four righteous caliphs, Muslim saints and Genghisids.

Previously, at the end of 2015, the country's ethnic Tajiks were officially prohibited from naming newborn children with names with the Turkic endings “kul” and “hon”.

Rakhimov also stated that everyone who needs to change their documents will have to change their surnames and patronymics. “Now there will be no concessions on this matter. Even those who in the past had Russian endings and now want to change their documents will have Tajik endings added to their surnames. These changes do not apply only to those who had Russian endings in the past and do not intend to change their documents. But if this is done at their own request, it will be great,” the official said.

As for newborns, they will automatically receive “Tajikized” surnames and patronymics.

A unified Register of Tajik names has been developed as a separate annex to this law. It has not yet been published, according to officials, it should contain about 4-5 thousand names. At the end of last year, it was prepared by the Committee on Language and Terminology under the Government of Tajikistan together with the Academy of Sciences of this country and submitted to the government for approval. In accordance with the new amendments to the law, Tajiks are limited in the right to choose a name for their children - now they will have to choose them from this list.

However, as Asia-Plus reported, it is still possible to obtain a document with the Russian spelling of the surname and patronymic if a supporting document is presented indicating the presence of a second citizenship, for example Russian.

Meanwhile, the law itself “On State Registration of Acts of Civil Status,” which lists the conditions for obtaining documents, does not speak of a complete ban on Russified spellings of surnames and patronymics; according to paragraph 3 of Article 20, the citizen is still given a choice.

Article 20. Name of a person and procedure for recording surname, name and patronymic

(As amended by the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan dated March 15, 2016 No. 1292)

1. (…) The assignment of names and their correct spelling in the Republic of Tajikistan is carried out in accordance with culture, national traditions and the Register of Tajik national names, approved by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. (...)

3. During state registration of birth, the child’s surname is recorded according to the surname of the father or mother or a surname formed on behalf of the father. If the surnames of the parents are different, the child’s surname, by agreement of the parents, is written according to the surname of the father or the surname of the mother, or in accordance with the requirements of parts 4, 7 and 8 of this article. (...)

7. Repeated use of the same suffix when forming a surname and patronymic, as well as the use of one name without adding a suffix, both when forming a surname and when forming a patronymic, is prohibited.

The Tajik authorities assure that these legislative norms will not apply to citizens of the republic who do not belong to the titular nationality. “Russians, Chinese and other national minorities of Tajikistan can use their traditional names,” Jaloliddin Rakhimov clarified to Ozodagon.

The same is stated in paragraph 11 of Article 20 of the Law “On State Registration of Acts of Civil Status”:

11. The right of national minorities to a name in the Republic of Tajikistan is guaranteed in accordance with their national traditions. Representatives of national minorities who are citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan can, at their own discretion, assign names to their children in accordance with the Register of Tajik National Names or their national traditions. The procedure for writing the surname, name and patronymic of citizens representing national minorities is carried out in accordance with the spelling rules of the corresponding language. (...)

Perhaps the new norms will not apply to Russians and representatives of other “non-Muslim” ethnic groups, but they may well affect about a million Uzbeks living in Tajikistan, who are unlikely to want to be distinguished from Tajiks by their previous surnames, as if opposing themselves to them, so, apparently, they will also have to change their documents. Moreover, Article 20 does not directly say anywhere that the requirements of the law apply only to ethnic Tajiks, nor does it describe the procedure for identifying representatives of “national minorities.”

Let us recall that the President of Tajikistan himself was one of the first to change his surname in the Persian style, who in 2007 turned from Emomali Sharifovich Rakhmonov into Emomali Rakhmon. He also abandoned the “inappropriate” patronymic; only Russian-speaking officials continue to use it when addressing him.

In the same 2007, the renamed head of state called on his fellow citizens to follow his example and return “to cultural roots”, restoring the spelling of surnames after the father’s name, as it was before the Soviet regime, and also “to use national toponymy” (after which another wave swept across the country renaming). At the same time, Rakhmon prohibited registry offices from registering Tajik children’s surnames with the endings “-ov” and “-ev”; it became possible to use only Persian spellings.

Many officials immediately followed his example. In 2014, it was reported that the names of the heads of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the republic and many heads of districts and cities were changed.

However, a significant number of ordinary citizens, especially Tajik labor migrants, on the contrary, preferred to keep the “Russian” endings of their surnames and even return them to documents already rewritten in the national style to make their life easier in Russia, where owners of “suspicious” surnames may not be treated very well .

The official also said that there is no direct ban on Russian endings in surnames and patronymics in the law; rather, in this case we are talking about its advisory nature. And he added that when registering a newborn, every person has the right to a last name, first name and patronymic, “justified by historical values ​​and Tajik national culture.”

Apartheid principle

On April 3, the same Jaloliddin Rakhimov regarding the amendments to the law “On State Registration of Acts of Civil Status” that caused a great resonance. According to him, Article 67 was supplemented with parts 2 and 3 as follows:

"2. Changing a person's name is carried out in accordance with the Register of Tajik National Names. Changing the surname and patronymic in accordance with national traditions carried out on the basis of the requirements of Article 20 of this Law. (See above – AsiaTerra)

3. Representatives of national minorities who are citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan may change their name in accordance with the Register of Tajik National Names or their national traditions. (…)

“As you can see, the amendments and additions made to Articles 20 and 67 of the above Law do not say a word about the prohibition of the endings “-ov”, “-ova”, “-ovich”, “-ovna”, and in part 4 of Article 20 of the Law the phrase “may be formed” is used, which is a recommendatory norm and does not at all impose obligations on citizens to change their surname, name and patronymic,” Rakhimov said.

The official reiterated that the adopted changes and additions do not limit the rights of citizens and national minorities, citing Part 11 of Article 20 of the sensational law, which states that the procedure for writing the surname, name and patronymic of citizens representing national minorities is carried out in accordance with the spelling rules of the corresponding language. “For example: in the alphabet of the Tajik language there are no letters such as “C”, “Shch”, “Y”, “b”, therefore when writing the surname Tsygankov, Tsoi, Anatolyev, Shchukin and the like, it is carried out in accordance with the rules of Russian spelling language," he explained.

“According to Part 1 of Article 63 of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Regulatory Legal Acts”, regulatory legal acts do not have retroactive force, except in cases established by law. Therefore, these changes and additions do not apply to those citizens who have last names and patronymics with the endings “-ov”, “-ova”, “-ovich”, “-ovna”, if they do not want to change their last name, first name or patronymic,” - said Rakhimov.

It is noteworthy that a few days earlier he claimed that even the surnames of those people who had Russian endings [last names and patronymics] and now want to change their documents will have Tajik endings added. Now he chose not to remember this “recommendation” from the authorities.

"The Tajik people have ancient history and culture, like the peoples of Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and other peoples of the CIS, for whom endings in surnames do not create artificial obstacles and discrimination. Therefore, a return to historical values, ancient culture and Tajik mentality does not infringe on the rights and interests of other national minorities who are citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan, and even more so must not violate the rights and legitimate interests of citizens of the republic outside its borders", concluded Rakhimov.

In general, legal norms for citizens of one state were divided according to nationality, which brings to mind Germany in the 1930s. It remains unclear why ethnic Tajiks should be subject to greater restrictions than non-Tajik citizens of the same country. And why are the former, contrary to their personal free will, given the obligation to follow traditions elevated by the government to the rank of law.

The publication CAA-network.org recalled that the same officials just a few years ago refused to allow those who wanted to give their child a Persian surname, citing the fact that he might not be allowed into Russia. Now they all change their surnames from “-ov” to “-zoda”, and they force others too.

Side effects

Numerous comments to articles on this topic list side effects of the planned change of surnames and patronymics.

“With the Tajik ending, surnames sound more beautiful, in my opinion, but still it was not worth doing this forcibly, I think this is all another move by our rulers to bargain with the Russian Federation, this law will be repealed 100%, but what our elite will get in return for this is unknown, yes and, by the way, for those who want to be “zoda” from now on, I hasten to inform you that Russian citizenship is not issued with such an ending to a surname,” says one of the discussion participants.

“It seems that [you just need] to change the ending - but this ending of surnames will empty all your pockets,” notes another reader of the site. - You will have to change all, all, all documents, and this is not free. You will have to change: 1. Metrics. 2. Passport. 3. Foreign passport. 4. Driver's license. 5. Certificate. 6. Diploma. 7. Military ID. 8. Bank cards. 9. Document for the apartment (and everything that is attached to it). 10. Work book. And a bunch of personal documents. Can you imagine how much running around and [how much] money must be brought into the state treasury?”

“Another taking of money from the people, a rough estimate: 3 million citizens are required to change their passport, on average [to pay] 10 dollars, then the replacement of diplomas, in best case scenario local educational institutions- on average 20 dollars per document, replacing a child's birth certificate for an average of 3 children in a family - 20 dollars, replacing education certificates - 10 dollars, replacing a driver's license - 50 dollars, international passports - 100 dollars, in total some smart guy will get more 1 billion dollars,” calculated a forum visitor under the name Fara.

“Matters have reached the point where [in order] to get a name for a child, it is not enough to have a certificate from the maternity hospital, and what is now more important is documentary proof of the nationality of the parents. If the husband is Uzbek, the wife is Tajik, what then?” - another opinion is expressed.

“What should the Pamir people do? (Pamir peoples, Badakhshans - a group of Iranian-speaking peoples inhabiting the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan - AsiaTerra)? They do not and never had the endings “zod”, “zod”, “ion”, “far”. And in Russia they don’t hire people with such surnames, and they will soon deport you,” writes new member discussions.

“Every citizen has the right to choose what form his surname will take. But the law infringes on this right, notes another commentator.

It is worth adding to the above that several million Tajiks living in Uzbekistan, including in Samarkand and Bukhara, will remain with Russified surnames, that is, different from those introduced in Tajikistan. On the other hand, Rakhmonov’s “reform” clearly leads to rapprochement with the Afghan Tajiks and Uzbeks, as well as with the Persians. In a word, a distinct “southern” vector of orientation emerges, in contrast to the previous, conventionally “northern” one.

Tajik surnames

In the context of what is happening, it is worth recalling that the population of modern Tajikistan did not bear Russian-style surnames and patronymics for very long, but still for several generations.

After in 1866 Russian Empire captured the Kokand Khanate, namely, that part of it that is today called the Sogd region of Tajikistan, local residents began to be written down in documents in the usual Russian way - giving them surnames derived from the name of their father or grandfather. The remaining lands of the future republic were annexed to the USSR in 1920 - after the Bolsheviks conquered the Bukhara Emirate (its eastern part is the main territory of present-day Tajikistan). According to the observation of one of the commentators, “for the first generation of enlightened Central Asians, born between the 1920s and 50s, the root of the surname almost always coincides with the root of the patronymic.”

Russian historian, ethnologist and anthropologist Sergei Abashin notes that before names began to be officially recorded in a uniform form in Russian and then Soviet documentation, acquiring the characteristic Russian endings “ov/ova” and “vich/vna,” a person in Central Asia could have several names:

“One name could be strictly Arabic-Muslim, for example, indicating the characteristic epithets of Allah and adding to them the prefix “slave” (sometimes in Arabic form, sometimes in local languages). At the same time, a person could also have a name or nickname in the local language, which was no longer connected with Islam or was connected remotely and denoted some qualities in general or the qualities of a specific person, objects and much more. Moreover, such names were more often used in everyday life, as more understandable, more inscribed in local personal relationships (...). Moreover, these nicknames-names could change over time. Plus, to all this, they liked to add various kinds of titles and titles, indications of the area of ​​​​origin to the names. When they began to write down names in passports, they didn’t really look into it and wrote down one of these names, sometimes in very diverse phonetic variations, the result was family-name chaos, which, nevertheless, became part of local Central Asian life.”

However, returning to " original surnames" is a typical manifestation of myth-making, since before this, representatives of the Central Asian peoples, who mostly lived in villages and villages and called each other simply by their first names, did not have surnames as such. Generic nicknames, as well as two or more compound names, are still something else. So Rahmon’s initiative is not a return to antiquity, but a change of the first Tajik standard surnames, albeit Russified, in the Persian manner, carried out for ideological reasons.

New "Aryans"

After graduation civil war in Tajikistan, as soon as Emomali Rakhmonov firmly established himself in power, he gradually began to rely more and more on Tajik nationalism. It turned out that if not the majority, then a very significant part of the “titular” population likes this.

Rakhmonov’s former comrades-in-arms, Tajik Uzbeks and Arabs (the latter live in the south of the republic), gradually turned from brothers in arms into people of non-Aryan origin. In the works of local ideological authors, which the President of Tajikistan reads and is apparently inspired by, the Uzbeks, and more broadly, the Turks in general, are contrasted with the Tajiks as alien barbarian conquerors. On this basis, the Uzbeks began to be subjected to consistent discrimination (for its part, the Karimov regime behaves in a similar way towards the Uzbek Tajiks).

After some time, Rakhmonov proclaimed his country the successor to the Tajik state of the Samanid dynasty that existed a thousand years ago, and the Tajiks themselves as the descendants of the Aryans who lived in the region at the dawn of time. He even published a four-volume work, “Tajiks in the Mirror of History: From Aryans to Samanids.” The year 2006 was declared the year of Aryan civilization. Local currency is Tajik ruble (without soft sign), was renamed into somoni. It is interesting that before this its name was unofficially deciphered as “Rakhmonov Kills Poor People.”

“2006 was proclaimed the “Year of Aryan Civilization.” Celebrations were organized, and the streets of Tajik cities were decorated with posters glorifying the Aryan roots of Tajiks. The same posters bore the emblem best known as the Hackenkreuz or swastika,” wrote Fergana author Mikhail Kalishevsky. True, according to him, official Dushanbe emphasized in every possible way that his “Aryanism” has nothing in common with the “Aryanism” of the German Nazis.

However, what this periodically translates into in practice can be seen in the recent story that happened in the Sughd region, when its 27-year-old resident Shahnoza Niyozboki was excluded from the list of those wishing to speak to the president during his visit due to her “non-Aryan appearance.” In response to the question asked in the letter about the reason for the refusal, Shakhnoza received an official response from a representative of the local authorities, which said that everyone who wants to speak in front of the “leader of the nation” must “have a beautiful Aryan appearance, tall stature and well-spoken speech.”

Human rights activists said that such a response actually divides the people into people of the highest and second class. And in the controversy that broke out on this issue on social networks, numerous Internet users compared attempts at national and racial segregation with the ideology of the Third Reich.

Meanwhile, the country has long been renaming everything that is not corresponds to the canons of national “purity”. At first, place names associated with Soviet and revolutionary terminology changed, although it was Soviet era laid the foundation for the modern Tajik state. At the same time, “Russian” names were cleared settlements, streets, cultural institutions. The media wrote that there were no longer streets named after Chkalov, Chekhov, Paustovsky in the country; the authorities refused to name the first gymnasium in Tajikistan, founded in the 1920s in Khojent by a group of Russian teachers, after Pushkin.

Then the turn came to toponyms of Turkic and Arabic origin. Villages, districts, and even the names of geographical locations that have been known for hundreds of years, for example, Jilikul, Ganchi, Kumsangir, were renamed (and continue to be renamed). In February this year on the instructions of Emomali Rahmon, the latter were changed to “corresponding to the national culture of Tajiks.”

At the same time, neighboring Uzbekistan did not try to get rid of numerous Tajik names in the same way. Otherwise, the names of cities such as Khazarasp, Shakhrisabz and Denau, which were historically formed in Farsi, could have long been “Uzbekized” in it.

“Moscow officials ... point blank do not see the consistent and long-term policy of President Emomali Rahmon to oust the remnants of not only the Soviet, but also the Russian world from Tajikistan. ...There was and is no reaction from officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the press secretary of President Vladimir Putin to the renaming of streets in Dushanbe, the change of all kinds of Russian-language signs, signs, slogans, names of institutions, to the reduction of hours of studying the Russian language in schools... Russian TV channels the Baltic and Ukrainian authorities tirelessly denounce the Baltic and Ukrainian authorities for demanding that Russian speakers learn official languages these republics. And although in Tajikistan the government of Emomali Rahmon is pursuing a similar policy, Moscow does not make any claims against official Dushanbe,” -