Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan bury Soviet-era border legacy with landmark treaty

This agreement has set the stage for a major surge in trade and the promise of a new era of Central Asian unity. The treaty is not without its critics, however.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the Ala-Archa presidential complex in Bishkek.

And so, with a few pen strokes, one of the Soviet Union’s most pernicious legacies – the tangled borders of Central Asia – has been resolved.

On March 13, the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan met in Bishkek to sign an agreement that d…