DUSHANBE, October 24, Asia-Plus -- More than 4,000 Tajiks have returned to traditional versions of their names, removing Russified endings “ov” and “ev” from their names, Justice Minister Bakhtiyor Khudoyorov remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on October 23.  

According to him, de-Russification of names is optional and follows President Rahmon’s recommendation that Tajiks should revert to their traditional versions of the name as part of a return to national roots.   

 In the meantime, the minister noted that a number of Tajiks who had traditional versions of their names and then imposed the Russified endings to their names has also been increasing.  Khudoyorov noted that mainly labor migrants who are leaving for Russia seeking better employment opportunities had changed their names, imposing the Russified endings