A classic scene in Tajikistan: at the end of a flower-lined avenue with immaculately trimmed borders, the portrait of President Emomali Rahmon reigns supreme. A former Soviet apparatchik, he carved out a presidential role for himself in the aftermath of the USSR’s collapse. He proved particularly adept at neutralizing opposition forces during the civil war that scarred the country from 1992 to 1997. Since then, he has ruled with a paternalistic iron fist, criminalizing all political opposition. His portrait is plastered across every public space in the country. Post offices, police stations, tennis courts, customs posts, border crossings : all are graced with a likeness of the country’s strongman, tailored, naturally, to the theme of the building. A simple taxi ride is enough for any visitor to get acquainted with President Rahmon: through the window, he’ll catch a glimpse of him here playing tennis, there cradling sheaves of wheat, waving to a crowd, or shaking hands with the leaders of neighboring powers. Here, in the country’s second city, Khujand, he allows himself a bucolic stroll through a field of flowers.

Credits : Marc Brédif (France)

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