Cash-strapped but strategically important, Tajikistan is undergoing rapid change with its future increasingly being shaped by a power play between China and Russia. Klas Lundström reports.
A young foreman from a construction site queues at the SIM-card desk of the glitzy Tcell shop in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe. He’s well-dressed, drenched in perfume, and trailed by three Chinese men, all eager to lay hands on their phones again.
‘I’ve learned Chinese to communicate with the construction workers,’ he says. ‘Most of them are from China.’ His nod to his colleagues is politely returned, but they seem more interested to learn about the status of their Tajik SIM cards.
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