Episode 30: Goodbye, old Dushanbe. Hello, AI hub?

Over the past several years, Dushanbe has been on a path toward modernisation. New buildings, many of them Chinese-funded, have dotted the city’s landscape, dramatically transforming its traditional architecture.What has driven this wave of redevelopment? Will it help Tajikistan become the next AI hub in the region, as the authorities hope? And what does it all have to do with environmental degradation, which has made Tajikistan one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world?To answer these and other questions, we are joined by Sher Khashimov, a freelance journalist originally from Dushanbe and the author of numerous articles examining redevelopment and environmental degradation in Tajikistan. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe