By Roman Kozhevnikov

DUSHANBE, May 24 (Reuters) - Tajikistan's leader proposed fines for lavish weddings and funerals on Thursday and urged his impoverished people to hold more modest ceremonies.

President Imomali Rakhmon, in power since 1992, has announced a number of flamboyant initiatives this year, some aimed at reducing poverty in the mountainous Central Asian state bordering Afghanistan.

His latest proposal sets out strict limits for weddings and funerals, including the number of guests, meals and cars. It also sets heavy fines for extravagance.

"According to the state statistic agency, people spend 4.5 to 5 billion somoni a year on various events, whereas state revenues are about 3.3 billion somoni ($960 million)," domestic media quoted Rakhmon as saying.

"On wedding and funeral ceremonies alone, people spent more than a billion somoni last year, and the cattle used to make meals for these events numbered more than 500,000 head," he said.

According to the proposal, wedding organisers would be able to invite no more than 200 guests and the event should last no longer than one day. A wedding cortege should not consist of more than four cars.

As for funerals, people should be given only one meal during the repast that follows and no more than 100 guests should be invited, Rakhmon suggested.

Those who break the rules will have to pay a fee -- about $600 for ordinary citizens and up to $1,500 for civil servants. The average monthly wage is the local equivalent of $45.

Rakhmon has long criticised expensive wedding parties in his Muslim nation and announced that students should not drive themselves to school or carry mobile phones.

He has also changed his name to Rakhmon from Rakhmonov to reflect his Persian roots and urged compatriots also to drop Russian-style endings from their names.

Tajikistan is a former Soviet republic and one of the world's poorest nations. It is still recovering from a bloody civil war in the 1990s when more than 100,000 were killed.

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