P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Rahmonov, Ravshan
Tajik folklorist Ravshan Qahhorovich Rahmonov, also referred to as
Ravshan Rahmoni, was born in the village of Pasurkhi in Baisun in the
present-day Republic of Uzbekistan on November 28, 1954. He re-
ceived his early education in the Soviet schools of his birthplace.
Rahmonov graduated from the Department of Philology of the Taji-
kistan State University in 1977. He then worked at the Tajikistan State
Committee for Radio and Television. Since 1978, he has worked at
various science-related positions in archaeology, anthropology, and as a
folklorist at Tajikistan State University. From 1986 to 1989, he was a
post-graduate student at the Africa and Asia Institute of Moscow State

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University. At the end of this period, he defended his thesis, entitled

Nazmi Shifohii Sohibmuallifi Darizaboni Afghonistoni Muosir (Sponta-
neous Dari Oral Verses of Contemporary Afghanistan). From 1991 to
1993, he was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Foreign Lan-
guages. Since 2000, he has been a Professor at the same institution.
As a folklorist, Rahmoni has created a network of scholars from the
former Soviet republics, as well as Iranian, Indian, and Afghan folklor-
ists to record the gradually disappearing languages of the region. In this
context, in 1992, he established a journal, Mardumgioh (Peoples'
Roots), in which he publishes related articles and for which he serves as
Editor. In 1998, he defended his dissertation, entitled Afsonahoi Mar-
dumi Forsizabon dar Sabti Imruz (The Legends of Farsi-Speaking
Peoples in Contemporary Rendition).
Rahmonov's contributions include Namunahoi Foklori Dari (Sam-
ples of Dari Folklore, 3 vols., Kabul, 1984-85); Afsonahoi Dari (Dari
Tales, Tehran, 1995); Oral Narratives from Tajikistan, Moscow, 2000);
and Roji' ba Ta'rikhi Girdovari, Nashr va Omuzishi Adabiyoti Omionai
Tojik (Concerning the Collection, Publication, and Study of Tajik Folk
Literature, Dushanbe, 2001).
Rahmonov has traveled to United States, Afghanistan, Belgium,
Germany, France, Iran, India, and Japan.