Tajikistan
About Tajikistan
Tajikistan (; Tajik: Тоҷикистон, Persian: تاجیکستان, Tajikâstan, [tɔdʒikisˈtɔn]; Russian: Таджикистан, romanized: Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, romanized: Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Central Asia with an area of 143,100 km2 (55,300 sq mi) and an estimated population of 9,537,645 people. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north and China to the east. The traditional homelands of the Tajik people include present-day Tajikistan as well as parts of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
The territory that now constitutes Tajikistan was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the city of Sarazm of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including the Oxus Valley Civilisation, Andronovo Culture, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Vedic religion, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Islam. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid Empire, Sasanian Empire, Hephthalite Empire, Samanid Empire and the Mongol Empire. After being ruled by the Timurid dynasty and the Khanate of Bukhara, the Timurid Renaissance flourished. The region was later conquered by the Russian Empire and subsequently by the Soviet Union. Within the Soviet Union, the country's modern borders were drawn when it was part of Uzbekistan as an autonomous republic before becoming a full-fledged Soviet republic in 1920.On 9 September 1991, Tajikistan became an independent sovereign nation as the Soviet Union disintegrated. A civil war was fought almost immediately after independence, lasting from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country's economy to grow. The country, led by President Emomali Rahmon since 1994, has been criticised by a number of non-governmental organizations for authoritarian leadership, corruption and widespread violations of human rights, including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, worsening political repression, and a lack of religious freedom and other civil liberties.Tajikistan is a presidential republic consisting of four provinces. Most of Tajikistan's population belongs to the Tajik ethnic group, who speak Tajik (a dialect of Persian) — the first official language. Russian is used as the official inter-ethnic language. While the state is constitutionally secular, Islam is practiced by 98% of the population. In the Gorno-Badakhshan oblast, despite its sparse population, there is large linguistic diversity where Rushani, Shughni, Ishkashimi, Wakhi and Tajik are some of the languages spoken. Mountains cover more than 90% of the country. It is a developing country with a transition economy that is highly dependent on remittances, aluminium and cotton production. Tajikistan is a member of the United Nations, CIS, OSCE, OIC, ECO, SCO and CSTO as well as an NATO PfP partner.
Dushanbe
Dushanbe (Tajik: Душанбе, IPA: [duʃæmˈbe]; Persian: دوشنبه; meaning Monday; Russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. As of January 2020, Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (Russian: Дюшамбе, Dyushambe), and from 1929 to 1961 as Stalinabad (Tajik: Сталинобод, Stalinobod), after Joseph Stalin. Dushanbe is located in the Gissar Valley, bounded by the Gissar Range in the north and east and the Babatag, Aktau, Rangontau and Karatau mountains in the south, and has an elevation of 750–930 m. The city is divided into four districts, all named after historical figures: Ismail Samani, Avicenna, Ferdowsi, and Shah Mansur.
In ancient times, what is now or is close to modern Dushanbe was settled by various empires and peoples, including Mousterian tool-users, various neolithic cultures, the Achaemenid Empire, Greco-Bactria, the Kushan Empire, and the Hephthalites. In the Middle Ages, more settlements began near modern-day Dushanbe such as Hulbuk and its famous palace. From the 17th century to the early 20th, Dushanbe began to grow into a market village controlled at times by the Beg of Hisor, Balkh, and finally Bukhara. Soon after the Russian invasion in 1922, the town was made the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924, which commenced Dushanbe's development and rapid population growth that continued until the Tajik Civil War. After the war, the city became capital of an independent Tajikistan and continued its growth and development into a modern city, today home to many international conferences.
Dushanbe's modern culture had its beginnings in the 1920s, where Soviet music, opera, theater, sculpture, film, and sports all began. Music, primarily shashmaqam before the Soviet invasion, took off in the city due to Russian influence and local opera houses and symphonies. Tajik figures such as Sadriddin Ayni contributed greatly to the development of Dushanbe's literature, which went through many changes during and after the Soviet period. Theater and film both saw their beginnings in the 1930s and were heavily influenced by Soviet trends. The architecture of Dushanbe, once neoclassical, transitioned to a minimalist and eventually modern style. The city is a center for newspapers, radio stations, and television of the country, with almost 200 newspapers and more than a dozen television studios operating in 1999.
Much of Dushanbe's education system dates from Soviet times and has a legacy of state control; today the largest university in Dushanbe, the Tajik National University, is funded by the government. Dushanbe International Airport is the primary airport serving the city. Other forms of transport include the trolleybus system dating from 1955, the small rail system, and the roads that traverse the city. Dushanbe's electricity is primarily hydroelectric, produced by the Nurek Dam, and the aging water system dates from 1932. Tajikistan's healthcare system is concentrated in Dushanbe, meaning that the major hospitals of the country are in the city. The city makes up 20% of Tajikistan's GDP and has large industrial, financial, retail, and tourism sectors. Parks and main sights of the city include Victory Park, Rudaki Park, the Tajikistan National Museum, the Dushanbe Flagpole, and the Tajikistan National Museum of Antiquities.