Tajikistan
Taj. Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон
Persian. جمهوری تاجیکستان
Russian: Республика Таджикистан
Tajikistan (Tajik. Toҷикистон, Pers. تاجیکستان), the official name is Republic of Tajikistan. It borders with Uzbekistan in the west and northwest, with Kyrgyzstan in the north, with China in the east, with Afghanistan in the south. The Tajik-Afghan border was established in 1885 and crosses the Panj River and Amu Darya.
The capital of Tajikistan is Dushanbe. The state language is Tajik, while Tajikistan is the only Persian-speaking state in the former Soviet Central Asia.
Tajikistan is rich in natural resources, but since 93% of the republic’s territory is occupied by mountains. Tajikistan is a mountainous and rainy country with rich underground and water resources, but the country does not have access to free rivers.
Official holidays of Tajikistan
• January 1 – New Year
• February 23 – Army day of the Republic of Tajikistan
• March 8 – Mother’s Day
• March 21-24 – International Day of Navruz
• May 9 – Victory Day of the Peoples in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
• June 27 – National Unity Day
• 1 September – the day of knowledge
• September 9 – Independence Day of the Republic of Tajikistan
• October 5 – Day of the state language of the Republic of Tajikistan
• October 8 – Mehrgan holiday
• November 6 – Constitution Day of the Republic of Tajikistan
• November 24 – State Flag Day of the Republic of Tajikistan
• Ramadan holiday – 1 day – every year (according to the calendar)
• Kurban holiday – 1 day – every year (according to the calendar)
• Festival Sada
In 1924, as a result of national-territorial delimitation in Central Asia in the territory of Tajikistan, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed as part of the Uzbek SSR. The city of Dushanbe, formed in 1924 as a result of the merger of three villages (Sari-Osiyo, Shohmansur and Dushanbe), became its capital. On October 16, 1929, the Tajik SSR was formed, which on December 5 of that year became part of the USSR as a union republic.
In the 1930s and during World War II, the country carried out planned industrialization, which was accompanied by the restructuring of the national economy and the influx of skilled labor from the RSFSR and other republics of the USSR.
From 1946 to 1956, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Tajik SSR was a politician and scientist-historian B. Gafurov.
The main specialization of the Tajik SSR was the cotton industry. Meanwhile, in the 1960s and 1970s, new branches of the economy were created – machine-building, textile, electrical and chemical industries, as well as hydropower. In 1991, the Tajik SSR as a result of the collapse of the USSR became an independent state of Tajikistan.
Independent Tajikistan
The creation of the Republic of Tajikistan was based on the independent statehood of the Tajik people and the new revival of the Persian-Tajik civilization and culture on its territory.
- September 9, 1991 – adoption at the session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tajikistan of the Declaration and Resolution “On the State Independence of the Republic of Tajikistan”. September 9 was declared in the republic as a holiday Independence Day of the Republic of Tajikistan.
- December 25, 1991 – the Republic of Tajikistan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
- February 26, 1992 – accession of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
- March 2, 1992 – the Republic of Tajikistan joined the member states of the United Nations (UN).
- December 1, 1993 – the Republic of Tajikistan joined the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
- October 10, 2000 – the signing by Tajikistan of the Treaty establishing the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC).
- June 15, 2001 – Tajikistan joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
- May 14, 2002 – Tajikistan joins the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
- 2005-2009 – construction and commissioning of the Sangtuda – 1 hydroelectric power station (capacity – 670 MW) together with Russia.
- 2006-2009 – construction and commissioning of the South-North high-voltage power transmission line (LEP-500) and Khatlon-Chelanzar (LEP-220).
- October 5, 2009 – adoption of the new law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On the state language of the Republic of Tajikistan”. October 5th was declared the Day of the State Language in the republic.
- 2006—2010 – construction and commissioning of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak (Uzbekistan), Dushanbe-Jirgital-Saritash (Kyrgyzstan) automobile roads, the Istiklol automobile tunnels on the Anzob pass, Sharshar and Shakhristan.
- January 6, 2010 – the start of the distribution of shares of the Rogun HPP among the population of the republic. Continuation of the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric station with a total capacity of 3600 MW.
- September 2011 – construction and commissioning of the first unit of the Sangtuda HPS-2 (capacity – 220 MW, together with Iran). The completion of the construction of the bridge over the Pyanj River to Afghanistan together with the Agahan IV Development Fund and the reconstruction of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak (Uzbekistan), Dushanbe-Jirgatal-Sary-Tash (Kyrgyzstan) highways according to the investment projects of Tajikistan and China.
- August 14, 2012 – Tajikistan acceded to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention of 1958).
- December 10, 2012 – Tajikistan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- September 2014 – the second unit of the Sangtuda HPS-2 with a capacity of 110 MW was launched. After full commissioning, the Sangtudinskaya HPP-2 is capable of generating up to 1 billion kW / h of electricity, or 220 MW.
- December 2014 – the construction of the largest textile enterprise in Central Asia, the first stage of which can process more than 52 thousand tons of cotton fiber, began in the Dangara district. The company is being built according to a joint investment project of Tajikistan and China.
- October 18, 2015 – the Aini-Penjikent highway was reconstructed. The Asian Development Bank has provided a grant of 100 million US dollars for the rehabilitation of this road with a length of 113 km.
- December 15, 2015 – The Asian Development Bank suspended funding for the Trans-Afghan railway, which involved Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, due to the low level of security in Afghanistan and the lack of financial resources for the implementation of the Afghan section.
- May 22, 2016 – A constitutional referendum was held in Tajikistan.
- May 26, 2018 – The population of Tajikistan has reached 9 million people.
- November 16, 2018 – the first hydraulic unit of the Rogun Hydroelectric Power Plant was solemnly launched. The second hydraulic unit was put into operation in June 2019.
Tajikistan participates in several major investment projects together with Russia, China and Iran.
Climate
The climate of the country is subtropical with significant daily and seasonal fluctuations in air temperature, low rainfall, dry air and low cloud cover. The average January temperature ranges from + 2 … −2 ° C to −20 ° C in the valleys and foothills of the south-west and north of the republic and drops lower in the Pamirs. The absolute minimum temperature reaches −63 ° C in the Pamirs (Bulunkul). The average July temperature is from +30 ° C in the low valleys of the southwest to 0 ° C and lower in the Pamirs. The absolute maximum temperature is +48 ° C (Pyanj).
Energetics
Most of the electricity in Tajikistan is produced at hydroelectric power stations. The total installed capacity of hydroelectric power plants is about 4950 MW. In 2010, production amounted to about 20 billion kWh.
The country has significant potential in the field of hydropower, which is still little realized. The total volume of hydropower resources is estimated at 527 billion kWh, including technically feasible for use is 202 billion kWh, and economically feasible for construction – 172 billion kWh .
This makes the state one of the most endowed with this renewable energy source in the world (8th place in terms of absolute generation potential). Among the CIS countries in this indicator, the country is second only to Russia.
The hydroelectric power station park of Tajikistan comprises:
• Vakhsh cascade (Vakhsh river). It includes the largest hydropower plants in the country:
o Nurek hydroelectric station with a capacity [55] of 3000 MW;
o Baipazinskaya hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 600 MW;
o Sangtudinskaya HPP-1 with a capacity of 670 MW;
o Sangtudinskaya HPP-2 with a capacity of 220 MW;
o The main hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 240 MW;
o Damage hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 29.9 MW;
o Central hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 15.1 MW;
• Kairakkum hydroelectric station on the Syr Darya river with a capacity of 126 MW;
• Varzob cascade from the Varzob − 1, −2 and −3 hydroelectric power station on the Dushanbe-Darya river with a total capacity of 25.7 MW;
• Several dozens of small (with a capacity of up to 1.5 MW) and micro hydroelectric power stations (with a capacity of up to 0.1 MW).
• Rogun HPP – on November 16, 2018, the first unit of the Rogun HPP with a capacity of 600 MW was commissioned; the design capacity of the Rogun HPP is 3600 MW, it consists of 6 blocks of 600 MW each, and the dam height is 335 meters;
The Government of Tajikistan has developed extensive plans for the reconstruction and modernization of existing hydropower facilities, the completion of mothballed ones, and the construction of new hydroelectric power stations and cross-border power lines.
It is planned to expand the existing cascades of hydroelectric power stations and develop the resources of Zerafshan, Pyanj and other rivers.
Industry
From the point of view of the dominant industries, the Tajik industry is divided into:
• Light industry – the most developed branch of the industrial complex of the capital. This situation is primarily due to the fact that the main raw materials (cotton, silk cocoons, wool and others) are produced in the republic itself. Includes enterprises:
- LLC “PO Nassochii Tojik” (the largest textile company in Tajikistan with a full cycle of processing cotton to finished garments, comprising 3 spinning and weaving manufactures, finishing production and several sewing manufactures) with a processing capacity of 25 thousand tons of cotton fiber per year;
- LLC “SP VT RohiAbreshim” (a joint Vietnamese-Tajik enterprise for the processing of raw silk and the production of finished silk products);
- AOOT “Nafisa” (enterprise for the production of hosiery);
- CJSC “Guliston” (enterprise for the production of garments).
- The electrical industry and engineering include the largest enterprises of the republic, such as Tajiktekstilmash Production Association, Tajikkabel OJSC, Pamir OJSC, ELTO OJSC (production of electronic equipment, household goods), and Torgmash OJSC – an enterprise manufacturing equipment for trade enterprises.
- Food and processing industry produces all types of food products, including wine and vodka products. The largest enterprises in the industry are oil and fat and dairy plants, canneries, wine and breweries, as well as enterprises producing bakery and confectionery products.
- The building materials industry includes brick factories, a cement plant, a slate plant, as well as other enterprises manufacturing building materials and reinforced concrete structures and products.
- Metallurgy includes the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) in Tursunzade, one of the largest enterprises in the republic for the production of non-ferrous metals, a reinforcing plant, iron castings, water, gas, and oil pipe fittings and others.
- In 2011, a small Tajik-Canadian joint venture for the production of batteries was opened in the city of Dushanbe.
Tourism and leisure facilities
Tajikistan is known as one of the centers of mountain, environmental and other types of tourism in Central Asia. Tourists can get acquainted with the sights of cities located on the ancient caravan trade road – Penjikent, Khojent, Istaravshan, Gissar, Dushanbe, Kulyab, Khorog, Kurgan-Tyube. The caravan Great Silk Road, famous in history, ran through these places at the beginning of the Middle Ages, which connected the countries of the East and Western Europe. Near Penjikent, the settlement of Sarazm was found, whose age is 2–4 thousand years. The Buddhist monastery of Ajina-tepa, where a 13-meter statue of Buddha was found, was near Kurgan-Tube. The Pamir is replete with various historical monuments – sites with rock paintings of the Stone Age, the city of Bazar-Dara (Taj. Bozor Dara), the fortress of Yamchun, Kaakha (Taj. Kakhkakh), which testify to ancient civilizations and the historical past of the region.
Tajik National Park today is the center of ecological and other types of tourism in Tajikistan. Tourists come to the park in order to enjoy the pristine nature, where rare and valuable species of animals, birds, other animals or plants, ponds and sources and other natural riches of the mountain region have been preserved.
On the territory of the park, in the Pamir mountains, there are several high-altitude seven-thousandths of Ismoil Somoni peak (former Communism Peak – 7495 m), Lenin Peak (Abuali ibn Sino peak) (7134 m) and others, Korzhenevskaya Peak (7105 m) and others, Fedchenko Lednik (area – about 700 km²), which are the objects of mountain tourism and mountaineering. The Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan (MNO RT) protects Tajik National Park.
There are many mineral and healing springs in Tajikistan and GBAO, among which the unique hot spring “Garmchashma”, known in Ishkashim region, which cures of many diseases.
The list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tajikistan includes such conservation areas as the high-altitude lake Zorkul in the Pamirs, the Fan Mountains (with unique mountain lakes – Iskanderkul, Tigrovaya Balka and Dashtizhum reserves in southern Tajikistan). All this characterizes Tajikistan as a country of mountain and ecological tourism.