Tajikistan: Russian State Television Booted Off Air

Tajikistan seems determined to obtain financial assistance one way or another from Russia. After President Imomali Rahmon's recent trip to Moscow did not produce any promises of Kremlin largesse, officials in Dushanbe seem to have found a way to take what they could not receive.

The Tajik State Broadcasting Committee decided March 2 to pull the plug on RTR-Planeta, the commercial arm of Russia's state broadcaster. Local authorities cited an increase in fixed costs and demanded more money from the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK).

Local experts believe the dispute is something more than just about money. "I see a political aspect in the termination of RTR's rebroadcast in Tajikistan," Nuriddin Karshibaev, chairman of the Tajik National Association of Independent Media, told EurasiaNet.

In explaining the official decision, Tajik state committee head Asadullo Rakhmonov said RTR-Planeta did not have a valid contract covering broadcasting rights in Tajikistan for 2009, adding that the channel also owed Tajikistan 4.8 million Russian rubles (about $130,000) for relaying services.

A VGTRK representative, Sergey Koshlyakov, complained that the Tajiks were not playing by the rules. "The increase is unscheduled and not included in our company's budget; this is why the negotiations are slack," the Asia-Plus news agency reported Koshlyakov as saying. All grumbling aside, however, it seems that Russia is not eager to lose a major lever to sway public opinion inside Tajikistan, and so VGTRK officials have reportedly agreed to pay a hefty 50 percent rate increase for 2009.

Precise terms of the preliminary agreement were not immediately released. As soon as a contract is signed RTR-Planeta should be back on the air, Tajik officials have indicated.

Despite the apparent fast resolution of the dispute, Tajik officials seem interested in diversifying the country's media landscape -- something that could have the net effect of reducing Russian influence in the Central Asian nation. In February, Tajik broadcasting officials met with top Iranian television representatives to discuss relaying more Iranian programs in the Persian-speaking country. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. RTR-Planeta is the only Russian television channel that is rebroadcast in Tajikistan. Other Russian channels can be viewed only via satellite transmission.