Independence 25 years ago promised to bring freedom and prosperity to central Asia, but kleptocratic regimes have left many yearning for the pastThe road out of Kommunizm, a small town in southern Tajikistan, is badly paved and bumpy.
Like most things here it was built long ago, when the ruling ideology that gave the settlement its name was still thriving.Home to just 7,000 inhabitants, Kommunizm was at the very edge of the Russian empire, first tsarist then Soviet; a mere 50 miles from Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. Related: My hunting trip with Yeltsin killed off the Soviet Union Continue reading...