On February 23, 1993, military units formed from the Popular Front literally a few days before this date marched in Dushanbe with a solemn march. Therefore, it is generally accepted in the republic that this particular event marked the moment of the birth of the army of the Republic of Tajikistan.
History of the Tajik Armed Forces
Despite the fact that the birthday of the Tajik army is considered February 23, it was legally formed in April 1994, and its formation was accompanied by rather serious difficulties.
The fact is that after the collapse of the USSR, Tajikistan, unlike other former union republics, did not get anything from the Soviet army, since almost no military units were deployed on its territory. True, the 201st Gatchina Motor Rifle Division stood there, but under an agreement with the government of the republic, it was not withdrawn to Russia, but remained in Dushanbe, only it was directly subordinated to Moscow. For a long time , CIS peacekeeping forces were deployed in Tajikistan .
The troubled times of the nineties did not pass by Tajikistan. There the Civil War began, and in haste the armed forces formed in the country were more like illegal separate groups equipped with weapons than a regular army. Deserting military personnel has become commonplace, and most young people have simply ignored conscription in the Tajik army.
After the end of the war, which claimed up to 150 thousand human lives, things gradually went smoothly, largely thanks to material and military assistance from the Russian Federation. The Tajik army has turned into a weak, but fully operational armed formation.
Place of the Tajik Armed Forces among other armies of the world
According to the Global Military Power Index for 2017, which evaluated 133 countries, the Tajik army took 112th place, being between Cameroon (111th) and Slovenia (113). As for the other Central Asian countries that were formerly part of the USSR, Uzbekistan took 48th place, Kazakhstan - 53, Kyrgyzstan - 109.
It should be noted that this index (Global Firepower Index) considers about 50 factors that take into account the number of persons currently suitable for military service, the amount of money spent on its maintenance and equipment, military power by type of existing armed forces and much another. Up to the point that even indicators for the turnover of petroleum products and the geographical position of the state are taken into account.
Military Doctrine of Tajikistan
On October 3, 2005, the country's parliament (the Majlis of Oli) adopted a military doctrine, which, perhaps, largely determined the future path of formation of the Tajik army.
It states that the republic does not consider any of the states of the world to be its enemy, nor does it have any territorial claims against anyone. Thus, it is established that the military doctrine is completely defensive in nature and, in the event of external threats, counts on the CSTO (“Tashkent Treaty”).
The structure and strength of the Tajik Armed Forces
The Tajik Armed Forces include ground and mobile forces, the Air Force and air defense forces.
The ground forces of the republic consist of two motorized rifle and one artillery brigade. They number about 7-10 thousand military personnel.
The mobile troops, which were created in 2003, are the most combat-ready and include an airborne assault brigade and one separate motorized rifle brigade (formally belong to the ground forces). Three battalions from the mobile forces are part of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
The Air Force of 1,500 people and air defense are currently combined into a single structure, which consists of a helicopter squadron, a radio engineering battalion and one anti-aircraft missile regiment.
In addition, among the military units that are not part of the forces and assets of the republic’s Ministry of Defense include border troops (1.5 thousand people) and units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (3.8 thousand people).
It should be noted that the data on the size of the Tajik army are approximate, since this information is classified, the republic’s Ministry of Defense was not disclosed. In this regard, the US CIA in the ranking of military power sets the number of military personnel in the Armed Forces of the republic no more than 6 thousand people.
Armament and technology
The army of Tajikistan can hardly be called modern. It mainly consists of equipment produced in the USSR. From armored vehicles at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic are:
- 37 tanks, of which 30 - T-72, the rest - T-62;
- infantry fighting vehicles - 23 pieces (BMP-1 - 8, BMP-2 - 15);
- 23 armored personnel carriers (armored personnel carriers - 60/70/80).
Artillery has:
- ten howitzers D-30 caliber 122 mm;
- Three reactive Grad systems (BM-21);
- ten mortars PM-38 caliber 120 mm.
The Air Force has one TU-134 A, 12 Mi-24 helicopters, eleven Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters (there were 12 before, but one crashed in 2010). It is believed that Tajikistan does not have combat aircraft, however, two T-95 strategic bombers and three L-39s (combat trainers) participated in a military parade in 2011. True, it is not known for certain whether they belong to the Republican Air Force or were leased from Russia.
The air defense is armed with twenty self-propelled air defense systems S-75 "Dvina", seventeen S-125 "Pechora", in addition, there is an unknown number of domestic MANPADS "Strela-2" and American FIM-92.
The armament is rather outdated, however, in 2017, the Russian Ministry of Defense decided on the supply of aircraft, new armaments and ammunition to Tajikistan. Thus, the long line of defense should be strengthened, preventing the spread of terrorism in Central Asian countries.
How many serve in the army of Tajikistan?
The order of service in the army is regulated by the law "On universal military duty and military service." But with its observance, serious difficulties are observed in the republic: young people of draft age are trying to evade service. In many respects, corruption that flourishes among employees of the Moscow Region contributes to this.
The law mentioned above determines that young people are drafted into the army of Tajikistan at the age of 18 - 27 years. They will serve their homeland for 24 months. For graduates, the service life is 1 year.
By the way, every year about 79 thousand people reach a suitable age for military service, but only 7 to 9 thousand young people manage to become soldiers.
Contractors
Until now, a rather difficult domestic political situation remains in Tajikistan. In September 2015, opposition forces led an ex-deputy of the republic’s Defense Ministry, Abukhalim Nazarzoda, organized an armed rebellion, the purpose of which was to overthrow the incumbent President Emomali Rahmon, who has been in power since 1994.
Tensions with the opposition forces forced the government back in 2000 to completely abolish military service under the contract in Tajikistan. Since this could create certain risks for the current government, if these soldiers rejected the existing regime, and the opportunity to influence the political views of colleagues. In this regard, the Republic’s Armed Forces have virtually no institute of professional sergeants.
Officer Training
The training of future officers in Tajikistan is carried out by two educational institutions: the Military Institute and the Lyceum from the Ministry of Defense. However, the level of education in them leaves much to be desired, therefore, mainly the command staff is trained in educational institutions of Russia, Kazakhstan, China and India. In addition, in the territory of the republic near Dushanbe, there is a training center of the US Armed Forces, where officers of the Tajik army can also receive additional training.
Material support of the army
Material and sanitary support of the Tajik Armed Forces is at a very low level. Often conscripts are forced to live in barracks of a barracks type, even without heating. Food products are not supplied in sufficient quantities, which is why theft flourishes in the army.
In most cases, military uniforms are still of the Soviet type, issued once for the entire period of service. The soldier must acquire the second and subsequent sets for personal funds.
The main factor of stability
The main factor in ensuring stability in Tajikistan is the 201st base of the Russian Ministry of Defense already mentioned above.
In 2013, an agreement was reached between the two countries that the military of the Russian Federation would remain on the territory of the republic until 2042. Thus, Russia provided itself with good protection near the border with Afghanistan, and Tajikistan received a serious discount on the purchase of modern weapons, as well as the right to train military specialists in educational institutions of the Russian Defense Ministry.
The base units are located in three cities of the republic: Kurgan – Tyube, Kulyab and in Dushanbe itself. They include tank and motorized rifle units, units of engineering troops and communications, a company of snipers, an anti-aircraft missile division, as well as a division of self-propelled artillery installations. In addition, in the city of Nurek there is a space control system that is subordinate to the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Possible perspectives
Maintaining peace in the Republic of Tajikistan is an important task for Russia, since the unstable situation near the borders of the Russian Federation is a direct threat to the country's national security. In this regard, the renewal of the Tajik Armed Forces, increasing their combat readiness and ability to counter possible threats from Afghanistan in the form of Islamist terrorist groups for Moscow is considered one of the priority issues. Therefore, Russia plans to invest about 200 million US dollars in the Tajik army. Modernization should go through three stages and be completed by 2025.
It should be noted that the current government of the country is particularly interested in strengthening the republican armed forces, since in addition to problems with Afghanistan, the republic still has not completely resolved internal political issues related to the opposition and radical Islamists. This situation prompts Dushanbe to active military cooperation with Russia, as well as the CSTO member countries.
Today, the Tajik army is simply unable to cope with a serious threat on its own. Therefore, the 201st RBD remains the main outpost of the Russian Federation throughout Central Asia, and is also the guarantor of peace and the main defender of the sovereignty and independence of the republic.