| I | INTRODUCTION |
Tajikistan, landlocked republic in southeastern
Central Asia, bordered on the north by Kyrgyzstan, on the north and west by
Uzbekistan, on the east by China, and on the south by Afghanistan. Dushanbe is
the country’s capital and largest city. Tajikistan contains the Gorno-Badakhshan
Autonomous Region (Badakhshoni Kuhi), an ethnically based political subunit that
occupies about 45 percent of the country’s territory.
In Tajik, the official state language, the
country is called Jumhurii Tojikiston (Republic of Tajikistan). Tajiks,
who speak a form of Persian, constitute a majority of the country’s population.
In 1929 Tajikistan became the Tajik (or Tadzhik) Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR)
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Tajikistan became independent
in 1991. Shortly after independence, a civil war broke out between the
Communist-dominated government and opposition groups. The two sides formally
signed a peace accord in June 1997.
| II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
Tajikistan covers an area of 143,100 sq km
(55,250 sq mi), making it the smallest country in Central Asia. Tajikistan is
extremely mountainous, and almost half of the country lies above an elevation of
3,000 m (equivalent to 9,843 ft). The Pamirs, a highland region, occupies
eastern Tajikistan and encompasses Gorno-Badakhshan. The region serves as a
connecting point for several of the world’s highest mountain ranges.
Northeastern Tajikistan contains the highest mountain in the former Soviet
Union, Ismail Samani Peak (7,495 m/24,590 ft), which rises in the Pamirs.
Massive ranges of the Tian Shan mountain system occupy northern and central
Tajikistan, with smaller spurs extending across the northwestern portion of the
country into Uzbekistan. Foothills and steppes (semiarid grassy plains) occupy
the western third of the country. Lowland areas are confined to river valleys in
the southwest and to the extreme north, where a finger-like strip of territory
extends into the fertile Fergana (Farghona) Valley (the remainder of which is in
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan). Tajikistan experiences frequent earthquakes, as it
lies on an active seismic belt that extends throughout the entire southeastern
section of Central Asia.
| A | Rivers and Lakes |
Mountain glaciers feed Tajikistan’s
numerous swift-flowing rivers and streams. The major rivers are the Syr Darya,
which flows through the Fergana Valley in the north; the Zeravshan (Zarafshon),
located in the northwest; and the Kofarnihon, Vakhsh, and Panj rivers, which
together drain more than three-fourths of Tajikistan’s territory. The Panj forms
the western half of Tajikistan’s southern border with Afghanistan. The
confluence of the Panj and Vakhsh rivers on the extreme southwestern border
forms the Amu Darya, the largest river in Central Asia. The Kofarnihon is also a
major tributary of the Amu Darya. Most lakes in Tajikistan lie in the eastern
Pamirs region. The largest is Lake Karakul (Qarokŭl), which is located in the
northeast at an elevation of about 4,000 m (about 13,000 ft).
| B | Plant and Animal Life |
Plant life in Tajikistan varies by region.
Vegetation on the steppes includes drought-resistant grasses and low shrubs.
Vast fields of wild poppies and tulips grow on the steppes where they rise into
the foothills. The mountain slopes are covered with dense forests of coniferous
trees, such as spruce. The mountains also contain grassy meadows, where
wildflowers such as wild iris and edelweiss bloom in summer. Ancient forests of
wild walnut trees are found on the lower mountain slopes.
Wildlife is abundant and extremely diverse.
The endangered snow leopard, which has long been illegally hunted for its fur,
inhabits the mountains. Also in the mountains are numerous varieties of mountain
goat and sheep, including the Siberian horned goat and the rare markhor. The
golden eagle nests at high elevations. Brown bears, lynx, wolves, and wild boar
inhabit lower mountain regions. Animal species on the steppes include deer,
wolves, foxes, and badgers.
| C | Natural Resources |
Only 7 percent of Tajikistan’s land area is
cultivated due to the mountainous terrain. Tajikistan’s rivers contain
substantial hydroelectric potential. Mineral resources include deposits of gold,
silver, iron, lead, and tin.
| D | Climate |
The climate of Tajikistan varies by region
and altitude, with the greatest temperature differences between alpine and
lowland areas. The lowland areas have a continental climate, with hot summers
and cold winters. In the northern lowlands, at Khujand, the average daily
temperature in July is 27°C (81°F), and in January it is -1°C (30°F). Summer
temperatures can reach highs of 48°C (118°F) in the valleys. Between June and
October, strong dust storms are common in semiarid areas. In the eastern
mountains the average daily temperature in July is less than 10°C (less than
50°F), while in January it is –20°C (-4°F). Extreme winter temperatures can fall
below –60°C (below -76°F) in the eastern Pamirs. Precipitation is generally
meager in the lowlands and mountains, although the precipitation that does occur
can cause landslides.
| E | Environmental Issues |
The environment of Tajikistan suffers from
several decades of ecological mismanagement under the Soviet system. Tajikistan
was one of the leading suppliers of cotton in the USSR. Pressured to fulfill
export quotas, farm managers saturated the land with chemical fertilizers.
Harmful levels of toxic pesticides, herbicides, and defoliants are now found
throughout the food chain in Tajikistan. Excessive tapping of rivers for the
irrigation of cotton crops has caused high levels of soil salinization, which in
turn requires more intensive irrigation to maintain crop yields. Irrigation in
Tajikistan directly affects the water levels of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya,
which both drain into the Aral Sea, a large saltwater lake that lies in
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The Aral Sea has shrunk to less than half its
original size due to reduced inflow from these two rivers since the 1960s.
| III | THE PEOPLE OF TAJIKISTAN |
The population of Tajikistan (2008
estimate) is 7,211,884, giving the republic an average population density of 51
persons per sq km (131 per sq mi). The lowlands of northern and western
Tajikistan are the most densely populated areas. Large cities include Dushanbe,
the capital, a modern city located in the Hisor Valley of western Tajikistan;
and Khujand, an important cotton-processing center located in northern
Tajikistan’s Fergana Valley.
Tajikistan was the least urbanized republic
of the former USSR. In 2003 only 24 percent of the population lived in urban
areas. From the late 1950s strong urban growth, fed by immigrants from other
republics, was matched by rapid growth in the rural population. Between 1959 and
1989, the population of the republic increased by more than 100 percent due to a
high birth rate and improvements in medical care. During the early 1990s,
however, the growth rate began to decline due to civil war and emigration.
| A | Ethnic Groups and Languages |
Tajiks constitute the largest ethnic group
in Tajikistan, making up about 65 percent of the population. The peoples who
live in Gorno-Badakhshan, located in the Pamirs, are classified as Tajiks,
although their languages and customs are distinct. The largest minority group in
the country is the Uzbeks, who constitute nearly 25 percent of the population.
Uzbeks live primarily in the Fergana Valley and in the vicinities of Kŭlob in
south central Tajikistan and Tursunzoda in western Tajikistan. The next largest
minority group is Russians, although they began leaving the country in large
numbers in 1989. By the mid-1990s Russians represented only 3 percent of the
population, as at least half of the Russian population had emigrated to Russia.
Other ethnic groups include Tatars, Kyrgyz, Ukrainians, Turkmens (or Turkomans),
and Koreans.
Tajiks descend from the Aryans, an ancient
people who spoke Indo-European languages. This differentiates them from the
other Central Asian peoples, who are of Turkic descent. The official state
language is Tajik (or Tojiki), an Indo-Iranian language that is another form of
modern Persian. The Tajik language originally developed in a modified Arabic
script. However, the Soviet government forced the Tajiks to adopt a modified
Latin (Roman) alphabet in the 1930s, and then a modified Cyrillic script (the
script of the Russian language) in 1940. These changes were part of a program to
increase literacy and to foster loyalty to the Soviet regime by isolating the
Tajiks from the written works of their own heritage and kindred peoples outside
the USSR. In a move toward greater sovereignty under the Soviet system, the
government of Tajikistan declared Tajik to be the official state language in
1989. The 1994 constitution recognizes Tajik as the official state language and
Russian as the language of interethnic communication. The country’s language law
calls for the gradual return to a modified Arabic alphabet, but the change has
not been systematically implemented.
The peoples of Gorno-Badakhshan speak
several Iranian languages of a group called Pamiri, which is quite distinct from
Tajik. A small community of Yaghnobs, who are also classified as Tajik, speak
Yaghnobi, another Iranian language. Tajikistan’s minority groups tend to speak
their own native languages. Uzbeks speak a Turkic language, as do other
indigenous Central Asian peoples.
| B | Religion |
The predominant religion in Tajikistan is
Islam. Most Tajiks and Uzbeks, amounting to about 80 percent of the population,
are Sunni Muslims. About 5 percent of the population are Shia Muslims. Most of
the country’s Shias, notably the peoples of the Pamirs in the Gorno-Badakhshan
region, are Ismailis.
Arab conquerors introduced Islam to the
region of present-day Tajikistan, along with other parts of southern Central
Asia, in the 8th century ad. The
peoples of the Pamirs were introduced to the Ismaili religion, a Shia Muslim
sect, in the 11th century. During the Soviet period, the officially atheistic
Communist regime severely restricted religious practice. Then in the mid-1980s
when the Soviet government eased many of its restrictions on religion, a
resurgence in Islam began in Tajikistan. The collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991 allowed even more religious freedom, and more Tajiks turned to their
Islamic heritage. However, the government of Tajikistan has attempted to
suppress Islamic groups, which it perceives as a threat to its hold on
power.
| C | Education |
Most people age 15 and older in
Tajikistan can read and write, a result of the Soviet system of free and
universal education. Until the 1920s, when the Soviet authorities introduced
secular (nonreligious) education, the main education centers were Muslim
madrasas (religious schools). In principle, a general education involving
the completion of seven grades is compulsory for all children. However, the
government has not maintained adequate state funding for schools due to the
country’s economic and political instability. Institutions of higher education
in Tajikistan include the Tajik State University, the Tajik Agricultural
University, and the Tajik Technical University, all located in Dushanbe. The
Tajik Academy of Sciences, also located in Dushanbe, is an important research
institute.
| D | Way of Life |
The majority of people in Tajikistan have
a rural way of life, and many live in traditional rural villages. Those villages
situated near rivers or irrigation canals usually contain several hundred
single-family houses, but those located on the steep mountain slopes are much
smaller. People in rural areas wear mostly traditional garments, while those in
the cities wear Western-style clothing. More than 80 percent of Tajiks live
below the poverty line, as defined by the United Nations (UN). Government
officials and their close associates constitute a small wealthy elite.
| E | Literature |
Tajiks share a literary heritage with
other Persian-speaking peoples. Many important contributions to Persian
literature emerged from Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan) during the 9th and
10th centuries, when the city was an Islamic center of learning under a Persian
dynasty, the Samanids. Several prominent cultural figures lived in Bukhara
during the 10th century, including Rudaki, who is venerated as the father of
Persian poetry, and the Persian philosopher-scientist Avicenna.
A modern body of literature emerged from
Bukhara in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most notably with the works
of Abdurauf Fitrat. A dramatist and teacher who also became active in
nationalist politics, Fitrat wrote poems, tracts, dramas, and scholarly books in
both the Tajik and Uzbek languages. His early work, including Munozira
(Dispute, 1909) and Bayonoti sayyohi hindi (Statements of an Indian
Traveler, 1911-1912), was concerned with Islam in the modern world and social
and political reforms. During the Soviet period, Tajik novelist Sadriddin Ayni
and poet Mirzo Tursunzoda gained widespread recognition. Tursunzoda won the
Lenin Prize in 1960 for his poem Sadoi Osiyo (The Voice of Asia;
1956).
In a tradition that is common throughout
Central Asia, the epos (a partly historical and partly legendary poem) is
performed to a melody by a minstrel. This tradition, which dates from
prehistoric times, has preserved an ancient oral literature. Because the poems
and stories are delivered orally rather than in written form, they were
accessible to what used to be a largely illiterate population.
| F | Theaters and Museums |
The Tajik National Theater, consisting of
nine different theaters, was founded in Dushanbe in 1929 for musical comedy,
ballet, opera, and puppetry. Tajikistan’s largest museum is the Tajik Historical
State Museum, located in Dushanbe. Also in Dushanbe are the Behzod Museum of
History, Regional Studies, and Art; the Ethnographic Museum of the Tajik Academy
of Sciences; and the Firdavsi Library, the oldest national library, housing a
collection of historic manuscripts.
| IV | ECONOMY |
Tajikistan was the poorest of the former
Soviet republics. Civil war wracked Tajikistan’s economy from the time of
independence until a peace accord was signed in 1997. Turmoil in the south
destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure, created thousands of refugees,
and sorely disrupted agricultural production. A large number of Russian-speaking
people, many of them technically skilled workers or professionals, fled the
country to seek safety and more favorable economic conditions. The combination
of these factors caused the gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the
value of goods and services produced, to drop an average of 16 percent a year
between 1990 and 1996. However, in 1997 the GDP began to rebound. GDP was $2.81
billion in 2006.
Economic reforms planned at the time of
independence were mostly suspended because of the war. After the war, the
government was able to focus on the difficult process of transforming the
centrally planned economy of the Soviet period into one based on free-market
principles. The government turned to mass privatization—the selling of state
assets to the private sector—as a way to generate revenue, promote foreign
investment, and gain support from international financial institutions such as
the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). Although
the reform process proceeded rapidly beginning in 1997, Tajikistan continued to
face many serious economic problems, both as a legacy of Soviet central planning
and civil war and as a consequence of economic transition.
| A | Agriculture |
Agriculture forms the foundation of
Tajikistan’s economy. The sector employed 67 percent of the workforce in 2000.
The principal crop is cotton, which is grown on irrigated lands along the
tributaries of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. The cultivation of cotton is a
legacy of the Soviet period, when government planners mandated that cotton be
grown as an export crop. Cotton continues to be an important source of revenue.
Other major crops include grain, primarily wheat; vegetables, particularly
potatoes, onions, and tomatoes; and fruit, such as grapes and apples. Silkworms,
who feed on the leaves of mulberry trees, are also cultivated for the production
of raw silk. Raising cattle and sheep is also important. Much of the best
farmland is held by collective farms, which lease agricultural plots to private
farmers.
| B | Mining and Manufacturing |
Mineral resources in the republic are
extensive. Tajikistan has metals such as gold, silver, iron, lead, and tin;
mineral fuels, mainly coal; and industrial materials such as phosphates and
semiprecious stones. Much of the country’s mineral resources have yet to be
developed. Many are in remote mountainous areas where the lack of transportation
and severe weather make mining difficult. Several foreign companies have entered
into joint ventures with the government of Tajikistan to mine gold, silver, and
coal.
Some industrialization has taken place
since the 1930s, but manufacturing still accounts for a relatively small part of
Tajikistan’s economy. While Tajikistan produces substantial amounts of cotton,
only about one-tenth of it is processed into textiles inside the country. Heavy
manufacturing is limited to a few concerns, principally a massive aluminum plant
located in Tursunzade, west of Dushanbe. However, the country has no deposits of
aluminum ore and must import the raw material from other countries, mainly
Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
| C | Energy |
Mountain rivers provide ample sources of
hydroelectric power in Tajikistan, and an extensive hydroelectric power system
was built during the Soviet period. Massive dams produced 98 percent of the
country’s electricity in 2003, with the rest coming from thermal plants fueled
by natural gas. Large quantities of electricity are needed to refine aluminum;
the abundant supply of electricity in Tajikistan is why Soviet planners built
the massive aluminum smelter in Tursunzade. New power stations are being built
in Tajikistan with international assistance, positioning the country to become a
major exporter of electricity in the region. Tajikistan is dependent on imports
for other energy sources, including gas and oil.
| D | Currency and Trade |
Tajikistan’s chief trading partners are
other former Soviet republics, principally Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
The country is also developing trading relationships with European and Asian
nations.
In 2000 Tajikistan introduced a new
currency, the somoni, to replace the Tajik ruble. One somoni is
made up of 100 dirams. The government issued the new currency in the
expectation that it would help facilitate the transition to a market economy.
For example, the new currency was designed to simplify financial transactions,
as 1 somoni replaced 1,000 Tajik rubles. The Tajik ruble had been in use since
1995, when it replaced the Russian ruble. In 1994 Tajikistan had joined the
“ruble zone,” comprising Russia and some other former Soviet republics, but
Russia’s economic problems caused a severe shortage of rubles in Tajikistan. By
issuing its own currency in 1995, the country gained control over its own
monetary policy.
| V | GOVERNMENT |
After Tajikistan became an independent
republic in 1991, a period of political instability delayed the drafting of a
new constitution to replace the one of the Soviet period. In 1994 voters
approved a new constitution that formally established Tajikistan as an
independent republic with a presidential system of government. In a 1999
referendum, voters approved constitutional amendments that created a new,
two-chamber legislature and extended the presidential term of office from five
years to seven.
| A | Executive |
A president is head of state in Tajikistan.
The president is directly elected for a term of seven years. Although the
constitution imposes a limit of two consecutive terms, constitutional amendments
passed in 2003 created an exception for the standing president, Imamali
Rakhmonov, allowing him to run for two additional terms after having served two
consecutive terms. The president appoints the prime minister and the members of
the council of ministers, subject to legislative approval.
| B | Legislature |
The legislature of Tajikistan comprises a
lower chamber, the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Assembly of Representatives),
and an upper chamber, the Majlisi Milliy (National Assembly). The 63
members of the Majlisi Namoyandagon are elected by popular vote for five-year
terms; 22 are elected by proportional representation (in which representatives
are elected from party lists in proportion to the number of votes each party
receives), and 41 are elected from single-member constituencies (geographical
areas that each have one representative). The 33 members of the Majlisi Milliy
are indirectly elected for five-year terms; 25 are selected by local deputies,
and 8 are appointed by the president. The Majlisi Namoyandagon acts on a
permanent basis, while the Majlisi Milliy convenes at least twice per year.
| C | Judiciary |
The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary. The Supreme Court is the highest court in Tajikistan.
Other high courts include the Supreme Economic Court and the Constitutional
Court. The president appoints the judges of these three courts, with the
approval of the legislature. Other courts include the Military Court, the courts
of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, and local courts. The judges of all
courts are appointed to ten-year terms.
| D | Local Government |
For purposes of local government,
Tajikistan is divided into Soghd Region (formerly Leninabad Region), Khatlon
Region, the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, and the capital, Dushanbe. The
regions and Dushanbe are subdivided into districts. In addition, a number of
districts in the central part of the country are not part of any region.
Dushanbe is administratively independent of the regions. Dushanbe and the
regions are administered by local councils, whose members are elected to
five-year terms. The president appoints a chairperson to head each council.
| E | Political Parties |
The People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan
(PDPT), led by President Rakhmonov, dominates the government. Other parties
holding seats in the legislature are the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT) and
the Islamic Rebirth Party (IRP).
In 1993, during the civil war, the Supreme
Court banned a number of opposition parties. During the war, the IRP led the
formation of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO), a coalition of opposition
parties and paramilitary forces fighting the government. Under the terms of the
1997 peace agreement, UTO members were guaranteed inclusion in government. The
ban on opposition parties and their media was formally revoked in August 1999.
Opposition parties that reregistered that year included the IRP, whose leader,
Said Abdullo Nuri, also led the UTO; Lali Badakhshon, which advocates greater
autonomy for the Gorno-Badakhshan region; and Rastokhez (Resurrection), a
nationalist party advocating freedom of religion.
| F | Defense |
Tajikistan did not have armed forces
separate from the Soviet security system during the Soviet period. After
independence, Tajikistan developed its own armed forces. The paramilitary forces
of the UTO began to be integrated into the national armed forces in 1998, under
the terms of the peace agreement ending the country’s civil war. In 2004
Tajikistan had an army of 7,600 troops.
In response to the civil war in Tajikistan,
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)—a loose alliance of most of the
former Soviet republics—sent in a peacekeeping force of about 25,000 troops from
Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. After the civil war, Russia
continued to maintain a military presence in the country. In 1999 Russia and
Tajikistan signed a treaty that allows Russia to lease a military base in
Tajikistan for ten years, with an option to renew thereafter. Tajikistan
contributes forces to the CIS Collective Rapid Reaction Force, formed in 2003
under the auspices of the CIS Collective Security Treaty. The joint force also
includes troops from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Its stated aim is to
combat a broad range of border security issues, including illegal migration,
drug and weapons trafficking, and terrorism.
| G | International Organizations |
Tajikistan became a member of the CIS in
December 1991. The country was formally admitted as a member of the United
Nations (UN) in 1992.
| VI | HISTORY |
Tajiks are descendants of the Indo-Iranian
peoples who inhabited the ancient regions of Sogdiana (in southeastern Central
Asia) and Bactria (northern Afghanistan and southern Tajikistan) before recorded
history. Sogdiana included the northern portion of present-day Tajikistan, and
its people spoke an ancient Iranian language. In the 6th century bc Sogdiana became a satrapy (a province
ruled by a satrap, or Persian governor) of the Achaemenid Empire of ancient
Persia. Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conquered the region in the 300s
bc, but Macedonian control
collapsed with Alexander’s death in 323. Sogdiana was known to the Greeks as
Transoxiana. In the 100s bc
Sogdiana was included in the vast empire of the Kushānas, an area that at its
height stretched from Central Asia to northern India. Sogdiana was then a
central hub on the Silk Road, a collective term for the ancient caravan trade
routes that linked China with the Middle East, India, and imperial Rome.
Invasions by the Huns and the Western Turks,
nomadic tribes from the north, occurred between the 4th and 6th centuries ad. Then in the 8th century, Arab
invaders conquered the region and introduced Islam, which thereafter remained
the predominant cultural influence. In the 9th century a peaceable and affluent
Persian dynasty, the Samanids, gained control of the region. The Samanids were
allied with the Sunni caliph (religious and secular leader) of Baghdād, and they
developed Bukhara as an important center of Muslim culture. The Samanid dynasty
weakened in the late 10th century, however, and a number of Turkic hordes, most
notably the Seljuks, fought over the region until the great conquest of the
Mongol emperor Genghis Khan in the 13th century. The region then became part of
the vast empire of Turkic conqueror Tamerlane in the 14th century. Under
Tamerlane, who established the Timurid dynasty, Samarqand (in present-day
Uzbekistan) became the center of cultural and political life.
In the 16th century, part of present-day
Tajikistan was included in the Bukhara khanate (state ruled by khans) that was
established by the Shaybanids, an Uzbek dynasty. Meanwhile the desolate Pamirs
region remained outside the khanate and under the control of various local
rulers and chieftains. In the early 1700s the Qŭqon (Kokand) khanate was formed
in the Fergana Valley and included the city of Khujand (in present-day
Tajikistan). By the mid-18th century the Manghits, another dynasty of Bukhara
rulers, rose to power in the region.
| A | Russian Conquest and Soviet Rule |
The rule of the Manghits had become
fractured by the time Russia invaded Central Asia in the latter half of the 19th
century. Russian forces took Khujand and Bukhara in 1866. Bukhara was forced to
become a vassal state in 1868, and the khanate of Khiva fell in 1873. Qŭqon was
formally annexed in 1876. In 1916 many Tajiks and other Central Asian peoples
rebelled against the Russian government when it attempted to conscript them into
the Russian Imperial Army.
The Russian Empire collapsed during the
Russian Revolution of 1917, and the Bolsheviks (Communists) seized control of
the Russian government. With the Russian government in upheaval, the Central
Asians grabbed the opportunity to rebel against Russian rule, establishing armed
rebel groups that came to be known by the Russians as basmachis. Despite
fierce resistance, the Bolsheviks proceeded to bring Central Asia under their
domination. In 1921 the northern part of present-day Tajikistan became part of
the Bolshevik-designated Turkistan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR).
The Turkistan ASSR also included present-day Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, a small
portion of northern Turkmenistan, and southern Kazakhstan.
After the Bolsheviks emerged victorious
against their enemies in the Russian Civil War (1918-1921), they established the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. By the mid-1920s the
basmachi rebellion was mostly subdued. In 1924 the Bolsheviks decided to
delineate new borders in Central Asia, carving up the region among its majority
ethnic groups. That year the Soviet authorities created the Tajik (or Tadzhik)
ASSR, making it part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). Then in 1929
the Tajik ASSR was upgraded to the status of an SSR, which made it a separate
political entity from the Uzbek SSR. At this time the Soviet authorities
transferred the territory of Khujand, located in the Fergana Valley, from the
Uzbek SSR to the Tajik SSR.
The national delimitation policy of the
Soviet authorities aimed to assign ethnic groups to particular homelands.
However, the desire to break up older regional entities to which inhabitants
might maintain allegiance also played a part in the process. Furthermore,
centuries of interethnic cohabitation in Central Asia rendered clear-cut
divisions impossible. A large proportion of Tajiks continued to reside outside
the borders of the Tajik SSR (mostly in the cities of Bukhara, Samarqand, and
Toshkent in the Uzbek SSR), while many Uzbeks and other groups resided in the
Tajik republic.
Isolated on the far southeastern fringe of
the Soviet Union, the Tajik SSR was at first only nominally important in the new
Soviet state. In the 1920s the Soviet authorities encouraged local peoples to
become active in the Communist Party of Tajikistan, which was the only legal
political party. However, during the purges of the 1930s, Soviet leader Joseph
Stalin expelled many Tajiks from the local Communist Party apparatus in an
attempt to eliminate any opposition to his rule.
The collectivization of agriculture, in
which all farmland was placed under state ownership, was completed in the Tajik
republic in the 1930s, although the policy met widespread resistance. In the
1960s the Soviet authorities instituted a policy to increase cotton production
in Central Asia, and the Tajik republic eventually became the third largest
cotton-producing republic in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, heavy industries were
introduced in the Tajik SSR, such as the aluminum plant at Tursunzade near the
border with the Uzbek republic. When Dushanbe was designated the capital of the
Tajik republic in 1924, it was no more than a village, but it developed rapidly
into a modern city.
| B | Reforms and Repression |
An opportunity for greater local autonomy
(self-government) presented itself in the 1980s under Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev. Gorbachev introduced a program for political reforms called
glasnost (Russian for “openness”). Although reform was gradual and
limited in Tajikistan, this program allowed, among other things, the formation
of unofficial political groups. The government of the Tajik republic relaxed its
censorship policies, and the increased freedom fostered a renewed interest in
Tajik culture. In 1989 the Tajik Supreme Soviet (legislature) declared Tajik the
official state language.
In early 1990 social unrest broke out in
Dushanbe. Protestors called for democratic reforms and challenged the government
to address the scarcity of work and housing. Demonstrators clashed with police,
and the local government declared a state of emergency. Some 5,000 Soviet troops
were dispatched to Dushanbe and suppressed the demonstrations. Opposition
parties were then refused official registration.
In August 1990 the Tajik Supreme Soviet
asserted the sovereignty of the Tajik republic. Although it fell short of a
declaration of independence, the assertion did indicate a desire for less
centralized control over local affairs. In November the first secretary of the
Communist Party of Tajikistan, Qahhor Makhkamov, was elected by the legislature
to the new post of president. His only opponent was Rakhmon Nabiyev, who had
served as first secretary of the party from 1982 to 1985. Makhkamov resigned in
August 1991, after a failed coup attempt in Moscow by Communist hardliners to
take control of the Soviet government. In reaction to the Tajikistan
government’s support of the coup attempt, some advocates of reform began
antigovernment demonstrations, which continued sporadically over the succeeding
months. The chairperson of the Supreme Soviet then stepped in as acting
president.
| C | Independence |
In September 1991 the Tajik Supreme Soviet
declared Tajikistan’s independence from the Soviet Union, following similar
declarations by most of the other Soviet republics. The USSR officially
collapsed in December. Most of the former Soviet republics, Tajikistan included,
joined a loose political alliance called the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS).
After Tajikistan’s independence, Communist
officials who were resistant to democratic and economic reforms continued to
control the government. In November 1991 Nabiyev, the onetime head of the
Communist Party of Tajikistan, won the country’s first direct presidential
election with 57 percent of the vote.
Renewed antigovernment demonstrations
began in Dushanbe in March 1992 after Nabiyev dismissed some prominent
sympathizers of the opposition from his government. The officially banned
opposition parties staged demonstrations calling for Nabiyev’s resignation. The
opposition was composed of the Islamic Rebirth Party and pro-democracy secular
groups (Rastokhez, the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, and Lali Badakhshon). In
early May government troops fired on the demonstrators, killing several people.
Violent clashes between the opposition and pro-government forces soon escalated
into civil war.
In September the opposition seized Nabiyev
in Dushanbe and forced him to announce his resignation. In November the Supreme
Soviet abolished the office of president and appointed a hardliner official,
Imamali Rakhmonov, head of the Supreme Soviet, and as such, head of state. The
Supreme Soviet also elected a new neo-Soviet government, maintaining the
longtime regional bias in the political power structure. Government officials
came from the Khujand, Kŭlob, and Hisor regions, whereas the opposition was
based in the southern Qŭrghonteppa (Kurgan-Tyube) region, the Garm (Gharm)
Valley to the east of Dushanbe, and Gorno-Badakhshan in the east.
The Islamic-democratic alliance formed a
military coalition called the Popular Democratic Army and held control of
Dushanbe until December. They agreed to hand over the city when the new
government was formed, but militias loyal to the government attacked and
captured the capital anyway. Opposition rebels fled to the mountains east of
Dushanbe and to Afghanistan. The Islamic opposition, from bases in Afghanistan,
continued to wage guerrilla warfare along Tajikistan’s southern border. Fighting
between government and rebel forces also took place in Gorno-Badakhshan. The
Islamic Rebirth Party rebels, who established a political coalition of parties
and individuals and armed supporters called the United Tajik Opposition (UTO),
reportedly received the support of Afghan mujahideen (Islamic guerrilla
fighters). The continuous fighting killed tens of thousands and drove hundreds
of thousands of people from their homes in late 1992 and early 1993.
After reestablishing control, the
government renewed its campaign of suppression and persecution of the political
opposition. Activities of the press were severely constrained, and opposition
newspapers were closed. Many journalists were arrested, several disappeared, and
others were found dead. Prominent opposition leaders were also placed under
arrest. The Supreme Court officially banned all opposition parties in June 1993,
leaving the Communist Party of Tajikistan as the only legal party in the
country. Later in the year members of the government or close associates formed
a number of pro-government parties, including the People’s Democratic Party of
Tajikistan (PDPT).
By December 1993 Russia and all of the
Central Asian states except Turkmenistan had deployed a CIS peacekeeping force
of about 25,000 troops to Tajikistan. The troops were stationed to guard the
Tajikistan border with Afghanistan and fight the Islamic guerrilla groups
operating within Tajikistan and from bases in Afghanistan. In early 1994
President Rakhmonov announced the government was willing to negotiate with the
opposition, which had been urging peace talks since 1993. In September both
sides reached a temporary cease-fire accord and agreed to seek reconciliation
through political means. The cease-fire took effect in October, and the United
Nations (UN) sent an observer mission to monitor it.
In an election held in November 1994, the
people of Tajikistan elected Rakhmonov as president while simultaneously
approving a new constitution that reinstated the presidential system. Opposition
parties were not allowed to field candidates, and international observers found
the election neither free nor fair. The opposition was also excluded from
legislative elections held in February 1995. Candidates affiliated with the
Communist Party of Tajikistan and its ally, the PDPT, dominated the new
legislature, called the Majlisi Oli (Supreme Assembly).
With the help of the UN, peace talks
between the two sides continued on an on-and-off basis after the establishment
of a cease-fire in 1994. By mid-1996 Russia, which backed the Tajikistan
government, began to view the rise of the Taliban, an Islamic movement in
Afghanistan, as a bigger threat to its interests than the UTO. Russia urged the
Tajikistan government to make some concessions to obtain a peace agreement with
the UTO. The talks resulted in a new cease-fire agreement in December. However,
some Islamic rebel factions and other armed groups caused further sporadic
fighting.
Negotiations over the terms of a formal
treaty continued, and in February 1997 Rakhmonov and the leader of the UTO, Said
Abdullo Nuri, signed a preliminary peace agreement. In subsequent negotiations,
the government agreed to legalize the opposition parties it had previously
banned and to include opposition leaders in 30 percent of high-level government
posts. In June of that year, both sides signed a peace accord that incorporated
these government concessions. The two sides also formed the National
Reconciliation Council (NRC), a joint council of government and opposition
representatives that would oversee implementation of the peace terms. Nuri
returned to Tajikistan, ending five years in exile in Iran and Afghanistan, as
chairperson of the NRC.
In January 1998 Rakhmonov announced the
government would grant amnesty to all opposition leaders in exile. He also
agreed to appoint one of the Islamic opposition’s leaders as first deputy prime
minister. In 1999 the UTO twice suspended its participation in the NRC, claiming
the government was not upholding its promises or acknowledging UTO demands. In
September of that year, voters approved major constitutional amendments in a
national referendum. The amendments created a new bicameral (two-chamber)
legislature, extended the presidential term of office from five years to seven,
and legalized the right to form religion-based parties.
In November 1999 Rakhmonov was reelected
president in a basically uncontested election, after the electoral commission
barred three of his challengers from running. Legislative elections were held in
2000 for the new 63-seat lower house, the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Assembly
of Representatives). The majority of seats went to Rakhmonov’s party, the PDPT.
As provided for in the 1997 peace treaty, members of the opposition were
appointed to 30 percent of all government posts. After the elections the NRC was
dissolved, having fulfilled its mandate, but many divisions within the country
remained unresolved.
In June 2003 a popular referendum approved
a package of constitutional amendments. One of these exempted President
Rakhmonov from a two-term limit, allowing him to stand for two additional terms
after the expiration of his second term in 2006. Another of the approved
amendments abolished the constitutional guarantee of free, state-funded health
care and higher education.
Rakhmonov’s ruling PDPT won by a landslide
in the 2005 legislative elections, which international monitors said were marred
by widespread voting irregularities. The PDPT captured 51 seats, giving it
nearly complete dominance of the lower house. Only two other parties, the
Communist Party of Tajikistan and the opposition Islamic Rebirth Party (IRP),
won enough votes to gain seats. In November 2006 Rakhmonov was reelected by a
landslide to a third term as president. He faced no real competition in the
election, as opposition parties refused to field candidates and boycotted the
polling. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) reported widespread voting irregularities and criticized the election
process for failing to meet democratic standards.
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