Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic

The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic,[lower-alpha 1] also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan and Tajik SSR, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 located in Central Asia.

Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic

Таджикская Советская Социалистическая Республика
Ҷумҳурии Шӯравии Сотсиалистии Тоҷикистон
Республикаи Советии Социалистии Тоҷикистон
1929–1991
Motto: Пролетарҳои ҳамаи мамлакатҳо, як шавед! (Tajik)
Proletarhoi hamai mamlakatho, yak shaved! (transliteration)
"Proletarians of all nations, unite!"
Anthem: Гимни Республикаи Советии Сотсиалистии Тоҷикистон
Gimni Respublikai Sovetiji Sotsialistiji Toçikiston
"Anthem of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic"


Location of Tajikistan (red) within the Soviet Union
StatusSoviet Socialist Republic
Capital
and largest city
Dushanbea
Official languagesTajik · Russian
GovernmentUnitary Marxist-Leninist single-party Soviet socialist republic (1929–1990)
Unitary presidential republic (1990–1991)
Leader 
• 1929–1933 (first)
Mirza Davud Huseynov
• 1985–1991 (last)
Qahhor Mahkamov
Premier 
• 1929–1933 (first)
Abdurrahim Hojibayev
• 1986–1991 (last)
Izatullo Khayoyev
LegislatureSupreme Soviet
History 
• Union republic proclaimed
5 December 1929
• Name adopted
5 December 1936
12 February 1990
• Sovereignty declared
24 August 1990
• Renamed to the Republic of Tajikistan
31 August 1991
• Independence declared
9 September 1991
• Independence recognized
26 December 1991
Area
1989143,100 km2 (55,300 sq mi)
Population
• 1989
5,112,000
CurrencySoviet ruble (руб) (SUR)
Calling code7 377/379
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Tajik ASSR
Tajikistan
Today part ofTajikistan
China
  1. "Stalinabad" between 1929 and 1961.
Eastern Bloc
Republics of the USSR
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The Tajik Republic was created on 5 December 1929 as a national entity for the Tajik people within the Soviet Union. It succeeded the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik ASSR), which had been created on 14 October 1924 as a part of the predominantly Turkic Uzbek SSR in the process of national delimitation in Soviet Central Asia. On 24 August 1990, the Tajik SSR declared sovereignty in its borders. The republic was renamed to the Republic of Tajikistan on 31 August 1991 and declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 9 September 1991.

Geographically, at 143,100 km2 (55,300 sq mi), it was bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kirghizia to the north, and China to the east. Pakistan was to the south, separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor.

Nomenclature

The name Tajik refers to the name of a pre-Islamic tribe that existed before the seventh century A.D. Based on the Library of Congress's 1997 Country Study of Tajikistan, it is difficult to definitively state the origins of the word "Tajik" citing due to its "embroiled in twentieth-century political disputes about whether Turkic or Iranian peoples were the original inhabitants of Central Asia."[1]

The name of the country was often spelt "Tadzhikistan" in the English language during Soviet times due to it being borrowed directly from the Russian spelling "Таджикистан", where the letters 'дж' produce a 'j' sound.

Date Name
5 December 1929Tajik Socialist Soviet Republic
5 December 1936Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic
31 August 1991Republic of Tajikistan

History
See also: History of Tajikistan and Tajikistani Civil War

One of the new states created in the process of national delimitation of Soviet Central Asia in October 1924 was the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic – Uzbek SSR or Soviet Uzbekistan. Soviet Tajikistan was created at the same time within the predominantly Turkic Uzbek SSR as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik ASSR) – one rank below a Soviet Socialist Republic in USSR geopolitical hierarchy. The new autonomous republic included what had been eastern Bukhara and had a population of about 740,000, out of a total population of nearly 5 million in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic as a whole. Its capital was established in Dyushambe, which had been a village of 3,000 in 1920. In December 1929, Tajik ASSR was detached from the Uzbek SSR and given full status as a Soviet Socialist Republic – Tajik Socialist Soviet Republic. At that time, its capital was renamed Stalinabad, after Joseph Stalin, and the territory that is now northern Tajikistan (Sughd Province) was added to the new republic. Even with the additional territory, the Tajik SSR remained the smallest Central Asian republic. On 5 December 1936, it was renamed to the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic.

With the creation of a Tajik republic defined in national terms came the creation of institutions that, at least in form, were likewise national. The first Tajik-language newspaper in Soviet Tajikistan began publication in 1926. New educational institutions also began operation at about the same time. The first state schools, available to both children and adults and designed to provide basic education, opened in 1926. The central government also trained a small number of Tajiks for public office, either by putting them through courses offered by government departments or by sending them to schools in the Uzbek SSR.

Under Soviet rule, Tajikistan experienced some economic and social progress. However, living standards in the republic were still among the lowest in the Union. Most people still lived in rural qishlaqs, settlements that were composed of 200 to 700 one-family houses built along a waterway.

After Stalin's death in March 1953, Stalinabad was renamed to Dushanbe on 10 November 1961 as part of the De-Stalinization program.

In February 1990, riots occurred in the republic's capital Dushanbe. 26 people died and 565 more were injured and the Soviet troops put down the riots. Yaqub Salimov, a future Interior Minister, and some youth activists were convicted for participation in the riots.

Later on 24 August 1990, Tajik SSR declared its sovereignty over Soviet laws. By 1991, Tajikistan participated in a referendum in March as part of the attempt to preserve the union with a turnout of 96.85%. However, this did not happen when hardliners took control of Moscow during the next three days in August. After the failure of the coup, the Tajik SSR was renamed to the Republic of Tajikistan on 31 August 1991. On 9 September 1991, Tajikistan seceded from the Soviet Union months before the country itself ceased to exist on 26 December 1991. Conflicts after independence caused a civil war throughout the country over the next six years.

Politics
Main article: Politics of the Soviet Union

Tajikistan, like all other republics in the Soviet Union, was officially a soviet republic governed by the Tajik republican branch within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in all organs of government, politics and society. The Supreme Soviet was a unicameral legislature of the republic headed by a Chairman, with its superiority to both the executive and judicial branches and its members convened in the Supreme Soviet building in Dushanbe. Since independence in 1991, it retained the unicameral structure before being replaced by a bicameral system in 1999 using the presidential system. The republic's government structure was similar to those of other republics.

Military

Tajikistan was the only Central Asian Republic to not form an army under the Soviet Armed Forces. In replacement were the Soviet units under the Ministry of Defence, as well as troops who were subordinates of the Turkestan Military District and the Central Asian Military District in neighboring Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan respectively. In the early 1990s the army was the smallest in the union and had more Russians than native Tajiks in it. The army failed to effectively defend the regime as proven in the 1990 Dushanbe riots. There was a large contingent of Soviet border guards who were commanded by Russians based from Moscow who commanded ethnic Tajik conscripts. When the TurkVO was dissolved in June 1992, its personnel were distributed between Tajikistan and the other 4 Central Asian republics.

The Tajik SSR also operated its own Ministry of Internal Affairs and Internal Troops, which was an independent republican affiliate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union.

Economy
Main article: Economy of the Soviet Union
See also: Agriculture in Tajikistan and Economy of Tajikistan

Like all other republics in the Soviet Union, its economy was highly centralised. After independence, it has its Transition economy.

Industry

Light industry and food industries accounted for over 60% of industrial output. The main branches of heavy industry were electric power, mining, non-ferrous metallurgy, machine building and metalworking, and building materials industry. The basis of the electricity accounted for HPP. Mining activities concentrate on brown coal, oil and natural gas. Non-ferrous metals industries were an aluminum plant in Tursunzade and hydrometallurgical in Isfara. Engineering enterprises produced winding, agricultural machinery, equipment for trading enterprises and public catering, textile, lighting and wiring equipment, transformers, household refrigerators, cable and other (main center - Dushanbe). The chemical industry included plants - nitrogen fertilizer in Kurgan-Tube, electrochemical in Yavan, and plastics in Dushanbe. The main branches of light industry were cotton ginning, silk, and carpet weaving. In the food industry stood fruit-canning, vegetable oil and fat industry.

Agriculture

In 1986, there were 299 state and 157 collective farms in the country. Agricultural land was 4.2 million hectares.

Due to the large irrigation works in the area of irrigated land 1986 have reached 662 thousand hectares. Agriculture gave about 65% of gross agricultural output. The leading branch of agriculture was cotton (cotton collection 922 thousand tons in 1986), developed in Fergana, Vakhsh, Hissar valleys. Tajikistan was the main base of the country for the production of long-staple cotton. Cultured and tobacco, geranium, linen - Kudryashov, sesame. Approximately 20% of crops were occupied by grain crops (gross grain harvest - 246 thousand tons in 1986 in.). They grow vegetables and melons. Was developed fruit (including citrus fruit) and grapes. Meat and wool sheep and meat and dairy cattle. Livestock (in 1987, in millions): cattle - 1.4 (including cows - 0.6), sheep and goats - 3.2. Sericulture.

Transportation
See also: Transport in Tajikistan

Operating length (in 1986):

  • Railways – 470 km
  • Roads – 13,200 km (including paved – 11,600 km.)
  • Airports

Tajikistan is supplied with gas from Uzbekistan and Afghanistan with gas pipelines from Kelif to Dushanbe, from local gas fields.

Notes
  1. Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Шӯравии Сотсиалистии Тоҷикистон, Çumhuriji Şūraviji Sotsialistiji Toçikiston; Russian: Таджикская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Tadzhikskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika
gollark: They would censor *controversial topics*, however.
gollark: People say gollark bad a lot, have you not *noticed*?
gollark: You may.
gollark: If it does actually make you uncomfortable, ignoring it seems basically reasonable.
gollark: This is just proxying from some other device...

References
  1. A Country Study: Tajikistan, Ethnic Background, Library of Congress Call Number DK851 .K34 1997,

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