page_title: Tajikistan
section_title: Gaining independence
hierarchical_section_title: Tajikistan / History / Gaining independence
caption_attribution_description: English: “Dushanbe riots, February 1990”. Dushanbe riots, February 10-17, 1990. Martial law is imposed in the city. Tanks on Lenin Prospekt. Русский: «События в Душанбе в феврале 1990 года». Массовые беспорядки, произошедшие в Душанбе с 10 по 17 февраля 1990 года. В городе объявлено военное положение. Танки на проспекте Ленина. Таджикистан, Душанбе
context_page_description: Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a mountainous, landlocked country in Central Asia with an area of 143,100 km² and an estimated population of 9,537,645 people. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north and China to the east. The traditional homelands of the Tajik people include present-day Tajikistan as well as parts of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
  The territory that now constitutes Tajikistan was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the city of Sarazm of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including the Oxus Valley Civilisation, Andronovo Culture, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Vedic religion, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Islam. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid Empire, Sasanian Empire, Hephthalite Empire, Samanid Empire and the Mongol Empire. After being ruled by the Timurid dynasty and the Khanate of Bukhara, the Timurid Renaissance flourished. The region was later conquered by the Russian Empire and subsequently by the Soviet Union.
context_section_description: In Soviet times, supporters of Tajikistan independence were harshly persecuted by the KGB, and most were shot and jailed for long years. After the beginning of the Perestroika era, declared by Mikhail Gorbachev throughout the USSR, supporters of the independence of the republics began to speak openly and freely. In Tajikistan SSR, the independence movement has been active since 1987. Supporters of independence were the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, the Democratic Party of Tajikistan and the national democratic Rastokhez (Revival) Movement. On the eve of the collapse of the USSR, the population of Tajikistan SSR was divided into two camps. The first wanted independence for Tajikistan, the restoration of Tajik culture and language, the restoration of political and cultural relations with Iran and Afghanistan and other countries, and the second part of the population opposed independence, considering it the best option to remain part of the USSR. Opposed independence mainly Russian-speaking population of Tajikistan. 
  Since February 1990, there have been riots and strikes in Dushanbe (1990 Dushanbe riots) and other cities of Tajikistan due to the difficult socio-economic situation, lack of housing, and youth unemployment. The nationalist and democratic opposition, and supporters of independence joined the strikes and began to demand the independence of the republic and democratic reforms. Islamists also began to hold strikes and demand respect for their rights and independence of the republic. The Soviet leadership introduced Internal Troops in Dushanbe to eliminate the unrest.
caption: 1990 Dushanbe riots
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