Russian television viewers have chosen Manizha, a Russian singer born in Tajikistan, to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest.

A version of this article was originally published on Novastan’s French website on 17 March 2021.

At the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, Russia will be represented by the 29-year-old Manizha, a singer of Tajik origin. The singer will compete with a new feminist song, “Russian Woman”.

Manizha, who emigrated from Tajikistan in 1994, is an activist for women’s and refugee rights. The artist made herself known almost exclusively through social media, notably on Instagram where she regularly posts her new songs.

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Since her nomination, Manizha has seen her account grow by tens of thousands of followers. As of 22 March, she has more than 435,000 followers. On YouTube, her videos often attract several million views.

Music as a tool for advocacy

Born in 1991, Manizha Sanghin was three-years-old when her family arrived in Moscow from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, then in the midst of a civil war (1992-1997). In an interview with Asia-Plus, she explains how it was difficult to build her career as a female immigrant in Russia. Today, she is inspired by her own experiences to contribute, thanks to her music and personal projects, to the fight for women’s and refugee rights.

On 14 December 2020, Manizha became the first goodwill ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency appointed to Russia, Radio Ozodi, the Tajik branch of the American media outlet Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, reported. “I promise to support those who are forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution, to use my voice to help those in need and to shine light upon the situation of refugees and stateless peoples,” she said in a statement.

The assertion and protection of women’s rights is also important to Manizha. In 2019, after the success of her video Mama denouncing domestic abuse, she created a mobile application, SILSILA. Developed with her mother’s help, SILSILA is a mobile alert system which allows victims of violence to call for help more easily.

Tajik: a little, a lot, too much or not enough

Despite 39.7% of Eurovision fans in Russia voting for her, criticism and insults stream forth concerning the origins and artistic style of the young woman.

Her Tajik origin is a particular focus of the hostility surrounding Manizha’s nomination. On social media, a number of people claim without evidence that the voting was rigged and that the artist does not hold Russian nationality. Others reject the feminist message of the song “Russian Women”. Its latest version, released 19 March, includes the English chorus “Every Russian woman needs to know / you’re strong you’re gonna break the wall”.

“I am a citizen of the world. I am Tajik, Slavic and a woman who speaks English. I’ve stopped worrying. I just want to live, in accordance with these traditions, in accordance with the culture that was formed within me,” Manizha told Radio Ozodi in December 2019.

Another song also evokes the discomfort caused by her dual nationality, her dual culture. The chorus of her song Nedoslavianka (“Not Slavic Enough”), for which the music video was filmed in Tajikistan, explains:

In my native land,
I am already foreign,
And in foreign lands
I am still not a native.

Beyond the feeling of not wholly belonging to either of her two communities, Manizha juggles with these influences with pride. Today she sports a unique identity. The artist repurposes folkloric rhymes and traditional Tajik clothing and in the same breath reclaims the societal concerns of the Russian people, as the America media outlet Eurasianet notes.

But some amongst the defenders of national Russian conservatism still protest, for example the leader of the Liberal-Democrat Party, Vladimir Zhirinovksy. “I don’t know if this is good for raising the authority of a Russian woman and of Russia in general. […] The song should boost moods […] Who needs a song like this?,” he told Russian journalists, the Russian media outlet Ria Novosti reports.

“Another star will rise in the sky from the stage and its name shall be Manizha”

Since her debut, Manizha has been collaborating with Russian and Tajik artists more and more. In the face of criticism, her contemporaries are keen to show their support of the young singer. “A girl of Tajik roots sings a resplendent Russian folklore, it is a cultural bridge in the relations between the states,” Iosif Prigozhin, a celebrated Russian producer, told Radio Ozodi.

In the same Radio Ozodi article, the Tajik musician Zafar Abdualimov, who shared the stage with Manizha during a singing competition in 2006, said he was proud of the young woman: “This event is a great achievement for us, for the people of Tajikistan”

Also of Tajik origin, the violinist Nohid Seinalpur takes pride in Manizha’s originality and personality setting her apart from other artists repurposing Tajik folklore. “Another star will rise in the sky from the stage and its name shall be Manizha,” she stated, lauding the fact that she “is unlike any other”.

For many, this nomination is symbolic of change in the mentality of Russians, though hate-filled reactions also bear witness to the society’s divisions. The Eurovision Song Contest is not officially political but choosing to put forth a woman whose ideas so oppose those of the Kremlin is unprecedented.

Such international visibility for an artist who uses traditional Tajik folklore, often unknown and underappreciated in the West, is also new. In this way, Manizha represents the hopes of a new emergence of Tajik culture.

As for hateful messages, Manizha hit back at them with humour. On 16 March, she published a short documentary spoof on YouTube in which an “expert” explains that, according to his research, “Manizha… is SALT!”. But she also explicitly reasserted her dual identity and how it informs her music: “I, Tajik by blood, will sing in Russian. Because I am representing Russia, a country I consider my homeland,” she told the Russian outlet Sputnik.

Caroline Deschamps
Novastan.org

Translated from French by Molly Arnold

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The post Who is Manizha, the Tajik-born singer representing Russia at the Eurovision? appeared first on Novastan English.

According to official statistics the number of tourists visiting Tajikistan fell by 72 per cent from 2019 to 2020.

A version of this article was published on Novastan’s French website on 23 February 2021.

Tajikistan’s latest tourism statistics reveal an undeniable conclusion: the sector has collapsed and the country’s economy is on the brink. On 12 February 2021, Tajik news outlet Asia-Plus reported that the number of visitors to the country fell to 350,000 in 2020, down 72% from 1,254,000 in 2019. The tourism sector, which in 2019 accounted for 2-2.5% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), represented only 1% of GDP in 2020.

The official statistics do not provide a breakdown of people’s reasons for visiting the country, and therefore do not distinguish between business trips and tourism. In 2019, the Tajik authorities used this loose definition to their advantage, announcing statistics that were 10 times higher than in reality. Nevertheless, the 2020 statistics represent a steep decline.

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While Tajikistan has recorded the lowest number of COVID-related deaths in Central Asia—90 registered deaths compared to 1,450 in Kyrgyzstan and 3,150 in Kazakhstan—strict measures imposed in response to COVID have taken a toll. Despite receiving $400 million in aid funding, Tajikistan has failed to indicate clear economic measures to protect against the impact of COVID-19, according to Radio Ozodi (the Tajik branch of Radio Free Europe). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that overall economic growth was 1% in 2020, compared to a rate of 7.5% in 2019.

Signs of an exhausted economy

The collapse of the tourism industry in Tajikistan is, in reality, just one visible signpost of the country’s suffering economy. One of the poorest countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Tajikistan was already heavily dependent on foreign aid before the COVID crisis and is now facing staggering financial difficulties.

The revenue that contributes to Tajikistan’s GDP can be divided into three main economic sectors. According to 2019 World Bank statistics, agriculture generated 19% of the country’s wealth, industry and manufacturing accounted for 27%, and the “services” industry generated over 42% of GDP. In reality, the majority of the “services” category is represented by money sent home by Tajik workers living abroad—mainly in Russia.

These remittances represented 28.6% of Tajikistan’s GDP in 2019, with 70% of the Tajik population relying on these funds to survive. But with successive COVID lockdowns—particularly in Russia—the amount of money sent back to the country has drastically declined. At the same time, foreign direct investment diminished by nearly 47% in one year, as reported by Radio Ozodi. In light of these difficulties, the collapse of the tourism sector has devastated an already weakened economy.

A sector in need of development

For several years, the Tajik government has expressed the intention of developing the country’s tourism industry. Designating 2018 “the year of tourism”, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon hoped his country could overcome some of the structural difficulties that limit Tajikistan’s ability to cater to and attract foreign visitors.

Issues such as the lack of transport facilities, banking services, and high-quality accommodation outside big cities prevent Tajikistan from becoming a mainstream tourist destination. Unfortunately, these challenges are yet to be addressed by the Tajik government.

However, in April 2018, the Tajik president extended the visa-free period for foreign visitors from three to ten working days in an effort to attract tourists. Large hotel chains such as the Hyatt Regency, Hilton Hotels and Serena Hotels have established hotels in the capital Dushanbe, and 2020 saw the creation of 22 new tourist agencies in Tajikistan (now totalling 224).

Tajikistan’s high geographical elevation—with mountain peaks between 6,000 and 8,000 metres­—represents opportunities for the further development of adventure tourism, which has rapidly expanded over the past few years. The richness of Tajik poetry and folklore, and the fantastic natural landscape along the Pamir Highway also represent great tourist potential. 

Domestic tourism presents opportunities

On 26 January, the Tajik authorities announced that the country had beaten coronavirus. Health Minister Jamoliddin Abdullozoda attributed this success to government health measures, claiming that the absence of a lockdown in favour of a home quarantine program assisted in the eradication of COVID-19. This “victory” led Emomali Rahmon to announce the reopening of mosques from 1 February and may signal a wider reopening of the country.

Read more on Novastan: Is Tajikistan really free from coronavirus?

Tojiddin Jurazoda, the head of Tajikistan’s Tourism Development Committee, told Asia-Plus that reviving the tourism industry is both an opportunity and a necessity. To achieve this, new projects are being planned for 2021, including the reconstruction of the Yamchun Fort, which once guarded a strategic passage along the Silk Road between India and Iran, and the restoration of the majestic Hulbuk citadel, located in the Vose District in the south-west of the country. The Khoja Mashkhad complex, a major pilgrimage destination tentatively listed for consideration of UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999, will also be renovated in 2021 in an effort to attract believers and visitors.

Jurazoda also discussed the Committee’s plans to expand rural tourism through the establishment of hostel-style accommodation and homestays. Whether these initiatives will be enough to revive the Tajik tourist industry­—and the country’s economy with it—remains to be seen.

Caroline Deschamps
Novastan.org

Translated from French by Alice Coveney

Edited by Clare Hodgson

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The post Tajikistan’s tourism industry collapses in the wake of COVID appeared first on Novastan English.