Editing History of Tajikistan

{{Short description|None}}
[[File:Head of Bactrian ruler (Satrap), Temple of the Oxus, Takht-i-Sangin, 3rd-2nd century BCE (left side).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Painted clay and [[alabaster]] head of a [[Zoroastrian]] priest wearing a distinctive [[Bactria]]n-style headdress, [[Takhti-Sangin]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Greco-Bactrian kingdom]], 3rd-2nd century BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=LITVINSKII |first1=B. A. |last2=PICHIKIAN |first2=I. R. |title=The Hellenistic Architecture and Art of the Temple of the Oxus |journal=Bulletin of the Asia Institute |date=1994 |volume=8 |pages=47–66 |jstor=24048765 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24048765.pdf |issn=0890-4464 |access-date=2021-11-15 |archive-date=2023-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124201350/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24048765 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
{{History of Tajikistan}}
The [[Tajik people]] came under [[Russia]]n rule in the 1860s. The [[Basmachi revolt]] broke out in the wake of the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]] and was quelled in the early 1920s during the [[Russian Civil War]]. In 1924, Tajikistan became an [[Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union|Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union]], the [[Tajik ASSR]], within [[Uzbekistan]]. In 1929, Tajikistan was made one of the component republics of the [[Soviet Union]] – [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic]] (Tajik SSR) – and it kept that status until gaining independence 1991 after the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]].<ref name=TajHistory/>

It has since experienced three changes in government and the [[Tajikistani Civil War]]. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997.

==Antiquity (600 BC – 710 AD){{anchor|Pre-Islamic_period_.28600_BC_.E2.80.93651_AD.29}}==
[[File:Скульптура (Таджикистан).JPG|thumb|Sculpture of a woman from [[Takht-i Sangin]], 3rd-2nd century BCE, Tajikistan.]]
[[File:Giocatori, pittura parietale da pendjikent, settore VI, camera 13, VIII sec.JPG|thumb|A [[Sogdia]]n wall mural from the ruins of an aristocratic home in the archaeological site of [[Panjakent]], showing Sogdian men playing a [[board game]], 8th century]]

Tajikistan was bordered on the north by the [[Scytho-Siberian world]] in Ancient times. [[Sogdiana]], [[Bactria]], [[Merv]] and [[Khorezm]] were the four principal divisions of Ancient Central Asia inhabited by the ancestors of the present-day Tajikistani Tajiks. Tajiks are now found only in historic Bactria and Sogdiana. Merv is inhabited by the [[Turkmen people|Turkoman]] and Khorezm by [[Uzbeks]] and [[Kazakhs]]. Sogdiana was made up of the [[Zeravshan]] and [[Kashka-Darya]] river valleys. Currently, two of the surviving peoples of Sogdiana who speak a dialect of the Sogdian language are the [[Yaghnobi people|Yaghnobis]] and [[Shighnan|Shugnan]]is.

Tajikistan was part of the [[Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex]] in the [[Bronze Age]], candidate for [[Proto-Indo-Iranian]] or [[Proto-Iranian]] culture. Bactria was located in northern [[Afghanistan]] (present-day [[Afghan Turkestan]]) between the mountain range of the [[Hindu Kush]] and the [[Amu Darya]] ([[Oxus]]) River and some areas of current south Tajikistan. During different periods, Bactria was a center of various Kingdoms or Empires, and is probably where [[Zoroastrianism]] originated. The "[[Avesta]]"—the holy book of Zoroastrianism—was written in the old-Bactrian dialect; it is also thought that Zoroaster was most likely born in Bactria.

Some authors have also suggested that in the 7th and 6th century BCE parts of modern Tajikistan, including territories in the Zeravshan valley, formed part of [[Kambojas]], which were referenced in the [[Mahabharata]] epic as the [[Parama Kamboja]], before it became part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref>See: The Deeds of Harsha: Being a Cultural Study of Bāṇa's Harshacharita, 1969, p 199, Dr Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala; Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference, 1930, p 118, Dr J. C. Vidyalankara; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī – Kamboja (Pakistan).</ref>[[Linguistics|Linguistic]] evidence, combined with ancient literary and inscriptional evidence suggests the Kambojas originally emigrated from [[Central Asia]].<ref>Dr J. C. Vidyalankara, Proceedings and Transactions of 6th A.I.O. Conference, 1930, p 118; cf: Linguistic Survey of India, Vol X, pp 455–56, Dr G. A. Grierson.</ref>

===Achaemenid Period (550 BC – 329 BC)===
During the [[Achaemenids|Achaemenid period]], Sogdiana and Bactria were part of the [[Achaemenid empire]]. Sogdians and Bactrians occupied important positions in the administration and military of the Achaemenid Empire

===Hellenistic Period (329 BC – 90 BC)===
{{further|Greco-Bactrian Kingdom}}
After the Achaemenid Empire was defeated by [[Alexander the Great]], Bactria, Sogdiana and Merv, being part of Persian Empire, had to defend themselves from new invaders. In fact, the Macedonians faced very stiff resistance under the leadership of Sogdian ruler [[Spitamenes]]. [[Alexander the Great]] managed to marry [[Roxana]], the daughter of a local ruler, and inherited his land. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the [[Hellenistic]] successor states of the Seleucids and [[Greco-Bactrians]] controlled the area for another 200 years in what is known as the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]. During the time period from 90 BC to 30 BC, [[Yuezhi]] destroyed the last Hellenistic [[successor states]] and, together with the Tokhari, (to whom they were closely related) created a [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] Empire around 30 AD.

===Kushan Empire (30 BC – 410 AD)===
For another 400 years, until 410 AD, the Kushan Empire was a major power in the region along with the [[Roman Empire]], the [[Parthia]]n Empire and [[Han dynasty|Han China]]. Notable contact was made with local peoples when the envoys of the Han dynasty journeyed to this area in the 2nd century BC. At the end of the Kushan period, the Empire became much smaller and would have to defend itself from the powerful [[Sassanid dynasty|Sassanid]] Empire that replaced the [[Parthian Empire]]. The famous Kushan king Kanishka promoted Buddhism and during this time Buddhism was exported from Central Asia to China.

===The Sassanids, Hephthalites, and Gokturks (224–710)===
[[File:Ambassador from Kumedh (胡密丹), visiting the court of the Tang Dynasty. The Gathering of Kings (王会图) circa 650 CE.jpg|thumb|Ambassador to the [[Tang dynasty]], coming from Kumedh (胡密丹), [[Tajikistan]]. ''[[Wanghuitu]]'' (王会图) circa 650 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Xiong |first1=Victor Cunrui |title=Historical Dictionary of Medieval China |date=6 April 2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7616-1 |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fCdCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |language=en |access-date=13 July 2022 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124200452/https://books.google.com/books?id=fCdCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[Xuanzang]] calls this region ''Kiumito'' which is thought to be ''Komdei'' of [[Ptolemy]] and ''Kumadh'' or ''Kumedh'' of [[Muslim]] writers (See: Studies in Indian History and Civilization, Agra, p 351; India and the World, 1964, p 71,  Dr Buddha Prakash; India and Central Asia, 1955, p 35, P. C. Bagch).</ref>]]
[[File:Asia 500ad.jpg|thumb|Asia in 500, showing the Hepthalite Khanate at its greatest extent]]

The Sassanids once controlled much of what is now Tajikistan, but lost the territory to the Hephthalites (possibly also of [[Iranian peoples|Iranian descent]]) during the time of [[Peroz I]].

They created a powerful empire that succeeded in making [[Iran]] a tributary state around 483–485. Shah of [[Persia]] [[Peroz I|Peroz]] fought three wars with Hephthalites. During the first war he was captured by Hephthalite army and later was released after [[Byzantine]] emperor paid a ransom for him. During the second war Peroz was captured again and was released after paying a huge contribution to the Hephthalite king. During the third war Peroz was killed. The Hephthalites were subjugated in 565 by a combination of [[Sassanid]] and [[Göktürks|Kök-Turk]] forces. Subsequently, present Tajikistan was ruled by [[Göktürks]] and [[Sassanids]], however when the [[Sassanid Empire]] fell the Turks kept control of Tajikistan but they later lost it to the [[Tang dynasty]], however, they later managed to take control of Tajikistan once again, only to lose it to the Arabs in 710.

==Medieval history (710&ndash;1506)==

===Arab Caliphate (710–867)===
[[Image:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|thumb|The Age of the Caliphs {{legend|#a1584e|Muhammad, 622–632}} {{legend|#ef9070|Patriarchal Caliphate, 632–661}} {{legend|#fad07d|Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750}}]]
The Transoxiana principalities never formed a viable confederacy. Beginning in 651, the Arabs organized periodic marauding raids deep into the territory of Transoxania, but it was not until the appointment of Ibn Qutaiba as Governor of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] in 705, during the reign of Walid I, that the Caliphate adopted the policy of annexing the lands beyond the Oxus. In 715, the task of annexation was accomplished. The entire region thus came under the control of the [[Caliph]] and of Islam, but the Arabs continued to rule through local Soghdian Kings and ''[[dihqan]]s''. The ascension of the [[Abbasids]] to rule the Caliphate (750–1258) opened a new era in the history of Central Asia. While their predecessors the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]] (661–750) were little more than leaders of a loose confederation of Arab tribes, the Abbasids set out to build a huge multi-ethnic centralized state that would emulate and perfect the Sassanian government machine. They gave the Near East and Transoxiana a unity, which they had been lacking since the time of Alexander the Great.

===Samanid Empire (819–999)===
[[File:Samanid dynasty (819–999).GIF|thumb|Samanid empire]]

The [[Samanid dynasty]] ruled (819–1005) in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] (including Eastern Iran and [[Transoxiana]]) and was founded by [[Saman Khuda]]. The Samanids were one of the first purely indigenous dynasties to rule in Persia after the Muslim Arab conquest. During the reign (892–907) of Saman Khuda's great-grandson, Ismail I (known as [[Ismail Samani]]), Samanids expanded in Khorasan. In 900, Ismail defeated the Saffarids in Khorasan (area of current Northwest Afghanistan and northeastern Iran), while his brother was the governor of Transoxiana. Thus, Samanid rule was acclaimed over the combined regions. The cities of [[Bukhara]] (the Samanid capital) and Samarkand became centres of art, science, and literature; industries included pottery making and bronze casting. After 950, Samanid power weakened, but was briefly revitalized under Nuh II, who ruled from 976 to 997. However, with the oncoming encroachment of Muslim [[Turkic peoples|Turks]], the Samanids lost their domains south of the [[Oxus river]] which were taken by [[Ghaznavids]].  In 999, Bukhara was taken by the [[Qarakhanids]].  The Samanid [[Isma'il Muntasir]] (died 1005) tried to restore the dynasty (1000–1005), until he was assassinated by an Arab [[bedouin]] chieftain.<ref name="sinor">{{citation |year = 1990|title = The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia|editor-last = Sinor|editor-first = Denis|publisher = Cambridge University Press|isbn = 0-521-24304-1}}</ref>

The attack of the Qarakhanid Turks ended the Samanid dynasty in 999 and dominance in Transoxiana passed on to Turkic rulers.

===Qarakhanids (999–1211) and Khwarezmshahs (1211–1218)===
After the collapse of Samanid Dynasty, Central Asia became the battleground of many Asian invaders who came from the north-east.

=== Mongol rule (1218–1370)===

The [[Mongol Empire]] swept through Central Asia, invaded [[Khwarezmian Empire]] and sacked the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, looting and massacring people everywhere.

===Timurid Empire (1370–1506)===
Timur, founder of the [[Timurid Empire]], was born on 8 April 1336 in [[Shahrisabz|Kesh]] near Samarkand. He was a member of the Turkicized Barlas tribe, a Mongol subgroup that had settled in [[Transoxiana]] after taking part in [[Genghis Khan]]'s son [[Chagatai Khan|Chagatai]]'s campaigns in that region. Timur began his life as a bandit leader. During this period, he received an arrow-wound in the leg, as a result of which he was nicknamed Timur-e Lang (in Dari) or Timur the Lame. Although the last Timurid ruler of Herat, Badi az Zaman finally fell to the armies of the Uzbek Muhammad Shaibani Khan in 1506, the Timurid ruler of Ferghana, Zahir-ud-Din [[Babur]], survived the collapse of the dynasty and re-established the [[Timurid dynasty]] in India in 1526 where they became known as the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]].

==Early modern history (1506&ndash;1868) ==
===Turkic rule (1506–1598)===
The [[Shaybanid]] state was divided into [[appanage]]s between all male members (sultans) of the dynasty, who would designate the supreme ruler (Khan), the oldest member of clan. The seat of Khan was first [[Samarkand]], the capital of the [[Timurid Empire|Timurids]], but some of the Khans preferred to remain in their former appanages. Thus, [[Bukhara]] became the seat of the khan for the first time under [[Ubaidullah Khan|Ubaid Allah Khan]] (r. 1533–1539).

The period of political expansion and economical prosperity was short-lived. Soon after the death of [[Abdullah Khan II]] the Shaibanid dynasty died out and was replaced by the Janid or Astrakhanid (Ashtarkhanid) dynasty, another branch of the descendants of [[Jochi|Jöchi]], whose founder Jani Khan was related to Abdullah Khan II Through his marriage to Abdullah Khan's Sister. The Astrakhanids are also said to be connected to the [[Hashemites]] due to [[Imam_Quli_Khan_of_Bukhara|Imam Quli Khan's]] status as a [[Sayyid]]. Their descendants today live in [[India]]. In 1709, eastern part of [[Khanate of Bukhara]] seceded and formed [[Khanate of Kokand]]. Thus, the eastern part of present Tajikistan passed to the Khanate of Kokand, while the western one remained part of the Khanate of Bukhara.

===Iranian and Bukharan rule (1740–1868)===
In 1740, the Janid khanate was conquered by [[Nader Shah]], the [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid]] ruler of [[Iran]]. The Janid khan Abu al Faiz retained his throne, becoming Nadir's vassal.

After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, the chief of the [[Manghit]] tribe, Muhammad Rahim Biy Azaliq, overcame his rivals from other tribes and consolidated his rule in the [[Khanate of Bukhara]]. His successor, however, ruled in the name of puppet khans of Janid origin. In 1785 Shah Murad formalized the family's dynastic rule (Manghit dynasty), and the khanate became the [[Emirate of Bukhara]] <ref>[[Svat Soucek|Soucek, Svat]]. ''A History of Inner Asia'' (2000), p. 180.</ref>

==Russian and Soviet rule (1868–1991)==

===Russian vassalage (1868–1920)===
{{See also|The Great Game|Russian Turkestan}}
[[File:Tajikistan Map TI-map.gif|thumb|[[CIA]] map of Tajikistan]]
[[File:Tajikistan OVER.jpg|thumb|Map of Tajikistan]]
Russian [[Imperialism]] led to the [[Russian Empire]]'s conquest of [[Central Asia]] during the late 19th century's [[Great Game|Imperial Era]].  Between 1864 and 1885 Russia gradually took control of the entire territory of [[Russian Turkestan]], the Tajikistan portion of which had been controlled by the [[Emirate of Bukhara]] and [[Khanate of Kokand]] ( from today's border with [[Kazakhstan]] in the north to the [[Caspian Sea]] in the west and the border with [[Afghanistan]] in the south). Tashkent was conquered in 1865 and in 1867 the Turkestan [[Guberniya|Governor-Generalship]] was created with [[Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman]] as the first Governor-General.<ref name=TajHistory>''The History of Tajik SSR'', Maorif Publ. House, Dushanbe, 1983, Chapter V {{in lang|ru}}.</ref><ref>W. Fierman, "The Soviet 'transformation' of Central Asia", in: W. Fierman, ed., ''Soviet Central Asia'', Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1991.</ref>

[[File:Sartscrop.jpg|thumb|Tajik men and boys, 1905–1915|alt=Two Sart men and two Sart boys posed outside, in front of wall, in the early 20th century.]]
The expansion was motivated by Russia's economic interests and was connected with the [[American Civil War]] in the early 1860s, which severely interrupted the supply of cotton fiber to the Russian industry and forced Russia to turn to Central Asia as an alternative source of cotton supply as well as a market for Russian made goods. The Russian regime in the 1870s attempted to switch cultivation in the region from grain to cotton (a strategy later copied and expanded by the Soviets).<ref name="ReferenceA">A Country Study: Tajikistan, Tajikistan under Russian Rule, Library of Congress Call Number DK851 .K34 1997, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+tj0013%29 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120103810/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+tj0013%29 |date=2022-01-20 }}</ref> By 1885 Tajikistan's territory was either ruled by the Russian Empire or its [[vassal state]], the Emirate of Bukhara, nevertheless Tajiks felt little Russian influence.<ref name=ReferenceA />

Russian Empire, being a much bigger state with a huge population and having an advanced military, had little difficulty in conquering the regions inhabited by Tajiks, meeting fierce resistance only at [[Jizzakh]], [[Ura-Tyube]], and when their garrison in [[Samarkand]] was besieged in 1868 by forces from [[Shahr-e Sabz]] and the inhabitants of the city. The army of the [[Emirate of Bukhara]] was utterly defeated in three battles, and on 18 June 1868 Emir Mozaffar al-Din (r. 1860–1885) signed a peace treaty with the Governor-General of Russian Turkestan Von Kaufman. Samarkand and the Upper [[Zeravshan]] were annexed by Russia and the country was opened to Russian merchants. The [[emir]] retained his throne as a vassal of Russia and with Russian help he established control over [[Shahr-e Sabz]], the mountainous regions in the upper Zeravshan Valley(1870) and the principalities of the western Pamir (1895).

During the late 19th century the [[Jadid]]ists established themselves as an Islamic social movement throughout the region. Although the Jadidists were pro-modernization and not necessarily anti-Russian the Russians viewed the movement as a threat.<ref>anti-Russian, tsarist officials in Turkestan found their kind of education even more threatening than traditional Islamic teaching, A Country Study: Tajikistan, Tajikistan under Russian Rule, Library of Congress Call Number DK851 .K34 1997, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+tj0013%29 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120103810/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+tj0013%29 |date=2022-01-20 }}</ref> Russian troops were required to restore order during uprisings against the Khanate of Kokand between 1910 and 1913. Further violence occurred in July 1916 when demonstrators attacked Russian soldiers in [[Khujand]] over the threat of forced [[conscription]] during [[World War I]]. Despite Russian troops quickly bringing Khujand back under control, clashes continued throughout the year in various locations in Tajikistan.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

At the end of August 1920 the last emir, Sayyid Alim Khan, was overthrown by Soviet troops. On 6 October 1920 the emirate was abolished and the [[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic]] was proclaimed.

===Basmachi movement (1916–1924)===
{{Main|Basmachi movement}}
[[File:Negotiations with basmachs Fergana, 1921.jpg|thumb|Soviet negotiations with ''[[basmachi]]'', 1921]]
The [[Basmachi movement]] or Basmachi Revolt was an uprising against [[Russian Empire|Russian Imperial]] and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] rule that arose after the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917 guerrillas throughout Central Asia.

The movement's roots lay in the anti-conscription violence of 1916 that erupted when the Russian Empire began to draft Muslims for army service during [[World War I]].<ref>Victor Spolnikov, "Impact of Afghanistan's War on the Former Soviet Republics of Central Asia," in Hafeez Malik, ed, Central Asia: Its Strategic Importance and Future Prospects (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994), 101.</ref> In the months following the [[October Revolution|October 1917 Revolution]] the [[Bolsheviks]] seized power in many parts of the Russian Empire and the [[Russian Civil War]] began. Turkestani Muslim political movements attempted to form an autonomous government in the city of [[Kokand]], in the [[Ferghana Valley]]. The Bolsheviks launched an assault on Kokand in February 1918 and carried out a general massacre of up to 25,000 people.<ref name="Uzbekistan pg. 30">Uzbekistan, By Thomas R McCray, Charles F Gritzner, pg. 30, 2004, {{ISBN|1438105517}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB"/> The massacre rallied support to the Basmachi movements who waged  [[Basmachi movement#The Kokand autonomy and the start of hostilities|a guerrilla war and a conventional war]] that seized control of large parts of the [[Ferghana Valley]] and much of [[Turkestan]].

The fortunes of the decentralized movement fluctuated throughout the early 1920s but by 1923 the Red Army's extensive campaigns dealt the Basmachis many defeats. After major [[Red Army]] campaigns and concessions regarding economic and [[Islam]]ic practices in the mid-1920s, the military fortunes and popular support of the Basmachi declined.<ref>Michael Rywkin, ''Moscow's Muslim Challenge: Soviet Central Asia'' (Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, Inc, 1990), 41.</ref> Resistance to Soviet/Russian rule did flare up again to a lesser extent in response to [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|collectivization campaigns]] in the pre-WWII Era.<ref>Martha B. Olcott, "The Basmachi or Freemen's Revolt in Turkestan, 1918–24," ''Soviet Studies'', Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul., 1981), 361.</ref>

===Soviet Rule (1920–1991)===
{{Main|Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic}}
[[File:Flag of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (1953–1991); Flag of Tajikistan (1991–1992).svg|thumb|Flag of the Tajik SSR]]

In 1924, the [[Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] was created as a part of [[Uzbekistan]], but when national borders were drawn in 1928 (during the [[National delimitation in the Soviet Union#National delimitation in Central Asia|administrative delimitation]]) the ancient Tajik cities of [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]] were placed outside the [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajikistan SSR]]. As citizens of the newly established [[Uzbek SSR]], many Tajiks came under pressure to conform to their newly ascribed "Uzbek" identity, and under threat of exile, many were [[Uzbekization|forced to change their identity]] and sign in passports as "Uzbeks".  Tajik schools were closed and Tajiks were not appointed to leadership positions simply because of their ethnicity.

Between 1927 and 1934 [[collectivization]] of agriculture and a rapid expansion of cotton production took place, especially in the southern region.<ref name="countrystudies.us">Collectivization, U.S. Library of Congress, http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/9.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014202805/http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/9.htm |date=2012-10-14 }}</ref> Soviet collectivization policy brought violence against peasants and forced resettlement occurred throughout Tajikistan. Consequently, some peasants fought collectivization and revived the [[Basmachi movement]]. Some small scale industrial development also occurred during this time along with the expansion of irrigation infrastructure.<ref name="countrystudies.us" />

Two rounds of Soviet purges directed by Moscow (1927–1934 and 1937–1938) resulted in the expulsion of nearly 10,000 people, from all levels of the [[Communist Party of Tajikistan]].<ref name="The Purges 1996">The Purges, U.S. Library of Congress, Tajikistan Country study, 1996, http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/10.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014204552/http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/10.htm |date=2012-10-14 }}</ref> Ethnic Russians were sent in to replace those expelled and subsequently Russians dominated party positions at all levels, including the top position of first secretary.<ref name="The Purges 1996" /> Between 1926 and 1959 the proportion of [[Russians]] among Tajikistan's population grew from less than 1% to 13%.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/23.htm Tajikistan – Ethnic Groups] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207115900/http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/23.htm |date=2010-12-07 }}, ''U.S. Library of Congress''</ref> [[Bobojon Ghafurov]], Tajikistan's [[First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan]] from 1946 to 1956 was the only Tajikistani politician of significance outside the country during the Soviet Era.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> He was followed in office by [[Tursun Uljabayev]] (1956–61), [[Jabbor Rasulov]] (1961–1982), and [[Rahmon Nabiyev]] (1982–1985, 1991–1992).

Tajiks began to be conscripted into the Soviet Army in 1939 and during [[World War II]] around 260,000 Tajik citizens fought against Germany, Finland and Japan. Between 60,000(4%)<ref>''Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan'', by Kamoludin Abdullaev, Shahram Akbarzaheh, 2010, second edition, pg 383</ref> and 120,000(8%)<ref>Vadim Erlikman. Poteri narodonaseleniia v XX veke spravochnik. Moscow 2004; {{ISBN|5-93165-107-1}}, pp. 23–35</ref> of Tajikistan's 1,530,000 citizens were killed during [[World War II]].<ref>Tajikistan, viewed 2014, http://ww2db.com/country/tajikistan {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726045015/http://ww2db.com/country/tajikistan |date=2014-07-26 }}</ref> Following the war and Stalin's reign attempts were made to further expand the agriculture and industry of Tajikistan.<ref name="ReferenceB">Post War Period, U.S. Library of Congress, http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/11.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014205135/http://countrystudies.us/tajikistan/11.htm |date=2012-10-14 }}</ref> During 1957–58 [[Nikita Khrushchev]]'s [[Virgin Lands Campaign]] focused attention on Tajikistan, where living conditions, education and industry lagged behind the other [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet Republics]].<ref name="ReferenceB" />

In the 1980s, Tajikistan had the lowest household saving rate in the USSR,<ref>Boris Rumer, ''Soviet Central Asia: A Tragic Experiment'', Unwin Hyman, London, 1989, p. 126.</ref> the lowest percentage of households in the two top per capita income groups,<ref>''Statistical Yearbook of the USSR 1990'', Goskomstat, Moscow, 1991, p. 115 {{in lang|ru}}.</ref> and the lowest rate of university graduates per 1000 people.<ref>''Statistical Yearbook of the USSR 1990'', Goskomstat, Moscow, 1991, p. 210 {{in lang|ru}}.</ref>

===Perestroika and glasnost===
{{Main|History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991)|Perestroika|Glasnost}}
[[File:RIAN archive 699865 Dushanbe riots, February 1990.jpg|thumb|Protests in Dushanbe, February 1990]]
Living standards were undermined during the tenure of Kahar Mahkamov as first secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan from 1985. Mahkamov's attempted marketisation of the Tajik economy aggravated the poor living conditions and unemployment. On the eve of the Soviet collapse Tajikistan was suffering from a declining economy and dim prospects for recovery.

====Priority over Soviet Union laws and negotiations on a new treaty====
{{Main|Parade of sovereignties|War of Laws|New Union Treaty}}
The [[glasnost]] policy of openness initiated by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] offered disgruntled Tajiks a chance to voice their grievances.

==== Soviet coup attempt, the transition period and the end of the Soviet Union ====
{{Main|1991 Soviet coup attempt|Dissolution of the Soviet Union|Transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union|Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union}}

In 1991, the [[Soviet Union]] collapsed, and Tajikistan [[Independence Day (Tajikistan)|declared its independence]].

==Republic of Tajikistan (1991–present)==
{{Further|Tajikistani Civil War|Politics of Tajikistan}}
[[File:Spetsnaz troopers during the 1992 Tajik war.jpg|thumb|[[Uzbekistan|Uzbek]] [[Spetsnaz]] soldiers during the [[Tajikistani Civil War|Civil War]], 1992]]
=== Independent country and the Commonwealth ===
{{main|Belovezha Accords|Alma-Ata Protocol|Common Economic Space of the Commonwealth of Independent States|Mobility rights arrangements of the Commonwealth of Independent States|Military of the Commonwealth of Independent States}}

[[Post-Soviet countries]] have signed a [[Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union|series of treaties and agreements to settle the legacy of the former Soviet Union]] multilaterally and bilaterally.

The Tajikistan Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was among the last republics of the Soviet Union to declare its independence. On September 9 (1991), following the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ([[Soviet Union|USSR]]), Tajikistan declared its independence. During this time, use of the [[Tajik language]], an official language of the Tajikistan SSR next to Russian, was increasingly promoted. Ethnic Russians, who had held many governing posts, lost much of their influence and more Tajiks became politically active.

The nation almost immediately fell into a civil war that involved various factions fighting one another; these factions were often distinguished by clan loyalties.  The non-Muslim population, particularly Russians and Jews, fled the country during this time because of persecution, increased poverty and better economic opportunities in the West or in other former Soviet republics.

[[Emomali Rahmon]] came to power in 1994, and continues to rule to this day. Ethnic cleansing was controversial during the [[Tajikistani Civil War|civil war in Tajikistan]]. By the end of the war Tajikistan was in a state of complete devastation. The estimated dead numbered over 100,000. Around 1.2 million people were [[refugee]]s inside and outside the country.<ref>[https://www.un.org/events/tenstories_2006/story.asp?storyID=600 Tajikistan: rising from the ashes of civil war] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818073537/http://www.un.org/events/tenstories_2006/story.asp?storyID=600 |date=2009-08-18 }}. United Nations</ref> In 1997, a [[ceasefire]] was reached between Rahmon and opposition parties ([[United Tajik Opposition]]).

Peaceful elections were held in 1999, but they were reported by the opposition as unfair, and Rahmon was re-elected by almost unanimous vote. [[Russia]]n troops were stationed in southern Tajikistan, in order to guard the border with [[Afghanistan]], until summer 2005. Since the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]], [[United States|American]], [[India]]n and [[France|French]] troops have also been stationed in the country.

In October 2020, President Emomali Rahmon was [[2020 Tajik presidential election|re-elected]] for next seven-year period with 90 per cent of the votes, following a tightly controlled and largely ceremonial election.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/12/tajikistan-leader-rakhmon-wins-election-with-over-90-percent|title=Tajikistan re-elects leader Rahmon with overwhelming majority|access-date=2021-05-03|archive-date=2020-11-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120060537/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/12/tajikistan-leader-rakhmon-wins-election-with-over-90-percent/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Guzel Maitdinova]]
* [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]]
* [[History of Central Asia]]
* [[Politics of Tajikistan]]
* [[Soviet Central Asia]]

==References==

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources and further reading===
{{commons category|History of Tajikistan}}
*[[M.S. Asimov|Asimov, M.S.]] ''Tadzhikskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika''(The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic). ([[Dushanbe]]: [[Akademiya Nauk Tadzhikskoy SSR]]) 1974.
*[[V.V. Barthold|Barthold, V.V.]] ''Работы по Исторической Географии'' ([[Moscow]]) 2002.
*[[V.V. Barthold|Barthold, V.V.]]  ''Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion'' ([[London]]: [[Luzacs & Co]]) 1968.
*[[Seymour Becker|Becker, Seymour]]. ''Russia’s Protectorates in Central Asia: Bukhara and Khiva, 1865-1924''  ([[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], Mass.: [[Harvard University Press]]) 1968.
*[[Audrey Burton|Burton, Audrey]]. ''The Bukharans: A Dynastic, Diplomatic and Commercial History, 1550-1702'' ([[London]]: [[Curzon Press]]) 1997.
*[[Hélène Carrère d'Encausse|Carrère D’Encausse, Hélène]]. ''Islam and the Russian Empire: Reform and Revolution in Central Asia'' ([[London]]: [[I.B. Tauris]]) 1988.
*[[David Christian (historian)|Christian, David]].  ''A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia'' ([[Oxford]]: [[Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell]]) 1998.
*[[Dilip Hiro|Hiro, Dilip]]. ''Between Marx and Muhammad'' ([[London]]:[[HarperCollins]]) 1995.
*[[Harish Kapur|Kapur, Harish]].  ''Soviet Russia and Asia, 1917–1927, a study of Soviet policy towards Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan'' ([[London]]: [[Joseph for the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies]]) 1966.
*[[Pavel Luknitsky|Luknitsky, Pavel]]. ''Soviet Tajikistan'' ([[Moscow]]: [[Foreign Languages Publishing House (Soviet Union)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]) 1954.
*[[Rahim Masov|Masov, Rahim]]. ''The History of a National Catastrophe'' ([[Minneapolis]]) 1996. Available on-line [https://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Masov/frame.html here]
*[[Richard Pipes|Pipes, Richard]]. ''The Formation of the Soviet Union, Communism and Nationalism 1917-1923'' ([[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], Mass.: [[Harvard University Press]]) 1964.
*[[Ahmed Rashid|Rashid, Ahmed]]. ''Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia'' ([[Hyderabad (India)|Hyderabad]]: [[Orient Longman]]) 2002.
*[[Hugh George Rawlinson|Rawlinson, H.G]].  ''Bactria : The History of a Forgotten Empire'' ([[New Delhi]]: [[Asian Educational Services]]) 2002.
*[[Geoffrey Wheeler (historian)|Wheeler, Geoffrey]]. ''The Modern History of Soviet Central Asia'' ([[London]]: [[Weidenfeld and Nicolson]]) 1964.
*[[Svat Soucek|Soucek, Svat]].  ''A History of Inner Asia'' ([[Cambridge University Press]]) 2000.
*[[Serge A. Zenkovsky|Zenkovsky, Serge A.]] ''Pan-Turkism & Islam in Russia'' ([[Harvard University Press]]) 1960.

== Further reading ==
{{Main|Bibliography of the history of Central Asia}}
{{Tajikistan topics}}

* [[Poopak NikTalab]]. Sarve Samarghand (Cedar of Samarkand), continuous interpretation of Rudaki's poems, Tehran 2020, Faradid Publications {Introduction
{{Years in Tajikistan}}
{{History of Asia}}
{{Fall of Communism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Tajikistan}}
[[Category:History of Tajikistan]]
[[Category:History of Central Asia]]