Dushanbe

Dushanbe
View across the city

Seal
Dushanbe is located in Tajikistan
Dushanbe
Location of Dushanbe in Tajikistan
Coordinates:
Country  Tajikistan
Government
 - Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaydulloyev
Area
 - Total 124.6 km2 (48.1 sq mi)
Elevation 706 m (2,316 ft)
Population (2008)[1]
 - Total 679,400
Time zone GMT (UTC+5)
 - Summer (DST) GMT (UTC+5)
Website www.dushanbe.tj

Dushanbe (Tajik: Душанбе, Dushanbe; Dyushambe until 1929, Stalinabad until 1961), population 679,400 people (2008 est.), is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. Dushanbe means "Monday" in Tajik,[2] and the name reflects the fact that the city grew on the site of a village that originally was a popular Monday marketplace.

Contents

History

Situated on the confluence of two rivers, Varzob and Kofarnihon, Dushanbe(دوشنبه) is the capital of Tajikistan. Although archaeological remnants dating to the 5th century BC have been discovered in the area, there is little to suggest that Dushanbe was more than a small village until around 80 years ago. In 1920, the last Emir of Bukhara briefly took refuge in Dushanbe (then called Dyushambe) after being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolution. He fled to Afghanistan after the Red Army conquered the area the next year.

Monument of Amir Ismail Samani in Dushanbe

Dushanbe, which means "Monday" in Persian,فارسی, developed on the site of a Monday marketplace village, Dyushambe-Bozor,[3] and its former name Dyushambe was a Russified version of the word meaning "Monday" in Persian[4] (du-shanbe from du two + shanbe Saturday, lit. "second day after Saturday"). Following the Red Army victory in Central Asia the village was upgraded to town in 1925 and made the capital of the newly created Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik ASSR). After the transformation of Tajik ASSR to Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR) in 1929, Dyushambe was renamed Stalinabad, after Joseph Stalin. As part of Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization initiative, the city was renamed Dushanbe in 1961.

The Soviets transformed the area into a centre for cotton and silk production, and relocated tens of thousands of people to the city from around the Soviet Union. The population also increased with thousands of ethnic Tajiks migrating to Tajikistan following the transfer of Bukhara and Samarkand to the Uzbek SSR. A peaceful and relatively prosperous city under Soviet rule, Dushanbe was home to a university and the Tajik Academy of Sciences. Severe rioting occurred in February 1990, after it was rumored that Moscow planned to relocate tens of thousands of Armenian refugees to Tajikistan. Dushanbe riots were primarily fueled by concerns about housing shortages for the Tajik population, but they coincided with a wave of nationalist unrest that swept Transcaucasia and other Central Asian states during the twilight of Gorbachev's era.[5] The city was badly damaged as a result of the Civil War in Tajikistan (1992–1997) that sprang up in the nation shortly after its independence. However resurgences in the Tajik economy have transformed Dushanbe into a rapidly growing commercial, cultural and industrial center. Many multi-story apartment and office buildings were constructed and the city was beautified during this period. Monuments and statues commemorating the city's Persian and Iranian past were erected.

Demographics

Dusanbe is currently made up of: 83.4% Tajiks, 9.1% Uzbeks, 5.1% Russians, 2.4% other.

Population of Dushanbe
Year Population
1926 6,000
1936 83,000
1956 227,000
1971 388,000
1991 582,000
2002 579,000
2006 661,000

Mosque in Dushanbe

Orthodox church in Dushanbe

Districts

Districts of Dushanbe

Dushanbe is divided into the following districts:

  1. Abu Ali Ibn Sina
  2. Firdawsi
  3. Ismail Somoni
  4. Shokhmansur

Climate

Dushanbe
Climate chart ()
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
72
 
8
−2
 
 
85
 
9
−1
 
 
138
 
15
4
 
 
115
 
22
10
 
 
79
 
27
13
 
 
11
 
33
17
 
 
2.4
 
36
18
 
 
1.3
 
34
16
 
 
2.7
 
30
11
 
 
30
 
23
7
 
 
48
 
17
3
 
 
69
 
11
0
average max. and min. temperatures in °C
precipitation totals in mm
source: WMO [6]

Dushanbe features a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa). The summers are hot and dry and the winters are chilly, but not cold. The climate is damper than other Central Asian capitals, with an average annual rainfall over well over 500 millimetres (20 in) but is still highly continental and has the hot, dry summers typical of the region. Winters are not as cold as further north owing to the shielding of the city by mountain from extremely cold air from Siberia.

Economy

Theatre

Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River. A leading cotton textile center, Dushanbe also produces silk, machinery, electrical appliances, clothing, leather goods, tractor parts, and foodstuffs. The city of Dushanbe is now home to a number of modern telecommunications, aeronautic and other business corporations adding vitality to its economy. Tourism and ecotourism to the Dushanbe region is a component of the city's service industry, which includes shopping centers, cafes, restaurants, and hotels. Museums and theatres add a cultural element to the economy.

Buildings and attractions

The former Dushanbe Synagogue
Dushanbe government building

Education

Tajik State National University

Many of the most important universities and institutes are based in Dushanbe:

Transport

The city is served by Dushanbe Airport.

Sister cities

The Palace of Unity (Vahdat Palace)

Currently, Dushanbe has 14 sister cities.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Population of the Republic of Tajikistan as of 1 January 2008, State Statistical Committee, Dushanbe, 2008 (Russian)
  2. ↑ D. Saimaddinov, S. D. Kholmatova, and S. Karimov, Tajik-Russian Dictionary, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, Rudaki Institute of Language and Literature, Scientific Center for Persian-Tajik Culture, Dushanbe, 2006.
  3. ↑ Dushanbe in Dictionary of Geographic Names (Russian)
  4. ↑ Francis Joseph Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, on-line edition
  5. ↑ Ethnic rioting in Dushanbe, New York Times, 13 February 1990. Retrieved 18 October 2008
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "World Weather Information Service - Dushanbe". World Meteorological Organisation (United Nations). http://worldweather.wmo.int/110/c00211.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-10. 
  7. ↑ "Climatological Normals of Dushanbe". Hong Kong Observatory. http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/asia/westasia/dushanbe_e.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-10. 
This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.

External links

Flag of Tajikistan Districts of Republican Subordination
Capital: Dushanbe
Districts
Faizobod District · Hisor District · Jirgatol District · Nurobod District · Rasht District · Roghun District · Rudaki District · Shahrinaw District  · Tavildara District · Tojikobod District · Tursunzoda District · Vahdat District · Varzob District
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