Tajikistan
The territory now known as Tajikistan has been home to cultures dating back to the fourth millennium BC. Archaeologists have identified the Bronze Age Bactria, Margiana Archaeological Complex and the pro-urban site of Sarazm, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the west. By 500 BC, most of this region fell under the control of the Achaemenid Empire. Parts of the country, including territories in the Zeravshan valley, may have formed part of the Hindu Kambojas tribe during the seventh and sixth centuries BC.
After Alexander the Great conquered the area, it became part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Northern Tajikistan, specifically the cities of Khujand and Panjakent, belonged to Sogdia, a collection of city-states overrun by Scytho-Siberians and Yuezhi nomadic tribes around 150 BC. The Silk Road passed through these lands, facilitating trade between the Han Empire and Sogdiana following the expedition of Chinese explorer Zhang Qian during the reign of Wudi from 141 BC to 87 BC. Sogdians worked as farmers, carpetweavers, glassmakers, and woodcarvers along these routes.
The Kushan Empire, composed of Yuezhi tribes, took control in the first century AD and ruled until the fourth century AD. During this period, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism were practiced across the region. Later, the Hephthalite Empire moved into the territory, followed by Arab forces that disseminated Islam in the eighth century. The Samanid Empire, which existed from 819 to 999, restored Persian control and enlarged the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. These cities became cultural centers of Iran under the rule of Mansur I, who governed from 961 to 976.
Tajikistan was first created in 1924 as the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Despite historical status as Tajik cities, regional urban centers such as Bukhara, Samarkand, Tirmiz, Qarshi, and Khojand were excluded from its borders. Instead, the capital was established in Dushanbe, a mountain town with approximately 1,000 residents at the time. In 1929, the Tajik ASSR was elevated to its own full union republic, the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic.
A specific Persian dialect was deliberately made the national language and renamed "Tajiki" to separate it from common Persian spoken from Istanbul to Calcutta. The Tajiks were excluded from the global world of Persian literature by the creation of a new phonetic alphabet, first Latin-based in 1928 and later Cyrillic in 1940. Between 1927 and 1934, collectivization of agriculture took place, especially in the southern region. Soviet policies brought violence against farmers classified as enemies of the people, leading to forced resettlement throughout the country.
Two rounds of Stalin's purges between 1927, 1934 and 1937, 1938 resulted in the expulsion of nearly 10,000 people from all levels of the Communist Party of Tajikistan. Ethnic Russians were sent in to replace those expelled, and subsequently they dominated party positions at all levels. Between 1926 and 1959, the proportion of Russians among Tajikistan's population grew from less than 1% to 13%. Bobojon Ghafurov served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan from 1946 to 1956 and was the only Tajik politician of significance outside the republic during that era.
Tajiks began to be conscripted into the Red Army in 1939. During World War II, around 260,000 Tajik citizens fought against Nazi Germany, Finland, and the Empire of Japan. Estimates suggest between 60,000 and 120,000 of Tajikistan's 1,530,000 citizens were killed during the conflict. By the 1980s, Tajik nationalists called for increased rights, and real disturbances did not occur until 1990. The Soviet Union collapsed the following year, and Tajikistan declared its independence on the 9th of September 1991.
Following independence, the nation fell into civil war among factions distinguished by clan loyalties. Regional groups from the Gharm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions led by liberal democratic reformers and Islamists became the United Tajik Opposition. They rose up against the newly formed government of President Rahmon Nabiyev, which was dominated by people from the Khujand and Kulob regions. The war lasted from May 1992 to June 1997.
More than 500,000 residents fled during this time because of persecution and increased poverty, seeking better economic opportunities in the West or other former Soviet republics. The estimated dead numbered over 100,000, while around 1.2 million people became refugees inside and outside the country. Emomali Rahmon came to power in the early part of this conflict in 1992 after Nabiyev was forced at gunpoint on the 7th of September 1992 to resign from office. Rahmon defeated former prime minister Abdumalik Abdullajanov in a November presidential election with 58% of the vote.
In 1997, a ceasefire was reached between Rahmon and opposition parties under the guidance of Gerd D. Merrem, Special Representative to the Secretary General. The ceasefire guaranteed 30% of ministerial positions would go to the opposition. Elections were held in 1999 and were criticized by opposition parties and foreign observers as unfair; Rahmon was re-elected with 98% of the vote. Elections in 2006 were again won by Rahmon with 79% of the vote, though opposition parties boycotted the process. In October 2010, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe claimed that the Tajik Government censored websites and instituted tax inspections on independent printing houses.
Tajikistan is landlocked and lies mostly between latitudes 36° and 41° N, and longitudes 67° and 75° E. It is covered by mountains of the Pamir range, and most of the country is over 1,000 meters above sea level. The areas of lower land are found in the north within part of the Fergana Valley, and in the southern Kofarnihon and Vakhsh river valleys which form the Amu Darya. Dushanbe is located on the southern slopes above the Kofarnihon valley.
The highest peak is Ismoil Somoni Peak at 7,495 meters, situated on the north-western edge of Gorno-Badakhshan south of the Kyrgyz border. Other significant peaks include Ibn Sina Peak at 7,134 meters and Peak Korzhenevskaya at 7,105 meters. There are over 900 rivers longer than 10 kilometers flowing through the territory. The glaciers in Tajikistan's mountains serve as the source of runoff for the Aral Sea.
Tajikistan's rivers such as the Vakhsh and the Panj have immense hydropower potential. The government has focused on attracting investment for projects for internal use and electricity exports. Tajikistan is home to the Nurek Dam, the second highest dam in the world. Russia's RAO UES worked on the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 670 MW, which commenced operations on the 18th of January 2008. A planned project called Rogun would supersede the Nurek Dam as the highest in the world if brought to completion.
In 2019, nearly 29% of Tajikistan's GDP came from immigrant remittances, mostly from Tajiks working in Russia. With foreign revenue precariously dependent upon remittances from migrant workers overseas and exports of aluminum and cotton, the economy remains vulnerable to external shocks. In fiscal year 2000, international assistance remained an essential source of support for rehabilitation programs that reintegrated former civil war combatants into the civilian economy.
The primary sources of income are aluminum production, cotton growing, and remittances from migrant workers. Cotton accounts for 60% of agricultural output, supporting 75% of the rural population and using 45% of irrigated arable land. The aluminum industry is represented by the state-owned Tajik Aluminum Company, the biggest aluminum plant in Central Asia and one of the biggest in the world. The TadAZ aluminum smelting plant in Tursunzoda serves as the country's chief industrial asset.
In 2023, Tajikistan was estimated to have a population of 10,389,799 according to World Bank data. The Tajiks who speak Tajik are the main ethnic group, while there are minorities of Uzbeks and Russians whose numbers are declining due to emigration. This makes Tajikistan the only country in Central Asia to have a minority of Turkic people and instead a majority of
Iranic people. About 2.4 million Tajik citizens were officially registered in Russia in 2021.
The official languages of Tajikistan are Tajik as the state language and Russian as the interethnic language. Approximately 90% of the population speaks Russian at varying levels. Native Uzbek speakers live in the north and west of Tajikistan. In fourth place by number of native speakers are Pamir languages, whose native speakers live in Kuhistani Badakshshan Autonomous Region. The majority of Zoroastrians in Tajikistan speak one of these Pamir languages.
Native speakers of the Kyrgyz language live in the north of Kuhistani Badakhshan Autonomous Region. Yagnobi language speakers live in the west of the country. The Parya language of local Romani people is spoken in Tajikistan. There are communities of native speakers of Persian, Arabic, Pashto, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Tatar, Turkmen, Kazakh, Chinese, and Ukrainian. In 1989, ethnic Russians made up 7.6% of the population; by 1998 the proportion had reduced to approximately 0.5% following the civil war which displaced the majority of ethnic Russians.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When did Tajikistan declare its independence from the Soviet Union?
Tajikistan declared its independence on the 9th of September 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The nation had been established as the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924 and elevated to a full union republic in 1929.
What caused the civil war in Tajikistan between 1992 and 1997?
The civil war erupted due to clan loyalties dividing regional groups such as those from Gharm, Gorno-Badakhshan, Khujand, and Kulob regions. Liberal democratic reformers and Islamists formed the United Tajik Opposition against the government led by President Rahmon Nabiyev, resulting in over 100,000 deaths and more than 500,000 refugees fleeing persecution.
Who is the current leader of Tajikistan and when was he elected?
Emomali Rahmon came to power in 1992 after President Rahmon Nabiyev resigned at gunpoint on the 7th of September 1992. He subsequently won presidential elections in November 1992 with 58% of the vote, re-elected in 1999 with 98%, and again in 2006 with 79%.
Where are the highest mountain peaks located within Tajikistan?
The highest peak Ismoil Somoni Peak stands at 7,495 meters on the north-western edge of Gorno-Badakhshan south of the Kyrgyz border. Other significant peaks include Ibn Sina Peak at 7,134 meters and Peak Korzhenevskaya at 7,105 meters.
What are the primary sources of income for the economy of Tajikistan?
The primary sources of income are aluminum production, cotton growing, and remittances from migrant workers. Cotton accounts for 60% of agricultural output while the state-owned Tajik Aluminum Company operates the TadAZ smelting plant as the country's chief industrial asset.