Tajikistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tajikistan (Тоҷикистон) is a country in . It has borders with , , , .

Jumhurii Tojikiston

() ()
National : none
- Total  - % water	143,100 0.3%
- Total (2003)  -	6,863,752 48/km²
	, (from the )
	+5
	.TI
	992

Table of contents

History

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The land that is now Tajikistan has been under the rule of various empires throughout history. In the time before , it was part of the . brought in the . The supplanted the Arabs but was eventually superseded by Turkic invaders. The would later take control of the area, and Tajikistan would become a part of the emirate of .

In the , the began to expand, and spread into . During the , it came in control of Tajikistan. After the overthrow of the in , Tajik guerillas waged a war against armies in a futile attempt to maintain independence. The Bolsheviks would prevail after a four year war, in which and villages were burned down and the population heavily supressed.

As part of the , Tajikistan was initially grouped with what is now in the , but was later made a seperate SSR. did not do much to develop the , and it remained relatively behind other Soviet Republics in living conditions, education and industry. In the Islamic underground parties began to form, and served to rally Tajiks against the USSR, but real disturbances did not occur until . The following year, the USSR collapsed, and Tajikistan declared its indepdence.

The nation almost immediately fell into a civil war that involved various factions fighting one another, these factions were often distinguished by tribal loyalties. was the first leader of the nation, and continues to rule to this day. However, he has been accused of ethnic cleansing of other tribes during the civil war. In a cease-fire was reached between Rahmanov and Islamic opposition parties. Peaceful elections were held in 1999, but they were unfair, and Rahmanov was reelected by almost unanimous vote. troops continue to be stationed in southern Tajikistan, in order to guard the border with . Since the , troops have also been stationed in the country.

Politics

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Almost immediately after independence, Tajikistan was plunged into a civil war that saw various factions fighting one another. By 1997 the war had cooled down, and a central government began to take form. Tajikistan is officially a republic, and holds elections for the and Parliament. The latest elections occured in , and . While peaceful, international observers believe the elections to have been flawed.

Tajikistan is the only former Soviet Republic to permit Islamic parties to take part in its governmental process. In the Parliament, opposition groups have often clashed with the ruling party, but this has not lead to great instability.

Provinces

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Tajikistan is divided into 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor):

• * ( - formerly Khorog)
• ( - formerly Kurgan-Tyube),
• ( - formerly Leninabad)

note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses

Geography

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Tajikistan is completely landlocked, and is the smallest nation in by area. Tajikistan is covered by many mountain ranges, including the , and more than fifty percent of the country is above . The and mark the border with Afghanistan.

Economy

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Tajikistan is the poorest CIS country and one of the poorest countries in the world. With foreign revenue precariously dependent upon exports of cotton and aluminum, the economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. In FY 2000, international assistance remained and 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

Demographics

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Tajikistan has a population of 6,440,732. The major ethnic group is the , although there is a sizeable minority of , and a small population of , although the Russian population is declining due to emigration. Likewise, the official language of Tajikistan is , while is largely spoken in buisness and for government purposes. Although the Tajik and Uzbek are now classified as seperate 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 . Despite it's 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 , although a sizeable number of are present as well.

Culture

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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 that imposed modern arts on the area. This has not been completely detrimental though, as Tajikistan was known for it's 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 and eliminating words.

Most citizens of Tajikistan are . The impact of Islam has grown in recent years, and was a heavy bonding force during Tajikistans fight against Soviet rule and during its civil war. Historically, a lot of Tajik culture ties in to the Persian past of the region, and writers and poets such as , , and are especially revered.

Holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
		-	-
		-	-
-	Persian New Year		-
	International Labor Day	-	-
	Victory Day	-	-
	Independence Day	-	-
	Constitution Day	-	-
	National Reconciliation Day	-	-
date varies		Eid-i-Ramazon	Commemorates end of
date varies		Eid-i-Kurbon	Occurs 70 days after the end of Ramadan

Miscellaneous topics

External Links and References

• Text in the sub-articles from the 2000

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