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<\/a>The territory that now constitutes Tajikistan was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the city of\u00a0Sarazm<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0of the\u00a0Neolithic<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Bronze Age<\/a>\u00a0and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including the\u00a0Oxus Valley Civilisation<\/a>,\u00a0Andronovo Culture<\/a>,\u00a0Buddhism<\/a>,\u00a0Nestorian Christianity<\/a>,\u00a0Vedic religion<\/a>,\u00a0Zoroastrianism<\/a>,\u00a0Manichaeism<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Islam<\/a>. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the\u00a0Achaemenid Empire<\/a>,\u00a0Sasanian Empire<\/a>,\u00a0Hephthalite Empire<\/a>,\u00a0Samanid Empire<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Mongol Empire<\/a>. After being ruled by the\u00a0Timurid dynasty<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Khanate of Bukhara<\/a>, the\u00a0Timurid Renaissance<\/a>\u00a0flourished. The region was later conquered by the\u00a0Russian Empire<\/a>\u00a0and subsequently by the\u00a0Soviet Union<\/a>. Within the Soviet Union, the\u00a0country’s modern borders were drawn<\/a>\u00a0when it was part of\u00a0Uzbekistan<\/a>\u00a0as an\u00a0autonomous republic<\/a>\u00a0before becoming a\u00a0full-fledged Soviet republic<\/a>\u00a0in 1920.<\/sup><\/p>\n On 9 September 1991, Tajikistan became an independent sovereign nation as the Soviet Union\u00a0disintegrated<\/a>. A\u00a0civil war<\/a>\u00a0was fought almost immediately after independence, lasting from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country’s economy to grow. The country has been led by\u00a0President<\/a>\u00a0Emomali Rahmon<\/a>\u00a0since 1994 who rules an authoritarian regime, as there is extensive corruption and widespread\u00a0violations of human rights<\/a>, including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, worsening political repression, and a lack of\u00a0religious freedom<\/a> and other civil liberties.<\/p>\n Tajikistan is a\u00a0presidential republic<\/a>\u00a0consisting of four provinces. Most of Tajikistan’s population belongs to the\u00a0Tajik<\/a>\u00a0ethnic group,<\/sup>\u00a0who speak\u00a0Tajik<\/a>\u00a0(a dialect of\u00a0Persian<\/a>) \u2014 the first official language.\u00a0Russian<\/a>\u00a0is used as the official inter-ethnic language. While the state is constitutionally secular,\u00a0Islam<\/a>\u00a0is practiced by 98% of the population. In the\u00a0Gorno-Badakhshan<\/a>\u00a0oblast<\/a>, despite its sparse population, there is large linguistic diversity where\u00a0Rushani<\/a>,\u00a0Shughni<\/a>,\u00a0Ishkashimi<\/a>,\u00a0Wakhi<\/a>\u00a0and Tajik are some of the languages spoken. Mountains cover more than 90% of the country. It is a\u00a0developing country<\/a>\u00a0with a\u00a0transition economy<\/a>\u00a0that is highly dependent on\u00a0remittances<\/a>,\u00a0aluminium<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0cotton<\/a>\u00a0production. Tajikistan is a member of the\u00a0United Nations<\/a>,\u00a0CIS<\/a>,\u00a0OSCE<\/a>,\u00a0OIC<\/a>,\u00a0ECO<\/a>,\u00a0SCO<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0CSTO<\/a>\u00a0as well as an\u00a0NATO<\/a>\u00a0PfP partner<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cultures in the region have been dated back to at least the 4th millennium BC, including the\u00a0Bronze Age<\/a>\u00a0Bactria\u2013Margiana Archaeological Complex<\/a>, the\u00a0Andronovo<\/a>\u00a0cultures and the\u00a0pro-urban site of Sarazm<\/a>, a UNESCO\u00a0World Heritage site<\/a>.<\/p>\n The earliest recorded history of the region dates back to about 500 BC when much, if not all, of modern Tajikistan, was part of the\u00a0Achaemenid Empire<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Some authors have also suggested that in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, parts of modern Tajikistan, including territories in the Zeravshan valley, formed part of\u00a0Kambojas<\/a>\u00a0before it became part of the\u00a0Achaemenid Empire<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0After the region’s conquest by\u00a0Alexander the Great<\/a>\u00a0it became part of the\u00a0Greco-Bactrian Kingdom<\/a>, a successor state of Alexander’s empire. Northern Tajikistan (the cities of\u00a0Khujand<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Panjakent<\/a>) was part of\u00a0Sogdia<\/a>, a collection of city-states which was overrun by\u00a0Scythians<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Yuezhi<\/a>\u00a0nomadic tribes around 150 BC. The\u00a0Silk Road<\/a>\u00a0passed through the region and following the expedition of Chinese explorer\u00a0Zhang Qian<\/a>\u00a0during the reign of\u00a0Wudi<\/a>\u00a0(141BC\u201387 BC) commercial relations between\u00a0Han China<\/a> and Sogdiana flourished.<\/sup> Sogdians played a major role in facilitating trade and also worked in other capacities, as farmers, carpet weavers, glassmakers, and woodcarvers.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Kushan Empire<\/a>, a collection of\u00a0Yuezhi<\/a>\u00a0tribes, took control of the region in the first century AD and ruled until the 4th century AD during which time\u00a0Buddhism<\/a>,\u00a0Nestorian Christianity<\/a>,\u00a0Zoroastrianism<\/a>, and\u00a0Manichaeism<\/a> were all practiced in the region.\u00a0Later the\u00a0Hephthalite Empire<\/a>, a collection of nomadic tribes, moved into the region and\u00a0Arabs<\/a>\u00a0brought\u00a0Islam<\/a> in the early eighth century. Central Asia continued in its role as a commercial crossroads, linking China, the steppes to the north, and the Islamic heartland.<\/p>\n It was temporarily under the control of the\u00a0Tibetan empire<\/a>\u00a0and Chinese from 650 to 680 and then under the control of the Umayyads in 710.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Samanid Empire<\/a>, 819 to 999, restored\u00a0Persian<\/a>\u00a0control of the region and enlarged the cities of\u00a0Samarkand<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bukhara<\/a>\u00a0(both cities are today part of\u00a0Uzbekistan<\/a>) which became the cultural centers of\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0and the region was known as Khorasan. The empire was centered in Khorasan and Transoxiana; at its greatest extent encompassing modern-day Afghanistan, large parts of Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, parts of Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. Four brothers Nuh, Ahmad, Yahya, and Ilyas founded the Samanid state. Each of them ruled territory under Abbasid suzerainty. In 892, Ismail Samani (892\u2013907) united the Samanid state under one ruler, thus effectively putting an end to the feudal system used by the Samanids. It was also under him that the Samanids became independent of Abbasid authority. The\u00a0Kara-Khanid Khanate<\/a>\u00a0conquered\u00a0Transoxania<\/a> (which corresponds approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgyzstan, and southwest Kazakhstan) and ruled between 999 and 1211.\u00a0Their arrival in Transoxania signalled a definitive shift from Iranian to Turkic predominance in Central Asia,[42]<\/a><\/sup> but gradually the Kara-khanids became assimilated into the Perso-Arab Muslim culture of the region.<\/p>\n Modern Tajikistan fell under the rule of the\u00a0Khanate of Bukhara<\/a>\u00a0during the 16th century and with the empire’s collapse in the 18th century it came under the rule of both the\u00a0Emirate of Bukhara<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Khanate of Kokand<\/a>. The\u00a0Emirate of Bukhara<\/a>\u00a0remained intact until the 20th century but during the 19th century, for the second time in world history, a European power (the\u00a0Russian Empire<\/a>) began to conquer parts of the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Russian\u00a0Imperialism<\/a>\u00a0led to the\u00a0Russian Empire<\/a>‘s conquest of\u00a0Central Asia<\/a>\u00a0during the late 19th century’s\u00a0Imperial Era<\/a>. Between 1864 and 1885, Russia gradually took control of the entire territory of\u00a0Russian Turkestan<\/a>, the Tajikistan portion of which had been controlled by the\u00a0Emirate of Bukhara<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Khanate of Kokand<\/a>. Russia was interested in gaining access to a supply of\u00a0cotton<\/a>\u00a0and in the 1870s attempted to switch cultivation in the region from grain to cotton (a strategy later copied and expanded by the Soviets).[45]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0By 1885 Tajikistan’s territory was either ruled by the Russian Empire or its\u00a0vassal state<\/a>, the Emirate of Bukhara, nevertheless Tajiks felt little Russian influence.<\/p>\n During the late 19th century the\u00a0Jadidists<\/a>\u00a0established 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 because the Russian Empire was predominately Christian.<\/sup>\u00a0Russian 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\u00a0Khujand<\/a>\u00a0over the threat of forced\u00a0conscription<\/a>\u00a0during\u00a0World War I<\/a>. Despite Russian troops quickly bringing Khujand back under control, clashes continued throughout the year in various locations in Tajikistan.<\/p>\n After the\u00a0Russian Revolution<\/a>\u00a0of 1917 guerrillas throughout Central Asia, known as\u00a0basmachi<\/a><\/i>, waged\u00a0a war<\/a>\u00a0against\u00a0Bolshevik<\/a>\u00a0armies in a futile attempt to maintain independence.<\/sup>\u00a0The Bolsheviks prevailed after a four-year war, in which\u00a0mosques<\/a> and villages were burned down and the population heavily suppressed. Soviet authorities started a campaign of secularization. Practising Islam<\/a>,\u00a0Judaism<\/a>, and\u00a0Christianity<\/a>\u00a0was discouraged and repressed, and many mosques,\u00a0churches<\/a>, and\u00a0synagogues<\/a>\u00a0were closed.<\/sup>\u00a0As a consequence of the conflict and Soviet agriculture policies,\u00a0Central Asia<\/a>, Tajikistan included, suffered a famine that claimed many lives.<\/p>\n In 1924, the\u00a0Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic<\/a>\u00a0was created as a part of\u00a0Uzbekistan<\/a>, but in 1929 the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR) was made a separate constituent republic;\u00a0however, the predominantly ethnic Tajik cities of\u00a0Samarkand<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bukhara<\/a>\u00a0remained in the\u00a0Uzbek SSR<\/a>. Between 1927 and 1934,\u00a0collectivization<\/a> of agriculture and a rapid expansion of cotton production took place, especially in the southern region.Soviet\u00a0collectivization<\/a> policy brought violence against peasants and forced resettlement occurred throughout Tajikistan. Consequently, some peasants fought collectivization and revived the Basmachi movement<\/a>. Some small scale industrial development also occurred during this time along with the expansion of irrigation infrastructure.<\/p>\n Two rounds of Stalin’s purges (1927\u20131934 and\u00a01937\u20131938<\/a>) resulted in the expulsion of nearly 10,000 people, from all levels of the\u00a0Communist Party of Tajikistan<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Ethnic\u00a0Russians<\/a>\u00a0were sent in to replace those expelled and subsequently Russians dominated party positions at all levels, including the top position of first secretary.<\/sup> Between 1926 and 1959 the proportion of Russians among Tajikistan’s population grew from less than 1% to 13%.\u00a0Bobojon Ghafurov<\/a>,\u00a0First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan<\/a>\u00a0from 1946 to 1956, was the only Tajik politician of significance outside of the country during the Soviet Era.<\/sup>\u00a0He was followed in office by\u00a0Tursun Uljabayev<\/a>\u00a0(1956\u201361),\u00a0Jabbor Rasulov<\/a>\u00a0(1961\u20131982), and\u00a0Rahmon Nabiyev<\/a>\u00a0(1982\u20131985, 1991\u20131992).<\/p>\n Tajiks began to be conscripted into the Soviet Army in 1939 and during\u00a0World War II<\/a>\u00a0around 260,000 Tajik citizens fought against Germany, Finland and Japan. Between 60,000 (4%)<\/sup>\u00a0and 120,000 (8%)<\/sup>\u00a0of Tajikistan’s 1,530,000 citizens were killed during World War II.<\/sup>\u00a0Following the war and Stalin’s reign, attempts were made to further expand the agriculture and industry of Tajikistan.<\/sup>\u00a0During 1957\u201358\u00a0Nikita Khrushchev<\/a>‘s\u00a0Virgin Lands Campaign<\/a>\u00a0focused attention on Tajikistan, where living conditions, education and industry lagged behind the other\u00a0Soviet Republics<\/a>.<\/sup> In the 1980s, Tajikistan had the lowest household saving rate in the USSR, the lowest percentage of households in the two top per capita income groups,<\/sup> and the lowest rate of university graduates per 1000 people.<\/sup>\u00a0By the late 1980s Tajik nationalists were calling for increased rights. Real disturbances did not occur within the republic until 1990. The following year, the\u00a0Soviet Union<\/a>\u00a0collapsed, and Tajikistan declared its independence on 9 September 1991, a day which is now celebrated as the country’s\u00a0Independence Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Soviet times, supporters of Tajikistan independence were harshly persecuted by the KGB, and most were either shot dead or jailed for many years. After the beginning of the\u00a0Perestroika<\/a><\/i>\u00a0era, declared by\u00a0Mikhail Gorbachev<\/a>\u00a0throughout the\u00a0USSR<\/a>, 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\u00a0Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan<\/a>, the\u00a0Democratic Party of Tajikistan<\/a>\u00a0and the national democratic\u00a0Rastokhez<\/i>\u00a0(Revival) Movement<\/a>. On the eve of the\u00a0collapse of the USSR<\/a>, 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\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Afghanistan<\/a>\u00a0and other countries, and the second part of the population opposed independence, considering it the best option to remain part of the USSR. Opposed independence were mainly the Russian-speaking population of Tajikistan.<\/p>\n Since February 1990, there have been riots and strikes in\u00a0Dushanbe<\/a>\u00a0(1990 Dushanbe riots<\/a>)<\/sup>\u00a0and 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.\u00a0Islamists<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n The nation almost immediately fell into\u00a0civil war<\/a>\u00a0that involved various factions fighting one another; these factions were often distinguished by clan loyalties.<\/sup>\u00a0More than 500,000 residents fled during this time because of persecution, increased poverty and better economic opportunities in the West or in other former Soviet republics.<\/sup>\u00a0Emomali Rahmon<\/a> came to power in 1992,\u00a0<\/sup>defeating former prime minister\u00a0Abdumalik Abdullajanov<\/a> in a November presidential election with 58% of the vote.\u00a0The elections took place shortly after the end of the war, and Tajikistan was in a state of complete devastation. The estimated dead numbered over 100,000. Around 1.2 million people were\u00a0refugees<\/a> inside and outside of the country.\u00a0In 1997, a\u00a0ceasefire<\/a> was reached between Rahmon and opposition parties under the guidance of Gerd D. Merrem,\u00a0Special Representative to the Secretary General, a result widely praised as a successful United Nations peacekeeping initiative. The ceasefire guaranteed 30% of ministerial positions would go to the\u00a0opposition<\/a>. <\/sup>Elections<\/a> were held in 1999, though they were criticized by opposition parties and foreign observers as unfair and Rahmon was re-elected with 98% of the vote.\u00a0Elections in 2006<\/a>\u00a0were again won by Rahmon (with 79% of the vote) and he began his third term in office. Several opposition parties boycotted the 2006 election and the\u00a0Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe<\/a>\u00a0(OSCE) criticised it, although observers from the\u00a0Commonwealth of Independent States<\/a> claimed the elections were legal and transparent. Rahmon’s administration came under further criticism from the OSCE in October 2010 for its censorship and repression of the media. The OSCE claimed that the Tajik Government censored Tajik and foreign websites and instituted tax inspections on independent printing houses that led to the cessation of printing activities for a number of independent newspapers.<\/p>\n Russian<\/a>\u00a0border troops were stationed along the Tajik\u2013Afghan border until summer 2005. Since the\u00a0September 11, 2001 attacks<\/a>,\u00a0French<\/a>\u00a0troops have been stationed at the\u00a0Dushanbe Airport<\/a>\u00a0in support of air operations of\u00a0NATO<\/a>‘s\u00a0International Security Assistance Force<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Afghanistan<\/a>.\u00a0United States Army<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Marine Corps<\/a>\u00a0personnel periodically visit Tajikistan to conduct joint training missions of up to several weeks duration. The\u00a0Government of India<\/a>\u00a0rebuilt the\u00a0Ayni Air Base<\/a>, a military airport located 15\u00a0km southwest of Dushanbe, at a cost of $70 million, completing the repairs in September 2010.<\/sup>\u00a0It is now the main base of the Tajikistan air force. There have been talks with\u00a0Russia<\/a> concerning use of the Ayni facility, and Russia continues to maintain a large base on the outskirts of Dushanbe.<\/sup><\/p>\n In 2010, there were concerns among Tajik officials that Islamic militarism in the east of the country was on the rise following the escape of 25 militants from a Tajik prison in August, an ambush that killed 28 Tajik soldiers in the\u00a0Rasht Valley<\/a>\u00a0in September,<\/sup>\u00a0and another ambush in the valley in October that killed 30 soldiers,<\/sup>\u00a0followed by fighting outside\u00a0Gharm<\/a>\u00a0that left 3 militants dead. To date the country’s Interior Ministry asserts that the central government maintains full control over the country’s east, and the military operation in the Rasht Valley was concluded in November 2010.<\/sup>\u00a0However,\u00a0fighting erupted again<\/a>\u00a0in July 2012.<\/sup> In 2015, Russia sent more troops to Tajikistan.<\/p>\n In May 2015, Tajikistan’s national security suffered a serious setback when Colonel\u00a0Gulmurod Khalimov<\/a>, commander of the special-purpose police unit (OMON) of the Interior Ministry, defected to the\u00a0Islamic State<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n Tajikistan is\u00a0landlocked<\/a>, and is the smallest nation in Central Asia by area.<\/p>\n It is covered by mountains of the\u00a0Pamir<\/a>\u00a0range, and most of the country is over 3,000 metres (9,800\u00a0ft) above\u00a0sea level<\/a>. The only major areas of lower land are in the north (part of the\u00a0Fergana Valley<\/a>), and in the southern\u00a0Kofarnihon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Vakhsh<\/a>\u00a0river valleys, which form the Amu Darya.\u00a0Dushanbe<\/a>\u00a0is located on the southern slopes above the Kofarnihon valley.<\/p>\n In 2019, nearly 29% of Tajikistan’s GDP came from\u00a0immigrant<\/a>\u00a0remittances<\/a>\u00a0(mostly from Tajiks working in\u00a0Russia<\/a>), one of the highest rates in the world.\u00a0The current economic situation remains fragile, largely owing to\u00a0corruption<\/a>, uneven economic reforms, and economic mismanagement. With foreign revenue precariously dependent upon remittances from migrant workers overseas and exports of aluminum and cotton, the economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks. In FY 2000, international assistance remained an essential source of support for rehabilitation programs that reintegrated former civil war combatants into the civilian economy, which helped keep the peace. International assistance also was necessary to address the second year of severe drought<\/a>\u00a0that resulted in a continued shortfall of food production. On 21 August 2001, the\u00a0Red Cross<\/a>\u00a0announced that a\u00a0famine<\/a>\u00a0was striking Tajikistan, and called for international aid for Tajikistan and\u00a0Uzbekistan<\/a>;<\/sup>\u00a0however, access to food remains a problem today. In January 2012, 680,152 of the people living in Tajikistan were living with\u00a0food insecurity<\/a>. Out of those, 676,852 were at risk of Phase 3 (Acute Food and Livelihoods Crisis) food insecurity, and 3,300 were at risk of Phase 4 (Humanitarian Emergency). Those with the highest risk of food insecurity were living in the remote\u00a0Murghob District<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0GBAO<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2014 Tajikistan was the world’s most\u00a0remittance<\/a>-dependent economy with remittances accounting for 49% of GDP and expected to fall by 40% in 2015 due to the economic crisis in the Russian Federation.<\/sup>\u00a0Tajik migrant workers abroad, mainly in the Russian Federation, have become by far the main source of income for millions of Tajikistan’s people<\/sup>\u00a0and with the 2014\u20132015 downturn in the Russian economy the World Bank has predicted large numbers of young Tajik men will return home and face few economic prospects.<\/sup><\/p>\n According to some estimates about 20% of the population lives on less than US$1.25 per day.<\/sup> Migration from Tajikistan and the consequent remittances have been unprecedented in their magnitude and economic impact. In 2010, remittances from Tajik labour migrants totaled an estimated $2.1 billion US dollars, an increase from 2009. Tajikistan has achieved transition from a planned to a market economy without substantial and protracted recourse to aid (of which it by now receives only negligible amounts), and by purely market-based means, simply by exporting its main commodity of comparative advantage \u2014 cheap labor.<\/sup> The World Bank Tajikistan Policy Note 2006 concludes that remittances have played an important role as one of the drivers of Tajikistan’s economic growth during the past several years, have increased incomes, and as a result helped significantly reduce poverty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Drug trafficking is the major illegal source of income in Tajikistan<\/sup>\u00a0as it is an important transit country for Afghan\u00a0narcotics<\/a>\u00a0bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; some\u00a0opium poppy<\/a>\u00a0is also raised locally for the domestic market.<\/sup> However, with the increasing assistance from international organizations, such as UNODC, and co-operation with the US, Russian, EU and Afghan authorities a level of progress on the fight against illegal drug-trafficking is being achieved.<\/sup>\u00a0Tajikistan holds third place in the world for\u00a0heroin<\/a>\u00a0and raw\u00a0opium<\/a> confiscations (1216.3\u00a0kg of heroin and 267.8\u00a0kg of raw opium in the first half of 2006).\u00a0Drug money corrupts the country’s government; according to some experts the well-known personalities that fought on both sides of the\u00a0civil war<\/a>\u00a0and have held the positions in the government after the armistice was signed are now involved in the drug trade.<\/sup>\u00a0UNODC<\/a> is working with Tajikistan to strengthen border crossings, provide training, and set up joint interdiction teams. It also helped to establish Tajikistani Drug Control Agency. Tajikistan is also an active member of the\u00a0Economic Cooperation Organization<\/a>\u00a0(ECO).<\/p>\n Besides Russia, China is one of the major economic and trade partners of Dushanbe. Tajikistan belongs to the group of countries with a high debt trap risk associated with Chinese investment within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) meaning that excessive reliance on Chinese loans may weaken country’s ability to manage its external debt in a sustainable way.<\/p>\n In 2013 Tajikistan, like many of the other Central Asian countries, was experiencing major development in its transportation sector.<\/p>\n As a landlocked country, Tajikistan has no ports and the majority of transportation is via roads, air, and rail. In recent years Tajikistan has pursued agreements with\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pakistan<\/a>\u00a0to gain port access in those countries via\u00a0Afghanistan<\/a>. In 2009, an agreement was made between Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to improve and build a 1,300\u00a0km (810\u00a0mi) highway and rail system connecting the three countries to Pakistan’s ports. The proposed route would go through the\u00a0Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province<\/a>\u00a0in the eastern part of the country.<\/sup> And in 2012, the presidents of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Iran signed an agreement to construct roads and railways as well as oil, gas, and water pipelines to connect the three countries.<\/p>\n The\u00a0railroad<\/a>\u00a0system totals only 680 kilometres (420\u00a0mi) of track,<\/sup>\u00a0all of it\u00a01,520\u00a0mm<\/span>\u00a0(4\u00a0ft\u00a011+<\/span>27<\/span>\u204432<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in<\/span>)\u00a0broad gauge<\/a>. The principal segments are in the southern region and connect the capital with the industrial areas of the\u00a0Hisor<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Vakhsh<\/a>\u00a0valleys and with\u00a0Uzbekistan<\/a>,\u00a0Turkmenistan<\/a>,\u00a0Kazakhstan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Russia<\/a>.<\/sup> Most international freight traffic is carried by train. The recently constructed\u00a0Qurghonteppa<\/a>\u2013Kulob<\/a>\u00a0railway connected the\u00a0Kulob District<\/a> with the central area of the country.<\/p>\n In 2009 Tajikistan had 26 airports, 18 of which had paved runways, of which two had runways longer than 3,000 meters. The country’s main airport is\u00a0Dushanbe International Airport<\/a>, which as of April 2015 had regularly scheduled flights to major cities in Russia, Central Asia, as well as Delhi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Kabul, Tehran, and \u00dcr\u00fcmqi, amongst others. There are also international flights, mainly to Russia, from\u00a0Khujand Airport<\/a>\u00a0in the northern part of the country as well as limited international services from\u00a0Kulob Airport<\/a>, and\u00a0Qurghonteppa International Airport<\/a>.\u00a0Khorog Airport<\/a>\u00a0is a domestic airport and also the only airport in the sparsely populated eastern half of the country.<\/p>\n Tajikistan has one major airline (Somon Air<\/a>) and is also serviced by over a dozen foreign airlines.<\/p>\n The total length of roads in the country is 27,800 kilometres. Automobiles account for more than 90% of the total volume of passenger transportation and more than 80% of domestic freight transportation.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/National-Library-of-Tajikistan-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Early History:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/Female-statuette-an-example-of-a-Bactrian-princess-292x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Samanid Empire:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/74\/MansurISamanidPaintingHistoryofIran.jpg\/220px-MansurISamanidPaintingHistoryofIran.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Bukharan Rule:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/cc\/Thomas_Edward_Gordon_Lake_Victoria%2C_Great_Pamir%2C_May_2nd%2C_1874.png\/220px-Thomas_Edward_Gordon_Lake_Victoria%2C_Great_Pamir%2C_May_2nd%2C_1874.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Tajikistan under the Imperial Russia:<\/span><\/h3>\n
Tajikistan under the Soviet Union:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/33\/Negotiations_with_basmachs_Fergana%2C_1921.jpg\/220px-Negotiations_with_basmachs_Fergana%2C_1921.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/c6\/Hammond_Slides_Central_Asia_Unlabeled_15.jpg\/220px-Hammond_Slides_Central_Asia_Unlabeled_15.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Gaining independence:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/5\/51\/RIAN_archive_466493_Rally_on_Ozodi_square.jpg\/220px-RIAN_archive_466493_Rally_on_Ozodi_square.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/cd\/RIAN_archive_699865_Dushanbe_riots%2C_February_1990.jpg\/260px-RIAN_archive_699865_Dushanbe_riots%2C_February_1990.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Independence:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/a0\/Spetsnaz_troopers_during_the_1992_Tajik_war.jpg\/220px-Spetsnaz_troopers_during_the_1992_Tajik_war.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d4\/%D0%9E%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%B6%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%93%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0.JPG\/220px-%D0%9E%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%B6%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%93%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0.JPG\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/Tajikistan-Topography-300x218.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/27\/Young_Tajikistani_dry_fruit_seller.jpg\/220px-Young_Tajikistani_dry_fruit_seller.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1d\/Talco.jpg\/220px-Talco.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/98\/Tajikistan_Export_Treemap.png\/220px-Tajikistan_Export_Treemap.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/Rail-Map-of-Tajikistan-300x212.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/34\/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D1%8D%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82_%D0%94%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B1%D0%B5.jpg\/220px-%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D1%8D%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82_%D0%94%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B1%D0%B5.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>