DUSHANBE, March 3, 2009, Asia-Plus — Information about possible termination of relaying Russia’s RTR-Planeta in Tajikistan looks at least strange, an article by Russian expert Alexander Shustov posted on website of the Strategic Culture Foundation on March 1 said.
It would seem that Tajikistan, the major part of adult population of which currently works in Russia remitting money to the country, should be interested in its population watching the Russian TV.
According to him, watching Russian TV would allow Tajik nationals improving knowledge of Russian that would allow them to better know about the domestic situation in Russia.
The expert considers that a complex political game that has started in the Russia-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan triangle over construction of new hydropower plants in the region is behind the information about possible termination of relaying RTR-Planeta in Tajikistan.
“This information is interesting especially as relations between Russia and Tajikistan have been considered the friendliest in the region so far and attitude to the Russian language in Tajikistan has been quite favorable. Moreover, the Russkiy Mir Foundation has set up a number of Russian centers in Tajikistan and the branch of Moscow State university is expected to be opened in Dushanbe this autumn,” Shustov noted.
We will recall that in a report released at a press conference in Dushanbe, the head of the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting Asadullo Rahmonov revealed on January 20 that they may stop relaying TR-Planeta due to 4.8 million Russian rubles in areas that RTR owes to open joint-stock company (OJSC) Teleradiocom for technical services. If the debt is not paid off, the frequency used by RTR-Planeta may be given to one of local TV channels, Rahmonov said.
In the meantime, the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting stopped relaying TR-Planeta in Tajikistan on March 2.
