Photos by © Ferghana.Ru news agency

President Emomali Rakhmonov's life was not exactly tranquil. It was in danger more than once in the new history of sovereign Tajikistan, and that explains the attention he is paying to security. Rakhmonov handpicked the Russian military for neighbors a year before the international agreement between Tajikistan and Russia made the Window (electronic center of the Space Force) property of Russia. It was near this electronic center that Rakhmonov had his new luxurious pine-tree dacha built.

The dacha is located barely 800 or 900 meters from the classified Russian military objects. Monitoring airspace above the Commonwealth, it is guarded by special forces of the Russian army. Both the cantonment with Russian military telescopes and Rakhmonov's dacha are situated on a small plateau surrounded by nearly impassable gorges.

The area (2,200 meters above the sea level) in Sanglok mountains overlooks the town of Nurek 68 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe where Tajiks and Russian specialists and servicemen live. It also overlooks the dam of the Nurek Hydroelectric Power Plant with the artificial sea and boats in it. Rakhmonov's dacha is surrounded with a fence and has an autonomous power plant. It is guarded by officers of the presidential security detail. The only road leading to it is guarded by the Russians. There are also several helipads on the plateau. Nothing must be permitted to interfere with the president's much needed rest.

Rakhmonov has one other dacha in the Varzob district (Dushanbe outskirts) and another in his native kishlak near Kulyab.