From the very beginning of gaining state independence, the Republic of Tajikistan in foreign policy has never changed its position in relation to its most important strategic partner — the Russian Federation. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Tajikistan and Russia have built a system of strategic partnership and military alliance, which are based on basic interstate documents.

From alliance to strategic partnership

At the present stage, a clear confirmation of the special role of Russia in the foreign policy of Tajikistan is the Foreign Policy Concept of the Republic of Tajikistan adopted on January 27, 2015, which states: “Development of relations with the Russian Federation on the basis of equality and mutually beneficial cooperation in political, military, military-technical, economic , trade, investment areas, areas of labor migration, culture, information, science and education and other areas meet the national interests of the Republic of Tajikistan and are an important factor in ensuring stability.”

For Russia, Tajikistan, along with other states of the Central Asian region, has always been at the center of historically determined interests.

Russia’s strategic priority goal is to promote the formation of a stable sovereign statehood among its neighbors, capable of pursuing its own foreign policy that corresponds to the geopolitical situation and balance of power in the common space.

Security problems and solutions

On the path to implementing specific development projects in Tajikistan, the Afghan factor and the ethnopolitical problems existing in the Fergana Valley pose a problem. To summarize, at present the main threats to the security of not only Tajikistan, but also the entire Central Asian region and Russia are: the activities of international terrorist organizations in the Afghan border region; the spread of religious extremism; increase in illicit drug trafficking; threat and use of biological weapons; arms smuggling, human trafficking, organized crime activities; cybercrime and other transnational crimes.

The above challenges and security threats affect the implementation of the national strategy of Tajikistan. Tajikistan periodically experiences the latent conflict potential of the Fergana Valley, where the delimitation and demarcation of interstate borders has not yet been completed [2].

New threats to regional security (biological, hybrid, network wars, environmental challenges) are pushing new states to reformat the old security system taking into account new realities, when global processes are projected more dynamically than in previous periods at the regional level with their own local specifics. To maintain the stability of Central Asia, it is now important to strengthen the security belt in the trans-border Amudarya region, border settlement and resolution of border problems in the Fergana Valley, where conflicts are increasingly emerging in Vorukh, Sokh, Shakhimardan [3, pp.67-68].

The acquisition of a sustainable nature by the above dangerous phenomena encourages Tajikistan to attach primary importance to issues of ensuring national and regional security, countering such challenges and threats as international terrorism, religious extremism and drug trafficking.

Tajikistan has laid a solid international legal basis for interaction in the fight against international terrorism and extremism, having signed more than 80 interstate agreements with Russia, China, the states of Central Eurasia, the USA, European states, international organizations, etc.

The core element of the Tajik-Russian strategic partnership and alliance is the coordination of joint actions in the international arena in a bilateral format, as well as within the framework of such global and regional organizations as the UN, CIS, CSTO, SCO, OSCE, CICA, etc. Deterioration of the military-political situation in Afghanistan impedes the implementation of the national development strategy of Tajikistan and threatens the security of the country.

In these conditions, it seems especially necessary to combine the efforts of Tajikistan and Russia in ensuring the security of the southern borders of the CIS space and the CSTO zone of responsibility.

The tense military-political situation in Afghanistan does not contribute to the implementation of Tajikistan’s national development strategy and is a challenge to the country’s national security. The tensest situation remains in the northeastern provinces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan due to the expansion of combat zones by militants of various terrorist and jihadist organizations. The reason for their concentration in the north of Afghanistan is most likely the redistribution of spheres of influence [1, P.10].

Under these circumstances, the main tasks of Tajikistan and Russia in the Afghan direction remain the fight against drug trafficking, countering militants of terrorist and extremist organizations and cross-border crime. This encourages the leadership of Tajikistan and Russia to take initiative in matters of forming a multilateral regime to counter threats emanating from Afghanistan and creating a security belt along the Tajik-Afghan border. In these conditions, it seems especially necessary to combine the efforts of Tajikistan and Russia in ensuring the security of the southern borders of the CIS space and the CSTO zone of responsibility. It is palpable for Russia to understand that without stability in Central Asia, the dynamic socio-economic development of the countries of the region, the deepening and expansion of integration processes in this space, it is difficult to imagine further sustainable growth of the Russian economy.

The Tajik-Afghan border is the southern border of the CSTO’s common area of responsibility with Russia. For Russia, Tajikistan is one of the key links in the fight against international terrorism. The Afghan factor focuses the attention of both states on the need to constantly improve the strengthening of the southern borders of Tajikistan. According to sources, in the northern provinces of Afghanistan there are terrorist and extremist groups numbering approximately from 5-6 thousand to 10-12 thousand militants. Threats to the security of Tajikistan intensified after the withdrawal of foreign military contingents in August 2021, which contributed to the active interaction of anti-drug and anti-terrorist structures of the SCO, CSTO, and CIS.

In these conditions, the 201st Russian military base, as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization, play an important role in containing external destructive forces and strengthening the security potential of Tajikistan. To increase the reliability of border protection in the airspace, Tajikistan and Russia have developed an international legal framework for the creation of a joint air defense (air defense) system of the two countries. Considering the threats of drug transit across the Tajik-Afghan border, through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Russian side regularly provides assistance to Tajikistan in the fight against drug trafficking. For 2015–2017 $5.4 million was allocated, and a similar amount was allocated for the period 2018–2020. to update the material and technical base of the Drug Control Agency, its structural expansion through the creation of territorial divisions, training and retraining of personnel, and material support for service employees. From 2019 to the present, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has provided assistance to Tajik agencies countering the spread of drugs in the amount of about 3.5 million US dollars [3].

The Tajik-Afghan border is the southern border of the CSTO’s common area of responsibility with Russia. For Russia, Tajikistan is one of the key links in the fight against international terrorism. The Afghan factor focuses the attention of both states on the need to constantly improve the strengthening of the southern borders of Tajikistan. According to sources, in the northern provinces of Afghanistan there are terrorist and extremist groups numbering approximately from 5-6 thousand to 10-12 thousand militants. Threats to the security of Tajikistan intensified after the withdrawal of foreign military contingents in August 2021, which contributed to the active interaction of anti-drug and anti-terrorist structures of the SCO, CSTO, and CIS.

In these conditions, the 201st Russian military base, as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization, play an important role in containing external destructive forces and strengthening the security potential of Tajikistan. To increase the reliability of border protection in the airspace, Tajikistan and Russia have developed an international legal framework for the creation of a joint air defense (air defense) system of the two countries. Considering the threats of drug transit across the Tajik-Afghan border, through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Russian side regularly provides assistance to Tajikistan in the fight against drug trafficking. For 2015–2017 $5.4 million was allocated, and a similar amount was allocated for the period 2018–2020. to update the material and technical base of the Drug Control Agency, its structural expansion through the creation of territorial divisions, training and retraining of personnel, and material support for service employees. From 2019 to the present, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has provided assistance to Tajik agencies countering the spread of drugs in the amount of about 3.5 million US dollars [3].

In the context of Tajikistan’s security, military and military-technical cooperation is a priority area of Russian-Tajik interaction. Russia is promoting the modernization of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan by transferring military products to them. In total, since 2014, Russia has trained more than 7 thousand military personnel, which has a significant impact on increasing the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Every year, about 500-1000 Tajik military personnel undergo free training in Russia. In 2021 alone, about 1,000 junior specialists were trained in Russia for the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan. As part of the Modernization Program of the National Armed Forces of Tajikistan, Russia is providing assistance in strengthening Tajik defense potential. Meanwhile, taking into account the possible increase in the military threat from Afghanistan, taking preventive measures, an unmanned aviation battalion was formed as part of the 201st RVB in 2019 as part of a battalion of a short-range and short-range company, armed with complexes with Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles, Leer-3, Eleron, Granat and Tachyon, as well as a long-range detachment equipped with the Forpost UAV complex. The newest radio jamming system “Pole-21” has entered service with the 201st Russian military base in Tajikistan. In October 2020, the re-equipment of the air group of the 201st military base in Tajikistan with modern modifications of Mi-8MTV-5 transport and combat helicopters was completed.

In February 2021 alone, Russia donated more than 40 pieces of engineering and special equipment to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan. In addition, Russia and Tajikistan regularly conduct joint military exercises. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, in November 2020, a series of large-scale joint exercises using heavy equipment and drones were held at the Lyaur, Sambuli and Kharb-Maidon training grounds based on the experience of modern armed conflicts. “Combat Brotherhood” maneuvers are regularly held near the Tajik-Afghan border. They involve groups of thousands of CSTO troops, aviation and Iskander missile systems [4, pp. 118-127].

Development prospects

After the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan, challenges to regional stability emanating from this country are likely to persist for a long time. For the United States, possession of strategic advantages in Afghanistan — in the center of Central Asia — is important for containing the three centers of power (Iran, China and Russia) and countering the expansion of integration processes not controlled by America — the SCO, CSTO, EAEU and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Once again, Afghan territory can be used to achieve the geopolitical goals of external actors and can become a source of growing new threats. Most likely, it will be the states neighboring Afghanistan that will have to jointly maintain regional stability. Under these conditions, the regions of South and Central Asia need a new format of the security system that would strengthen the cooperation of states located along the perimeter of the borders of Afghanistan (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan, China) and states with priority interests in the Afghan state ( Russia, India and the USA) — the “7+3” format for coordinating and combining efforts and taking preventive measures taking into account new challenges and threats of our time.

Network wars have already become a factor in modern geopolitics, shaping public consciousness. This is a whole complex of information and ideological measures to influence the political elite, the psyche and behavior of citizens, as well as to counter these influences using political, economic, diplomatic, scientific means, the media and cinema. In the Central Asian states, including Tajikistan, there is insufficient systematic training of specialists in the field of ensuring information and ideological security, including professionals in the field of propaganda and counter-propaganda. Given these circumstances, it is important for Tajikistan to train specialists with skills to work in the information and ideological sphere. In this context, it would also be important to strengthen Tajik-Russian cooperation [3, 5].

Another pressing regional security problem is related to the risks of the proliferation of biological weapons. Formally, the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons, to which the USA and the USSR joined, was adopted back in 1972. However, its implementation in practice is hampered by the lack of a verification mechanism and mutual checks. In 2001, Russia proposed such a mechanism, having developed a corresponding protocol with other countries. But the United States withdrew from the negotiations and began to form a closed system of military biological facilities around the world. There is a tendency to launch biological laboratories in post-Soviet Central Asia to carry out prohibited military biological research. The implementation of such plans will allow for in-depth research on the production of pathogenic microorganisms that are potentially capable of selectively affecting different ethnic groups of people. This opens up prospects for the creation of biologically destructive agents based on genetically modified forms of pathogenic microorganisms exported from the CIS, to which the population will not have natural immunity, and the available medical means of protection will be ineffective. Despite statements by officials about the exclusively peaceful nature of these institutions and their civic orientation, the facts indicate the opposite. For example, after the appearance of a US biological laboratory in the city of Herat, an outbreak of malaria was recorded in Afghanistan. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that uncontrolled biological processes can significantly slow down or even destroy the development plans of the countries of the Central Asian region and the world as a whole. In these conditions, taking into account the above risks, the Central Asian states, together with Russia, need to take measures to declare the region a zone free of biological weapons facilities. To ensure the environmental safety of the region, it is necessary to combine efforts to develop and implement a unified regional environmental policy [5].

In the current situation in the Central Asian region, perhaps the most important and relevant factor in regional security is the strengthening of integration processes. Only this factor can ensure the stability of the security system. The main factors determining integration processes in the region are geo-economic, geopolitical and communication. Currently, in Central Asia there are favorable opportunities for close economic cooperation and coordination of foreign policy and foreign economic strategies of the countries of the region. Objective prerequisites continue to motivate the creation of integrated decision-making systems and coordination of countries’ positions on a number of pressing problems of regional development.