Russia - Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies ...

Russia 501
Altai charted out extensive possibilities for trade, ranging from cotton
yarn and agricultural produce to wood and spare parts.
Altai-Tajikistan
Tajikistan is among the ten top trading partners of Russia’s Altai
province. Altai province leads Siberia in trade turnover with Tajikistan
and stands third among Russia’s regions in this regard. 37 This trade,
however, is subject to abrupt changes. In 2004 alone the export of lumber
doubled, flour grew by six times, while several other products fell
sharply. The most stable and important Altai exports to the Tajiks are
lumber, farm tractors (from the Alltrac factory), and electric power
generators (including for the Dushanbe and Khojent airports).
Fruits and vegetables are the main export items from Tajikistan,
although this trade is dominated by Novosibirsk-based intermediaries.
Altai entrepreneurs and state agencies actively recruit Tajik labor for
construction, the building trades, and agriculture. In nine months of 2005
more than 600 work permits were issued to Tajikistan citizens, with the
actual number of migrant laborers being far larger.
Eurasian regionalism and the “Greater Altai” project 38
The proposal to establish a “Greater Altai partnership” in the field of
trade and transport offers an illuminating case-study of both
opportunities and impediments for regional interaction in this larger zone
of Asia.
37
Nozhkin S., Report at presentation of economic, scientific, and cultural potential
of Altai province in the framework of the Russia-Tajikistan economic forum
(01.12.2005, Dushanbe)
38
One of the first detailed coverage of this project was done by O. Barabanov, then
senior researcher at the
Institute of Strategic Studies in Moscow, “Greater Altai: a proposed alliance of the
regions bordering Central Asia and Siberia.,”
http://www.iiss.org/publications/russian-regional-perspectives-journal/volume-1-
--issue-2/greater-altai-a-proposed-alliance