Tajik leader tells nation to drop Russian names

DUSHANBE, Mar 27 (Reuters) Tajik leader Imomali Rakhmonov, in a flamboyant move to revive Persian roots in the former Soviet state, has ordered his people to drop Russian-style surnames and banned Soviet-era school festivals.

Slavic endings like -ov were added by many people across the five ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia during Russian imperial rule and later under Soviet power. In line with his new crusade, Rakhmonov declared himself ''Rakhmon'' earlier this month.

At a government meeting yesterday, the Tajik leader, who has ruled the Muslim state since 1992, told the nation to follow suit and register new-born babies only under Persian surnames.

''Imomali Rakhmon, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, ... issued concrete instructions to officials to regulate the sphere of national traditions and ritualism,'' said the official Web site www.president.tj.

The Tajik leader will technically remain ''Rakhmonov'' until he registers his name officially with the justice authorities, but the presidential Web site and the state news agency Khovar have already switched to his new name.

The changes are unlikely, however, to concern Russia, since it is impoverished Tajikistan's key regional ally and trading partner.

While cultivating warm relations with Moscow, Tajikistan, which speaks a dialect of Farsi, has also sought to revive its Tajik identity and pre-Soviet traditions, with Rakhmonov advocating closer cultural ties with Iran and Afghanistan.

Dropping Russian-style endings in Central Asia, so far championed mainly by writers and intellectuals, has been accompanied by a gradual resurgence of local languages and culture since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

At the meeting, Rakhmonov banned schools from holding Russian-style graduation festivals when teenagers celebrate their last day at school by singing, dancing and partying all night.

He also banned an elementary school festival known as Den Bukvarya, or ABC Book Day, when children read books and play together.

Rakhmonov, who has long criticised rich Tajiks for displaying their wealth by carrying expensive mobile phones and wearing gold teeth, also banned children from driving to school and using mobile phones during lessons.

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