In recent days, a video has been circulating on social media showing a group of Tajik young men in Russia rescuing women and children from drowning in a reservoir in the city of Istra. Speaking in Tajik, they assisted Russian nationals, transferring them from one boat to another during the dramatic incident.
Asia-Plus news agency tracked down these heroes and interviewed them.
One of them, the 27-year-old Furqat Zikrulloyev from Yovon district in Khatlon province, shared the story.
He and five other fellow Tajik migrants were working on a construction site in Istra. On July 12, they went to swim in the Istrinskoye Reservoir and rented a boat for a ride on the water.
"It was hot and dry that day, but suddenly a strong wind picked up, and it began to rain with hail," Furqat recalls. Initially, they wanted to head back, but then they saw that three children had fallen from a boat into the river and were starting to drown. Without hesitation, they rushed to save them.
"Their boat was inflatable and very light, and the wind could easily carry it away in any direction. That's why they couldn't control the boat, and it capsized. The children’s father and mother were in another boat, but the distance between them was too far. The father also tried to help but nearly drowned himself," Furqat explained.
According to him, they first rescued the children’s father, who was closest, and then helped the children. Furqat himself steered the boat while three of his friends jumped into the water to save the children, and another helped pull the children into the boat. They then transported the children's mother to their boat and took them to safety.
"When the children started drowning, we couldn’t just stand by. Yes, the wind was strong, and there was a thunderstorm, but we trusted in God and rushed to help," said Furqat.
However, the Russian authorities did not reward them, and there were no reports of the incident in the Russian media.
Other heroic acts of Tajik migrants in Russia
The Istra incident is just one of several recent incidents involving migrants from Tajikistan demonstrating acts of bravery in Russia.
On the evening of May 14, a migrant worker from Tajikistan, 32-year-old Sayvali Sharipov, saved the lives of three children from a burning apartment, drawing widespread praise for his bravery.
Earlier in May, Otabek Madrahimov, another Tajik migrant in Moscow, used his water delivery truck to extinguish a car fire. His actions were widely shared on social media, though only the Tajik labor ministry’s office in Moscow acknowledged his deed with a letter of thanks.
In other recent cases:
- Bakhtiyor Ismoilov saved an 11-month-old baby crawling on a highway in the Moscow region.
- Muhammadjon Obidov, a young colorist, stopped a man in an alcoholic stupor from abducting a newborn in July 2024.
- Hasan Avgonov, 58, jumped into freezing water to rescue two drowning children despite his poor health.
