Army of Tajikistan: service life, draft age, strength

On February 23, 1993, military units formed from the Popular Front a few days before that date marched through Dushanbe with a solemn march. Therefore in the republic it is considered that this event marked the moment of the birth of the army of the Republic of Tajikistan.

History of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan

Despite the fact that the birthday of the Tajik army is considered to be February 23, it was legally formed in April 1994, and its formation was accompanied by rather serious difficulties.

The fact is that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, unlike other former Soviet republics, the Soviet Army did not get anything from the Soviet Army, since virtually no military units were deployed on its territory. True, there was the 201st Gatchina motorized rifle division, but under an agreement with the government of the republic it was not withdrawn to Russia, but remained in Dushanbe, only it was subordinated directly to Moscow. Таджикистана дислоцировались миротворческие силы СНГ . For a long time, the peacekeeping forces of the CIS were deployed on the territory of Tajikistan .

The troubled time of the nineties did not pass by Tajikistan. The Civil War began there, and the military forces formed in the country were more like unlawful separate groups equipped with weapons than the regular army. The desertion of servicemen became commonplace, and the call to the army of Tajikistan by most young people was simply ignored.

After the end of the war, which claimed up to 150,000 lives, the case slowly went off, largely due to material and military assistance to the Russian Federation. The army of Tajikistan has turned into a weak but well-armed armed formation.

The place of the Supreme Council of Tajikistan among other armies of the world

According to the Global Military Strength Index for 2017, in which 133 countries were ranked, the Tajik army ranked 112th, between Cameroon (111th place) and Slovenia (113th). As for other Central Asian countries, formerly part of the USSR, Uzbekistan ranked 48th, Kazakhstan - 53, Kyrgyzstan - 109.

It should be noted that this index (Global Firepower Index) considers about 50 factors that take into account the number of persons suitable at the moment for service in the army, the amount of money spent on its maintenance and equipment, the military power by types of available armed forces and much Other. Up to the point that even indicators on the turnover of petroleum products and the geographical position of the state are taken into account.

Military Doctrine of Tajikistan

On October 3, 2005, the parliament of the country (Majlis Oli) adopted a military doctrine, which, in many ways, determined the further way of the formation of the army of Tajikistan.

It states that the republic does not consider any of the states of the world to be its enemy, and also has no territorial claims to anyone. Thus, it is established that the military doctrine is completely defensive in nature and, in the event of external threats, counts on the CSTO (the "Tashkent Treaty").

Structure and strength of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan

The Armed Forces of Tajikistan include land and mobile troops, the Air Force and air defense forces.

The Army consists of two motorized rifle and one artillery brigade. They number about 7-10 thousand military personnel.

The mobile forces, which were established in 2003, are the most combat-capable and include an assault and assault brigade and one separate motorized rifle brigade (formally belong to the land forces). Three battalions of mobile troops are included in the Collective Rapid Deployment Force of the CSTO.

The air force of 1,500 men and air defense is currently combined into a single structure, which consists of a helicopter squadron, a radio battalion and one anti-aircraft missile regiment.

In addition, border forces (1,500 people) and Interior Ministry units (3,8 thousand people) belong to the number of military formations that are not part of the republic's Defense Ministry.

It should be noted that the data on the strength of the army of Tajikistan are approximate, since this information is classified, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic is not disclosed. In this regard, the CIA of the United States in the ranking of military power sets the number of servicemen in the Armed Forces of the Republic no more than 6 thousand people.

Armament and equipment

The Tajik army is difficult to call modern. Basically, it consists of equipment produced in the USSR. From armored vehicles, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic has the following:

• 37 tanks, of which 30 - T-72, the rest - T-62;
• Infantry fighting vehicles - 23 pieces (BMP-1 - 8, BMP-2 - 15);
• 23 armored personnel carriers (armored personnel carrier - 60/70/80).

The artillery has:

• Ten howitzers D-30 caliber 122 mm;
• Three reactive systems "Grad" (BM-21);
• 10 mortars PM-38 caliber 120 mm.

The Air Force has one TU-134 A, 12 Mi-24 helicopters, eleven Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport vehicles (previously there were 12, but in 2010 one vehicle crashed). It is believed that Tajikistan does not have combat aircraft, but two strategic bombers T-95 and three L-39 (training vehicles) participated in the military parade in 2011. True, it is not known exactly whether they belong to the Air Force of the republic or were rented from Russia.

There are twenty self-propelled S-75 Dvina SAM systems, seventeen C-125 Pechora aircraft, and there is an unidentified number of Russian MANPADS Strela-2 and US FIM-92.

Armament is quite outdated, but in 2017, the Russian Defense Ministry decided to supply aircraft, new weapons and ammunition to Tajikistan. Thus, a long line of defense must be strengthened, preventing the spread of terrorism in Central Asian countries.

How many serve in the army of Tajikistan?

The order of the service in the army is regulated by the law "On General Military Duty and Military Service". But with its observance in the republic there are serious difficulties: young people of military age try to evade the service. In many respects this is promoted by the corruption that is flourishing among the staff of the Defense Ministry.

The law mentioned above determines that young people are recruited into the Tajik army at the age of 18-27 years. They will serve their homeland for 24 months. For those who graduated from universities, the service life is 1 year.

By the way, every year, about 79 thousand people are approaching the age of military service, but only 7 to 9 thousand young people succeed in becoming soldiers.

Contracts

Till now in Tajikistan the rather heavy internal political situation remains. In September 2015, an armed rebellion was organized by the opposition forces under the leadership of the former deputy of the Defense Ministry of the Republic Abukhalem Nazarzod, whose goal was to overthrow the current president, Emomali Rahmon, who is in power in 1994.

Tensions with the opposition forces forced the government in 2000 to completely abolish the service in the army under contract in Tajikistan. Since this could create certain risks for the current government, if these servicemen do not accept the current regime, and the opportunity to influence the political views of their colleagues. In this regard, the Army of the Republic has practically no institute of professional sergeants.

Training of officers

Two educational institutions are training the future officers in Tajikistan: the Military Institute and the Lyceum of the Ministry of Defense. However, the level of education in them leaves much to be desired, so the command staff is mainly trained in educational institutions in Russia, Kazakhstan, China and India. In addition, in the territory of the republic near Dushanbe is located the training center of the US Armed Forces, where Tajik army officers can also undergo additional training.

Material security of the army

Material, as well as sanitary provision of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan is at a very low level. Often, the conscripts are forced to reside in barracks barracks, even without heating. Food products are supplied in insufficient quantities, which is why theft in the army is booming.

Military uniforms in most cases are still Soviet-style, issued once for the entire period of service. The soldier must purchase the second and subsequent sets for personal funds.

The main factor of stability

The main factor of ensuring stability in Tajikistan is the already mentioned above 201st base of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

In 2013, an agreement was reached between the two countries that the Russian military will remain on the territory of the republic until 2042. Thus, Russia provided itself with good defense at the border with Afghanistan, and Tajikistan received a serious discount for the acquisition of modern weapons, as well as the right to train military specialists in educational institutions of the Defense Ministry.

The subdivisions of the base are located in three cities of the republic: Kurgan-Tube, Kulyab and in Dushanbe itself. They include tank, motorized rifle units, engineering and communications units, a sniper company, an air defense missile division, and a self-propelled artillery systems division. In addition, in Nurek there is a system of control over outer space that is subordinate to the Russian Air Force.

Potential Prospects

The maintenance of peace in Tajikistan is an important task for Russia, since the unstable situation at the borders of the Russian Federation is a direct threat to the national security of the country. In this regard, the renewal of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan, the increase in their combat readiness and the ability to withstand possible threats from Afghanistan in the form of Islamist terrorist groups for Moscow is considered one of the priority issues. Therefore, Russia plans to invest about 200 million US dollars in the Tajik army. Modernization should go through three stages and end by 2025.

It should be noted that the active government of the country is especially interested in strengthening the republican armed forces, since in addition to problems with Afghanistan, internal political issues related to the opposition and radical Islamists remain unresolved in the republic. This situation prompts Dushanbe to active military cooperation with Russia, as well as CSTO member countries.

To date, the Tajik army is simply unable to cope on its own with a serious threat. Therefore, the 201st RPB remains the main outpost of the Russian Federation in the whole of Central Asia, and is also the guarantor of peace and the main defender of the sovereignty and independence of the republic.