Tajikistan

Tajikistan, a landlocked country in Central Asia, is bordered by Uzbekistan to the west and north, Kyrgyzstan to the north, China to the east, and Afghanistan to the south. With an area of 143,100 square kilometers (55,235 square miles), it is slightly smaller than Wisconsin. Its climate features cold winters and hot summers and varies dramatically with elevation.

As of 2003 Tajikistan's population was estimated at 6.25 million. The prominent ethnicities are Tajik (67%) and Uzbek (23%). The prominent religions are Sunni Muslim (80%) followed by Shia Muslim (5%).

Tajikistan was annexed by Russia in the late nineteenth century. It did achieve independence for a short time beginning in 1920 but quickly was brought under control by the Bolshevik authorities, becoming the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1936 Tajikistan was formally integrated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as a union republic. Tajikistan declared full independence in September 1991.

In the years after independence Tajikistan experienced a five-year civil war as a result of tribal clashes that lasted from 1992 to 1997. In the aftermath of the breakdown of authority of the Soviet empire, chaos ensued. At the beginning of the civil war, the first president, Rakhmon Nabiyev (1930–1993), was forced out of office and was replaced by Emomali Rahmonov (b. 1952), a leading Communist Party member. Rahmonov remained as acting head of state until 1994, when he won the presidential election. Election fraud was alleged, and other candidates either boycotted or were prevented from participating.

Formally, Tajikistan is a constitutional republic with a strong executive branch. The president is head of state and Supreme Assembly chairperson and has broad authority in appointing and dismissing officials. Originally the president was directly elected for a single seven-year term, but in June 2003 a constitutional referendum allowed Rahmonov to serve two additional seven-year terms.

The legislative branch is bicameral parliament consisting of the upper house, the Majlisi Oli (National Assembly), and the lower house, the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Assembly of Representatives). The Majlisi Oli's thirty-three members are either appointed by the president or elected by regional assemblies; the Majlisi Namoyandagon's sixty-three members are directly elected. All legislators serve five-year terms.

The judiciary is influenced by the executive branch and has no authority to review legislative acts. The president appoints the justices for five-year terms.

During the civil war in Tajikistan the Supreme Court banned several political parties that were in opposition to the government. In August 1999 that ban was lifted, and the opposition parties again were allowed to register and function in Tajikistan.

Even with the right to freedom of the press, journalists often are harassed and intimidated; this influences what is reported concerning political issues and other sensitive topics. Public media sources are mostly state-run because obtaining a broadcast license is cumbersome and expensive. Freedom of religion generally is allowed, but religious groups are required to register with the government to be legally recognized. In 2005 Tajikistan remained authoritarian and nondemocratic.

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Freedom House. "Tajikistan." Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2004/countryratings/taj ikistan.htm>.

"Tajikistan." CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2004. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/ti.html>.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. "Tajikistan." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2005. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2004/41712.htm>.

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