Tajikistan

The Republic of Tajikistan (Тоҷикистон or تاجکستان), formerly known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It has borders with Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan means the 'Land of the Tajiks'. The name Tajik, both for the people and for the nation itself, is a geographic reference to the crown (Taj) of the Pamir Knot.

History

Main article: History of Tajikistan

The land that is now Tajikistan has been inhabited continuously since 4,000 BC. It 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 Persian Samanid Empire supplanted the Arabs and built the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, which became the cultural centers of Tajiks. The Mongols would later take partial 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, known as basmachi 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 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

Main article: Politics of Tajikistan

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.

Tajikistan to this date is the only country in Central Asia to have included an active opposition in its government. In the Parliament, opposition groups have often clashed with the ruling party, but this has not led to great instability.

Account of events from independence leading to the Bishkek agreement of 1997

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Tajikistan

Tajikistan is divided into regions, or provinces (singular: viloyat, plural: viloyatho) (capitals in parentheses)-

Khatlon Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa)
Sughd Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
Karotegin (Kofarnihon)

and one autonomous province (viloyati mukhtor)-

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAR) Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon (Khorugh).

Additionally, the area containing the capital (RRS, Region of Republican Subordination), Dushanbe, has no viloyat-level administrative divisions.

note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses

Geography

Map of Tajikistan

Main article: Geography of Tajikistan

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.

File:USSR-Tajikistan-Peak Communism.jpg

A photograph of Qullai Ismoili Somoni peak (then known as Peak Communism) taken in 1989 when Tajikistan was part of the Soviet Union.

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.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Tajikistan

Tajikistan was the poorest country in Central Asia following a civil war after it became independent in 1991. 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. Tajikistan's economy grew substantially after the war. The GDP of Tajikistan expanded at an average rate of 9.6% over the period of 2000-2004 according to the World Bank data. This improved Tajikistan's position among other Central Asian countries (namely Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), which seem to have degraded economically ever since BBC's Guide to Central Asia.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Tajikistan

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.

The Tajik Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare reported that 104,272 disabled people are registered in Tajikistan (2000). This group of people suffers most from poverty in Tajikistan. The Tajik government and the World Bank considered activities to support this part of the population (described in the Poverty Reduction Paper).

Culture

Main article: Culture of Tajikistan

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.