Tajikistan
The Republic of Tajikistan, formerly known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, is a country in Central Asia. It has borders with Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan means the 'Land of the Tajiks'.
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| File:LocationTajikistan.png | |||||
| Official language | Tajik | ||||
| Capital | Dushanbe | ||||
| President | Emomali Rahmonov | ||||
| Prime Minister | Okil Okilov | ||||
| Area – Total – % water |
Ranked 92nd 143,100 km² 0.3% | ||||
| Population – Total (2003) – Density |
Ranked 95th 6,863,752 48/km² | ||||
| Independence – Date |
1991 | ||||
| National anthem | Surudi milli (Song of the Nation) | ||||
| Currency | Somoni | ||||
| Time zone | Universal Time +5 | ||||
| Country Calling Code | 992 | ||||
| Internet TLD | .tj | ||||
Geography
Tajikistan is landlocked, and is the smallest nation in Central Asia by area. It is covered by mountains of the Pamir range, and more than fifty percent of the country is 3,000 meters (approx. 10,000 feet) above sea level. The Amu Darya and Pyanj rivers mark the border with Afghanistan.
About 1% of the country's area is covered by lakes.
The northern border is formed by the Trans-Alay Range (Lenin Peak 7174 m, Kyzylart Pass 4280 m). The highest peak is Qullai Ismoili Somoni (7495 m), between Qullai Revolutsiya (6974 m) to the north, Peak Korzhenievski (7105m) and Qatorkuhi Akademiyai Fanho (6785 m) further south, in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. The southern border of the country is formed by the northern most ridges of the Karakoram Range, with Concord Peak (5469 m), Qullai Karl Marks (6726 m) and Qullai Mayakovskiy (6096 m) along the border to Afghanistan.
Exclaves
There are three Tajik exclaves [1], all of them located in the Fergana valley region where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet. The largest is Vorukh (exclave area between 95 and 130 km², population estimated between 23,000 and 29,000, 95% Tajiks and 5% Kyrgyz, distributed among 17 villages), located 45 km south of Isfara on the right bank of the Karafshin river, in Kyrgyz territory. Another exclave in Kyrgyzstan is a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of Kairagach. The last is the village of Sarvan, which includes a narrow, long strip of land (about 15 km long by 1 km wide) alongside the road from Angren to Kokand; it is surrounded by Uzbek territory.
There are no enclaves within Tajikistan.
Provinces
There is one autonomous province (viloyati mukhtor)-
- Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAR) Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon (Khorugh).
Additionally, there is an area containing the capital called RRS, or Region of Republican Subordination.
History
Humans have been living in the land that is now Tajikistan continuously since 4,000 B.C.E. The land has been under the rule of various empires throughout history, mostly the Persian Empire. Before AD, it was part of the Bactrian Empire. Arabs brought Islam in the 7th century. The Samanid Empire supplanted the Arabs but was eventually superseded by Turkic invaders. The Mongols would later take control of the area, and Tajikistan would become a part of the emirate of Bukhara.
In the 19th century, the Russian Empire began to spread into Central Asia during the Great Game, and it took control of Tajikistan. After the overthrow of the Tsar in 1917, Tajik guerillas waged a war against Bolshevik armies in a futile attempt to maintain independence. The Bolsheviks would prevail after a four year war, in which mosques and villages were burned down and the population heavily suppressed.
As part of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan was initially grouped with what is now Uzbekistan in the Autonomous SSR of Tajikistan, but in 1929 was made a separate constituent republic. Moscow did not do much to develop the Tajik SSR, and it remained relatively behind other Soviet Republics in living conditions, education and industry. In the 1970s Islamic underground parties began to form, and served to rally Tajiks against the USSR, but real disturbances did not occur until 1990. The following year, the USSR collapsed, and Tajikistan declared its independence.
The nation almost immediately fell into a civil war that involved various factions fighting one another, these factions were often distinguished by clan loyalties. Emomali Rahmonov was the first leader of the nation, and continues to rule to this day. However, he has been accused of ethnic cleansing against other ethnicities and groups during the Tajikistan Civil War. In 1997 a ceasefire was reached between Rahmonov and opposition parties (United Tajik Opposition). Peaceful elections were held in 1999, but they were reported by the opposition as unfair, and Rahmonov was re-elected by almost unanimous vote. Russian troops continue to be stationed in southern Tajikistan, in order to guard the border with Afghanistan. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, American and French troops have also been stationed in the country.
Politics
Almost immediately after independence, Tajikistan was plunged into a civil war that saw various factions, allegedly backed by Russia and Iran, fighting one another. All but 25,000 of the more than 400,000 ethnic Russian middle-management middle class fled to Russia. By 1997 the war had cooled down, and a central government began to take form, with peaceful elections in 1999.
Tajikistan is officially a republic, and holds elections for the President and Parliament. The latest elections occurred in 2005, and as all previous elections, international observers believe them to have been flawed, arousing many accusations from opposition parties that President Emomali Rahmonov manipulates the election process.
In the Parliament, opposition groups have often clashed with the ruling party, but this has not led to great instability.
Economy
Tajikistan is the poorest country of the ex-USSR and one of the poorest countries in the world. With foreign revenue precariously dependent upon exports of cotton and aluminium, the economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. In FY 2000, international assistance remained an essential source of support for rehabilitation programs that reintegrated former civil war combatants into the civilian economy, thus helping keep the peace. International assistance also was necessary to address the second year of severe drought that resulted in a continued shortfall of food production. On August 21st, 2001, the Red Cross announced that a famine was striking Tajikistan, and called for international aid for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Since 1999 the little Dutch foundation Tajikistan Support Project (TSP) is active in Tajikistan to support health care organisations.
Demographics
Tajikistan has a population of 7,011,556 (July 2004). The major ethnic group is the Tajik, although there is a sizeable minority of Uzbeks, and a small population of Russians, whose numbers are declining due to emigration. Pamiris of Badakhshan are considered to belong to larger group of Tajiks. Likewise, the official language of Tajikistan is Tajik, while Russian is largely spoken in business and for government purposes. Although the Tajik and Uzbek are now classified as separate ethnic groups, on account of their languages, this is a relatively new phenomenon and originates from the conquest of Central Asia by the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Despite its poverty, Tajikistan has a high rate of literacy with an estimated 98% of the population having the ability to read and write. Most of the population follows Sunni Islam, although a sizeable number of Shi'a are present as well.
Culture
The culture of Tajikistan was originally shared with that of Uzbekistan, but during Communist rule, the cultural fabric of the region was disrupted by the Soviet leadership imposing artificial boundaries and the notion of nation-state - alien to the region - on the area. This has not been completely detrimental though, as Tajikistan was known for its theater and famous novelists during the Soviet era. Among these writers were individuals who strove to purify the Tajik language by tying it in more with Persian and eliminating Arabic loanwords.
Most citizens of Tajikistan are Muslim. The impact of Islam has grown in recent years, and was a strong bonding force during Tajikistan's fight against Soviet rule and during its civil war. Historically, a lot of Tajik culture ties it to the Persian past of the region, and Persian writers, scientists and poets such as Ibn Sina, Firdausi, Rudaki, and Omar Khayyám are especially revered. The largest Christian denominations are the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Democracy
- "We have to wait a little bit, and the nation will rebel itself" by Daler Rahimov
- Tajik elections need international support by Daler Rahimov
Culture
- The Mosque and State in Tajikistan by Daler Rahimov
External links and references
- Text in the sub-articles from the CIA World Factbook, 2000 and 2003
- Tajikistan general portal site
- Khovar Tajikistan news agency.
- Tajik Development Gateway
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