(ALAUDDIN VALLEY) -- Russia's relationship with Tajikistan has  _ following an incident involving a Russian pilot who was arrested -- after making an emergency landing in the Central Asian nation. Russia responded by beginning to drive out Tajik guest workers, a move that threatens Tajikistan's entire economy. In total, some 700,000 Tajik citizens work in Russia. In the past quarter, they sent home some $742 million in remittances  . Overall, the money guest workers send back makes up half of the republic's government budget.  The Alauddin Valley is in the Fann Mountains in eastern Tajikistan. The place long held an attraction for Russian writers and adventurers. Later, during the Soviet era, it was a popular tourist destination. Yet establishing a strong relationship with the people of the mountainous region is not easy. Men are seldom seen in the area. Nearly every family has at least one breadwinner working in Russia, if not more. The farm work falls to the women, who divide it up among themselves. Each summer, the village chooses the most experienced and skilled women to take all of the cows (up to 300 of them) to the summer pastures   high up on in the mountains. The women spend four months there with their children since there is no one to leave the children with. They milk the cows and prepare products for the winter: cheese, butter and so on. These fermented   goods get them through the winter when snow and avalanches   cut off all contact with civilization.  Residents here generally have two questions for visiting Russians. The first one is obvious: Is President Dmitri Medvedev going to limit the entry of Tajik guest workers? The second question is less obvious: Are there cows in Moscow? The Alauddin Valley's women truly can't imagine life without either. Why was the Russian pilot arrested?
Because he stole a plane in Tajikistan. Because he didn't land in Tajikistan safely. Because he landed in Tajikistan without permission. Because he refused to return to Russian.