(2002 est. pop. 581,000). Formerly named Stalinabad (1929–1961), Dushanbe is the administrative, industrial, and cultural center of Tajikistan, a small republic adjacent to Afghanistan, China, and other Soviet Central Asian successor states. The site appears to be level, but it is actually a series of gently sloping and rocky alluvial fans at the base of the Pamir and Hissar mountains in Southwest Tajikistan. The Varzob and Kofanihon Rivers flow through the city. Rough roads connect it to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (314 kilometers to the north), and the Afghanistan frontier post of Termez (230 kilometers to the south). The city's 690-meter elevation and interior Central Asian location produce a long, hot summer lasting from May until September, where many days exceed 38° C. Mountain breezes ameliorate the intense July and August heat. The cold winter (0° C January mean) lasts from November through February. An average 85 millimeter (3.3 inches) of precipitation arrives during heavy spring rains or sporadic winter snowfall.
Dushanbe began as three small settlements of modest single-story rock and mud structures that served as the eastern administrative center of the Bukhara khanate until 1920 when Soviet troops toppled the emir. The heavy fighting destroyed many buildings. In 1924 the Soviets designated Dushanbe the capital of the new Tajik Autonomous S.S.R. They combined the three settlements and initiated rapid development and population growth that lasted until Tajik independence in 1991. The Transcaspian railroad linked Dushanbe with Turkmenistan in 1929, transforming the Monday bazaar into a daily event that remains its commercial and social heart. The city center offers broad tree-lined streets bounded by multistory Soviet-era government buildings. The many fountains, shaded plazas, and chaikhanas (teahouses) invite much bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Elsewhere, high-rise concrete apartment blocks alternate with pre-Soviet mud and brick structures designed to mitigate the severe earthquake hazard.
Dushanbe is also the financial and commercial center of Tajikistan. Aluminum and cement factories, large textile combines, and manufacturing plants for looms, electric cable, and appliances are nearby. It was the primary staging and supply center for the 1979–1989 Soviet-Afghan war. It remains an important military crossroads. Since independence, Dushanbe has been the center of a prolonged civil war between competing ethnoreligious and political factions. The violence severely damaged the infrastructure and discouraged most foreign investment. The manufacturing sector is facing an uncertain future.
There are many fine parks; a zoo; two live theaters and an opera house; hospitals; medical, teachereducation, agricultural, and polytechnic institutes; the Tajik Academy of Sciences (1951); and the Tajik State University (1948). The Firdowsi Library houses an impressive collection of medieval Islamic manuscripts. The abrupt termination of Soviet support is jeopardizing these institutions. The predominantly Tajik and Russian population includes Kirghiz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar, and Ukrainian minorities. Since 1991 ostravechnio (outmigration of Russians) and persistent refugee movements inside and outside of Dushanbe have altered the demographic profile.
Further Reading
Allworth, Edward. (1994) Central Asia: 130 Years of RussianDominance, A Historical Overview. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
