Tajikistan Bans the Russian-Style Surnames

Tajikistan has officially banned the surnames with “Russian” endings.

Jaloliddin Rakhimov, the Deputy Chief of the Tajik Service for Registration of Citizens, told RFE/RL on April 29 that the new regulations were approved by President Emomali Rahmon in March, RFERL reports.

According to new regulations all surnames which have Russian ending such as “-ov,” “-ev,” “-ovich” and “-ovna,” banned.

Jaloliddin Rakhimov said the authorities are making an effort to explain to the public that the main goal of the new law to is to make sure that all surnames in the country are written in Tajik in order to avoid having children “separate in two groups, one of which will be proud of their Tajik names while the other will have to carry foreign ones,” The Moscow Times reports.

“In Tajikistan, names and the way they are written is done in accordance with culture, national traditions and the Registry of Tajik national names, approved by the government,” he said.

The people of Tajikistan will use the endings of their own language such as “-zod,” “-zoda,” “-yon,” “-far” and “-pur.” There is an available list of 3,000 acceptable first names for newly born children.

The leader of Tajikistan has also changed his Soviet-style name from Emomali Sharipovich Rakhmonov to Emomali Rahmon in 2007.