Tajik leader strengthening grip on power in volatile region
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ALMATY- President Imomali Rakhmon seems set to strengthen his power by referendum on Sunday as Tajikistan, on the front line against militancy and crime from neighbouring Afghanistan, sinks deeper into an economic crisis and simmering discontent.
Many of the hundreds of thousands of Tajiks working in recession-hit Russia have been forced to return home, either because they lost their jobs or because their wages were no longer sufficient following the Russian rouble's devaluation.
There have been no major public protests in the authoritarian state, but political tensions are on the rise. In September, general and former opposition fighter was killed in a gunfight with government forces after a failed attempt to seize power from Rakhmon.
