Goodbye, Stalinabad. Dushanbe is undergoing reconstruction, but at what cost?

Dushanbe - Dushanbe, which was known as Stalinabad from 1929 to 1961, has been shedding its Soviet past for years. Tajik authorities - in an effort to promote national identity - are systematically demolishing landmarks built during the USSR era to make way for high-rise apartment buildings, new infrastructure, and even more impressive government buildings, wrote the Meduza website. According to them, developers have also joined the construction boom, and residents of existing homes are often displaced. Public outrage over the loss of historical buildings has given way to more practical concerns about costs and the consequences of redevelopment.

Dushanbe used to be a Soviet city par excellence, Meduza describes. When the USSR separated Tajikistan from Uzbekistan in 1929 and made it an independent Soviet republic, its capital was a town with just under 6,000 inhabitants, known mainly for its Monday market, the website reminds. Soviet authorities renamed the city after Joseph Stalin and sent specialists from Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to transform it into a metropolis.

Since the 1930s, several Russian architects have tried to give Stalinabad a modern Soviet face. Today, there is no trace left of the pre-Soviet village - the oldest building in Dushanbe is just over 90 years old, the portal describes, adding that now "Soviet Stalinabad is giving way at countless construction sites to independent Dushanbe."

Skyscrapers are replacing low-rise buildings designed by Russian architects in the 20th century, and picturesque streets are turning into monumental boulevards.

Living in Dushanbe, according to Meduza, often means rediscovering the city, as if one were returning after ten years. You go to the post office only to find it being demolished, the website depicts.

The authorities have a list of protected historical buildings and monuments in the metropolis. However, as of last February, it reportedly contained only 12 items. The list is also subject to revision. For example, the former presidential palace - a neoclassical building from 1957 that originally served as the headquarters of the communist party - reportedly appeared on the list in 2016. Four years later, when the authorities decided to demolish it, it was no longer on the list. The decision sparked a debate on social media, with some residents calling for the preservation of the building and its alternative use. However, the palace was torn down.

Meanwhile, the list of demolished buildings is growing. Rumors of another demolition target frequently arise. Information spread orally usually precedes official announcements - which come at the last minute, leaving activists with little time to react, the portal explains.

"In Tajikistan, there is no shared understanding of what (cultural) 'heritage' is like in the West," asserts Paul Wolkenstein, an architect engaged in Soviet architecture in Central Asia and the Caucasus. "In neighboring countries, such as Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, civil society and history lovers mobilize to prevent demolitions. This movement is also starting to emerge in Uzbekistan. In Tajikistan, sometimes even living architects whose works are being destroyed agree with the decision," Wolkenstein describes.

For some, Soviet buildings may not necessarily be a welcome heritage. "There are people who defend Soviet buildings and heritage, but given what is happening in Ukraine and in the region, it seems to me that this cultural issue should be approached from a different angle," says researcher Tahmina Inojatova, who studies the intersection of identity, power, and urban space in Tajikistan. "Why do we need to protect Soviet buildings? And why were these buildings built by Russian engineers and architects placed here?" she adds.

While some people, according to Meduza, certainly believe that the Soviet-era buildings in Dushanbe have historical value, ordinary residents are more often concerned about the fate of their own homes. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in development construction, leading to forced evictions and illegal demolitions, the server writes. According to it, authorities claim that the city's reconstruction is following a plan, but this document remains classified.

Demolitions are widely discussed, but people often hesitate to protest vigorously. At least two human rights defenders who have addressed this issue have been imprisoned, the portal points out. According to Inojatova, however, some residents are resisting. While some have managed to negotiate compensation agreements with private developers, others have turned to court. According to Inojatova, this brings mixed results, but some have succeeded in winning their cases. "They almost never manage to save their homes from demolition, but what they can do is secure better (living) conditions for themselves: for example, a better apartment," she explains.

Those who reach agreements with developers, however, may have to wait months or even years for new housing. In some cases, construction of new apartment buildings has halted due to corruption scandals, while in others, new buildings have proven to have serious structural or administrative problems, Meduza describes. Poor construction work and obvious non-compliance with building regulations have led many Dushanbe residents to distrust new residential construction. The history of natural disasters in Tajikistan amplifies fears about the safety of new buildings, as Dushanbe is in a high-risk seismic zone.

According to the server, the construction boom also decreases the city's safety in other ways, particularly in connection with the global climate crisis. Last summer was the hottest ever recorded on the planet; in Dushanbe, thermometers regularly showed 35 to 40 degrees Celsius. In the past, the summer heat in the metropolis was bearable due to tree-lined streets, notes Meduza. While gardens can still be found in the center, reconstructed boulevards are significantly less green. The demolition of Soviet-era residential buildings also entails the cutting down of trees that grew in their yards. In some places, young saplings are growing, but it will take decades for them to provide effective cooling.

Air quality in the city regularly exceeds dangerous pollution limits, and new high-rise buildings allow for less air circulation than low buildings. Ubiquitous construction sites also produce larger amounts of dust.

Questions are also raised about the funding sources of government construction projects, especially since Tajikistan is the poorest country in Central Asia. Some major projects rely on foreign funding, such as the construction of the largest Tajik mosque, which is estimated to cost 100 million dollars (2.5 billion crowns), of which 70 percent comes from Qatar. A significant source of loans and investments for the government also comes from China, but details of these agreements are usually not publicly available, Meduza added.