The Yagnob Valley is a captivating valley filled with fascinating traditions, ancient cultures, and hospitable people. Fortunately, much of it can still be experienced today, despite the region’s tumultuous past during Soviet rule.
When the Russian Soviets took over Tajikistan in the 1960s, they explored the country and discovered the fertile lands of the Ferghana Valley were perfect for growing cotton and silk. They intended to transform the region into a prominent hub for cotton and silk production along the Great Silk Road. However, in order to get this trade center up and running, they needed plenty of hands on the ground.
So, the Soviet authorities visited the valleys of Tajikistan and rounded up the fit local residents, including the villagers who lived in the Yagnob Valley. They relocated them to Zafarobad, the Fergana Valley and the lower flatlands in southwest Tajikistan. The official reason for the resettlement was because the mountains were too dangerous because of the risk of earthquakes. Instead, the reality was that they would toil laboriously on the cotton plantations for more than two decades. By 1971, the last of the Yagnobi families had been forced out of their ancestral homes.
The Yagnobis were made to work back-breaking hours in the unrelenting heat of the Ferghana Valley. They were exposed to toxic chemicals used to fertilize the cotton and hundreds of them did not survive very long. Their bodies were not accustomed to such harsh conditions, having lived in the cool mountain valley for most of their lives. Some Yagnobis even died from shock as they were transported away from their homes by helicopter.
By the 1980s, the Soviet rule was declining and some residents had begun to trickle back home. However, it was really only in the 1990s when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) collapsed and Tajikistan gained its independence that many of the Yagnobi people felt safe to return home to the valley they once lived in.
As many of the villages were left abandoned when the Yagnobis were relocated, they had to rebuild their communities from scratch upon their return. Some chose not to return to the valley at all, having already established a life for themselves in their new built-up communities.
Even today, much of the Yagnobi Valley is deserted as the people who once lived there either stayed where they were, in the other regions of Tajikistan or had died as a result. Those who visit the Yagnobi Valley these days will find that some whole villages, having once housing vibrant communities, are home to just several families. Some are completely empty.
The Yagnobis that have returned live a very basic life away from modern civilization, much like their ancestors originally did. They survive on cattle and subsistence farming and have donkeys where you would expect to find cars. There are no cell phones and the mountain pathways are frequently blocked by avalanches and snow, leaving them temporarily cut off from the rest of the world. Perhaps just the way they like it.
©Daniel
