Dushanbe

Dushanbe is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. As of February 2023, the city had a population of 1,228,400 people, most of whom are Tajik. The city is located in the Hisar Valley, surrounded by mountains, and sits at an elevation between 750 and 930 meters above sea level. Dushanbe is divided into four districts: Ismail Samani, Avicenna, Ferdowsi, and Shah Mansur.

In ancient times, the area where Dushanbe now stands was settled by many different groups and empires, including the Mousterian tool-users, various neolithic cultures, the Achaemenid Empire, Greco-Bactria, the Kushan Empire, and the Hephthalites. During the Middle Ages, small settlements grew near the modern city. By the 17th to early 20th century, Dushanbe became a market village controlled by nearby rulers before the Russian Empire took over. In 1924, Dushanbe became the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which led to rapid growth. After the Tajik Civil War, Dushanbe became the capital of an independent Tajikistan and continued to develop into a modern city.

Today, Dushanbe is an important center for education, healthcare, and economy in Tajikistan. The largest university, Tajik National University, is funded by the government. The city is served by Dushanbe International Airport and has a trolleybus system that started in 1955. Much of the city's electricity comes from the Nurek Dam. Dushanbe plays a big role in the country's economy, with industries, finance, shopping, and tourism all helping the city grow. Popular places to visit include Victory Park, Rudaki Park, the Tajikistan National Museum, the Dushanbe Flagpole, and the Tajikistan National Museum of Antiquities.

Etymology

Dushanbe was where a big market took place every Monday. In Tajiki Persian, "Dushanbe" means "the second day" after Saturday. In late 1929, the city was renamed Stalinabad, but the name was changed back to Dushanbe in late 1961.

History

See also: Timeline of Dushanbe history

Ancient times

In the Stone Age, people who made stone tools lived in the Hisar Valley near today’s Dushanbe. The Hisar culture, along with the Bishkent culture and Vakhsh culture, lived in the valley during the second millennium BC. They mostly raised cattle, farmed, and wove cloth.

Near Dushanbe International Airport, scientists found graves from the Bronze Age dating back to between the end of the second and the beginning of the first millennium BC. Dishes and ceramics from the Achaemenid period were found 6 kilometres east of Dushanbe in Qiblai. Researchers also discovered remnants of a small citadel from the fifth century BC and special copper tools from the second century BC.

The Seleucids took control of the area in 312 BC. A small settlement from the Greco-Bactrian period, about 40 hectares big, dates to the end of the third century BC. The oldest coins found in the city show Eucratides (who ruled from 171–145 BC) and Dionysus. There was also a Kushan city on the left side of the Varzob river from the 2nd century BC to the 3rd century AD. The Sasanian Empire took over Sogdiana in the fifth century.

Ruins of a Buddhist monastery from the Hephthalite period, dating to the late fifth to sixth century, can still be seen at Ajina Tepe in the Vakhsh valley near Dushanbe. During this time, trade grew in the area.

Market town

Dushanbe was first recorded in history in 1676, in a letter from the Balkh khan Subhonquli Bahodur to Fyodor III, the Tsar of Russia. The town was called “Kasabai Dushanbe,” meaning “town of Dushanbe” in Persian. The name Dushanbe means “Monday” because the village had a large bazaar that opened on Mondays. Dushanbe’s position between important trade routes helped it grow as a market town. By 1826, it was called Dushanbe Qurghan, meaning “fortress.”

In 1920, the last leader of Bukhara fled to Dushanbe after being overthrown. In 1924, Dushanbe became the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Capital of the Tajik SSR

In 1929, the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was created, and Dushanbe became its capital. It was renamed Stalinabad after Joseph Stalin but returned to its original name, Dushanbe, in 1961.

During World War 2, many people from places far away came to Dushanbe, and the city’s industries grew to support them.

Capital of Tajikistan

Dushanbe became the capital of an independent Tajikistan on 9 September 1991. The city has grown steadily since then. In 2000, Dushanbe got its first internet access. In 2004, it was named a city of peace by UNESCO.

Geography

Dushanbe is located where two rivers meet, the Varzob and the Kofarnihon. The city sits between 750 and 930 metres above sea level. Mountains surround the city on three sides, creating a valley where most buildings are found.

The city has a climate with hot summers and cool winters, receiving more rain than other capitals in Central Asia. Snow falls about 25 days each year, though rain is more common in winter. The surrounding mountains protect the city from strong winds.

Before becoming a city, Dushanbe had little natural vegetation, but today it has many trees, shrubs, and green spaces. The city is home to various animals, including foxes, hedgehogs, birds, reptiles, and fish in its rivers and lakes.

Demographics

Dushanbe's population changed a lot over time. It grew quickly after the 1920s, then dropped during the 1990s because of war and unrest, and started growing again after that. In the middle of the last century, many people from Russia and Eastern Europe lived there, but after the war, most of them left, and now most people are Tajik.

People in Dushanbe mainly speak Tajik and Russian, and many also speak Uzbek.

Religion

Islam came to Dushanbe a long time ago, in the eighth century, and most people there follow Sunni Islam today. There is a small group of Catholics, with about 120 people meeting at St Joseph Church. There are also about 350 Jews in Tajikistan, and they had a synagogue that was replaced after being destroyed in 2006.

In 2009, Dushanbe was chosen to be the 2010 capital of Islamic culture. Work began on a big new mosque in 2011, which will be the largest in Central Asia when it is finished.

The Russian Orthodox Church also has a place of worship in the city at St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Education

Before the Soviet Union came to power, education in Dushanbe was mostly limited to religious schools called madrasas. These schools taught subjects like the Quran, Persian, Arabic, geography, geometry, algebra, and other sciences.

After the Soviet Union took control, they closed the madrasas and introduced a new education system. This system aimed to teach everyone to read and write, and it included girls in schools. Many new schools and universities were created, such as a pedagogical institute in 1931, a medical university in 1939, and several others over the years. Even though World War Two slowed things down, more schools opened after the war.

Today, Dushanbe is home to many universities and schools. About 60% of all university students in Tajikistan study in Dushanbe, where there are 23 universities, 13 colleges, and 140 schools. The city also has many preschools and international schools, showing how important education is to the area.

Transportation

Air transport

The first flight to Dushanbe happened in 1924, and more flights started in 1927. The city now has an international airport with flights to many places around the world. Airlines like Tajik Air and Somon Air have offices at the airport.

Road system

The first road in the country was built a long time ago and later improved. Buses started in 1930, and taxis began in 1937. Cars are the most common way to travel in Dushanbe. There are important roads going through mountains to other cities and countries. Many new roads and tunnels are being built to make travel easier.

Rail transport

See also: Rail transport in Tajikistan

The first train line to Dushanbe opened in 1929. Today, trains connect Dushanbe to many parts of the country and nearby nations. New train lines are being built to improve connections.

Trolleybus system

Main article: Trolleybuses in Dushanbe

Trolleybuses started in Dushanbe in 1955. After some difficult times, new trolleybuses were added in the 2000s. Today, there are 7 trolleybus routes serving millions of people each year.

Metro system

The construction of an above-ground metro system is due to begin in 2025. The first aerial metro line is expected to be completed in 2040 and connect the Southern Gate and Gulliston (circus area).

Infrastructure

Architecture

Before the Soviet invasion, Dushanbe had narrow streets with simple buildings made from mud bricks. None of these old buildings are still standing today. In the 1920s, the city began to grow and change after the Soviet invasion. In the 1930s, new buildings made from concrete appeared, and architects started using modern designs. One important architect, Peter Vaulin, helped plan the city and introduced new building ideas.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the city center moved to Red Square and Frunze Park. During this time, many new buildings and services were added. In the 1940s, buildings started to include more decorations and followed a style called neoclassical. By the 1950s, the city began using simpler, modern designs instead.

The first tall building in Dushanbe, the Hotel Dushanbe, was built in 1964. In the 1970s, more tall buildings were constructed, even though experts warned it might be dangerous during earthquakes. In later years, new buildings focused on being creative and saving resources. Today, the city has many modern skyscrapers and new important buildings, but some older historical buildings were torn down to make space.

Electricity

Water and sanitation

Tajikistan gets a lot of rain and has many rivers and lakes. Dushanbe’s water system was mostly built during the Soviet time in the 1930s and hasn’t changed much since then, even as the city grew. Most of the city’s water comes from nearby rivers like the Varzob and Kofarnihon. However, as of 2018, about 40% of people in Dushanbe didn’t have proper sewage systems to keep water clean.

Parks

As of 2020, Dushanbe has 15 parks. One well-known park is Rudaki Park, which was created in the 1930s and has a statue of Lenin. It was renovated in 2007. Another park is Victory Park, made in 1975 to honor those who fought in World War II. The Botanical Garden, founded in 1933, still has many trees planted back then and added folk architecture displays in 2007.

Cemeteries

Healthcare

In 1925, Dushanbe’s first city hospital and ambulance system were created. More medical facilities opened in the following years. By World War II and through the Tajik Civil War, the healthcare system grew with new hospitals and clinics.

Today, Dushanbe has many medical facilities. As of spring 2010, there were 62 medical institutions in the city, including hospitals, clinics, and centers for health and safety. By 2019, the number of hospitals had grown to 43. People in Dushanbe get care through local clinics and hospitals, with specialized hospitals and centers available for different health needs.

Economy

Dushanbe is an important center for money and trade in Tajikistan. In 2018, the city's money-making activities were worth about $1.5 billion. The city has many banks and does a lot of trade with countries like Turkey, Iran, and Russia.

The city has many factories that make things like clothes, food, and electrical goods. These factories help provide jobs for many people. Dushanbe is also a place where people can visit, with many hotels and festivals that attract tourists. However, it is not as popular a tourist spot as some other places because it was founded more recently. The city has interesting museums, such as the Tajikistan National Museum and the Gurminj Museum of Musical Instruments.

Culture

Culture in Dushanbe began during the time of Bukharan rule and grew under the Soviet Union, which created many of the city's first cultural places. After Tajikistan became independent, the city's culture moved in a more national direction.

Performing arts

In the 1800s, shashmaqam was the most popular kind of music in Tajikistan. Even though Soviet leaders did not like it, it has become more popular today.

During the Soviet time, music grew in Dushanbe. Songs about big changes and new ideas were shared and turned into Tajik songs. The Tajik Philharmonic Society started in 1938 and is now named after Akasharif Juraev. A composer named Sergei Artemevich Balasanyan came to Dushanbe from 1936 to 1943 to get ready for a big music event in Moscow. He helped start the Tajik Composer's Union and led the opera house. Many Russian and Ukrainian music pieces came to Dushanbe during World War 2.

The Tajik Opera and Ballet Theater, named after Sadriddin Ayni, was founded in 1936 and was the first opera house in Dushanbe. The first opera ever in Tajikistan was called The Vose Uprising and told about a group of people standing up for their rights in Bukhara in the late 1800s. One well-known singer from the opera was Hanifa Mavlianova.

Another musician, Aleksandr Lensky, came to Dushanbe in 1937 from Moldova. He helped start the Lahuti Theatre, led the Tajik Philharmonic, and was the first leader of the Tajik Union of Composers. He also wrote the first Tajik opera and many orchestra pieces. Another orchestra in Dushanbe is the Opera Orchestra. The State Symphony Orchestra of Tajikistan started in 2016, and its first show was on September 9, 2016. The Tajik Opera and Ballet Theater is still working today and has received a special award called the Order of Lenin. The opera house has performed many kinds of shows over the years.

The Tajik Opera and Ballet Theater also had the first ballet in Dushanbe in 1941, called Two Roses. The ballet group grew over time with help from dancers who studied at the Leningrad Choreographic School, like Malika Sabirova. The theater was fixed up in 2009 and is still working today.

Drama began in the city in the 1920s. The first theater, Lahouti, was built in 1929. In the 1930s, plays often talked about big changes and equality. In 1935, the Tajik Musical Theater, now called the Ayni theater, was built. A comedy group started in 1944, and after the war, young artists helped create the Tajik State Youth Theater.

Tajik classics were turned into plays, following national traditions. During World War 2, plays were about the war and history. In the 1970s and 1980s, plays from other places like Oedipus Rex were performed in Dushanbe. After independence, plays often talked about the civil war. Today, theaters in Dushanbe include the Tajik Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, the State Russian Drama Theater, the youth theater, the State Experimental Theater, and the republican puppet theater.

The Mayakovsky Theatre was Tajikistan's oldest theater and the last Russian-language theater group; it was torn down in 2016.

Literature

The first printing press in Tajikistan was made in August 1924, and a publishing house called Donish was started in 1944. In 1925, 4 books were printed, and this number grew to 13 in 1926. In 1930, Sadriddin Ayni wrote the first Tajik novel, Dokhunda. Publishing houses started in 1934, and another one was created by the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, which helped increase the number of books in the city. The Maorif Publishing House was created in 1975. By 2004, there were 30 publishing companies in the city.

Dushanbe became the center of Tajik literature in the 1920s with writers like Sadriddin Ayni, Abolqasem Lahouti, and Payrav Sulaymoni. New Soviet literature talked about big changes and fairness, and Tajik writers also shared their own stories. Books for children and translations from other languages also started at this time. In the 1930s, young Russian writers influenced the city's literature, talking about how Dushanbe was growing quickly.

During World War 2, books and poems often talked about love for the country and short stories became popular. Messages from soldiers and funny poems were liked. Russian books also became well-known because many people and factories moved east during the war. After the war, books and poems by writers like Mirzo Tursunzoda became more popular. Critics also began studying writers more closely.

From the 1950s, books began to use history as inspiration. In the 1960s, science fiction started with writers like Mirsaid Mirshakar. In the 1970s and 1980s, books talked more about problems, which happened just before the Soviet Union ended. Poems often had thoughts about community and deep feelings. After independence, new topics like religion appeared in books, along with stories about the civil war and a more worldwide view of the city.

Visual arts

Sculpture began in Dushanbe in the 1920s and during the Soviet time, it mixed modern and old styles. Modern sculptures often show historical people like Firdavsi, Shah Anushirvan, or Ismail Samani, to celebrate Tajik history and identity by looking back to old times.

• Statues in Dushanbe

Statue of [Rudaki](/wiki/Rudaki)

• .jpg)

  Statue of Omar Khayyam

Statue of [Lenin](/wiki/Lenin)

Statue of [Avicenna](/wiki/Avicenna)

Painting in Dushanbe started when Russian painters moved there in the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1950s, Tajik artists began painting. In the 1960s, a serious style grew, and in the 1970s and 1980s, paintings focused on Tajik history and identity. In the late 1980s, paintings began to show more feelings and personal stories. During the civil war, some paintings showed conflict.

Film

See also: Cinema of Tajikistan

Cinema in Dushanbe began in the 1930s when the Soviet government created film studios and cinemas, although the first cinema opened in 1927 where people watched a movie called Nibelung. Komil Yarmatov was the first well-known Tajik film director. Documentaries were also popular, and the first full-length movie appeared in 1938. During World War 2, making movies stopped because there were not enough supplies. After the war, more movies were made, with many trying to show what the city was like. In the 1980s, new filmmakers brought in new ideas, and some movies began to show the real history of the Soviet time. During the civil war, the main film company had to close, but independent filmmakers recorded the difficult times.

Sports

Gymnastics, horse sports, and running were done in 1923 at the Dushanbe sports club, and tennis started in 1929. The All-Tajik Spartakiad was first held in 1934, and in 1939, Dynamo Dushanbe reached the quarterfinals of the Cup of the USSR. In 1950, the country's soccer team won first place in the Central Asian Games.

In 2003, Dushanbe hosted the Central Asian Games. The most popular sports in Dushanbe are sambo, wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo, artistic gymnastics, weightlifting, archery, shooting, boxing, football, basketball, diving, tennis, chess, Buzkashi, and checkers. Four soccer teams from the Tajikistan Higher League play in Dushanbe: CSKA Pamir, Dushanbe-83, Istiklol, and Lokomotiv-Pamir. The Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe was built in 1939, where CSKA Pamir Dushanbe plays. Dushanbe Stadium is currently being built and will seat 30,000 people when it is finished.

Media

Newspapers and magazines

The first newspaper in Tajik, called Bukhara Sharif, started in Kagan on 11 March 1912. It was made by leaders of the Jadid movement. But it was closed in 1913. Later, magazines like Oina and Mullo Nasreddin appeared. In the 1920s, Zvezda Vostok supported important changes in the country. The first Soviet newspaper in Tajikistan, Shulai Inkilob, began in 1919.

In 1923, Po basmachi talked about the Red Army. Voice of the East started in 1924. In 1925, Bedorii tochik became the main newspaper. During World War 2, making newspapers was hard because materials were scarce. After the war, many old newspapers returned. In the 1960s and 1970s, Communist of Tajikistan became well known.

During a time of big changes, newspapers shared new ideas. Sukhan talked about freedom and new ways of thinking. Today, Charogi Ruz is known for its strong opinions about the government. In 1999, there were 199 newspapers, but only 17 published often. Now, there are 37 regular newspapers and 37 magazines in Dushanbe.

Radio

In 1924, a radio station was built in Dushanbe for military use. The first civilian broadcast came from Moscow on 10 April 1930. The first local radio station in Dushanbe began in 1977 after the Radio House was built. Today, Sadoi Dushanbe is one of the main radio programs.

Television

The first television center in Tajikistan was created on 7 November 1959. In 1967, programs from Moscow and Tashkent were shown. Color television started on 15 November 1975. By 1999, 12 to 15 stations were broadcasting regularly. Today, there are more private television stations, with 15 in the whole country, along with 7 government channels.

Notable people

Dushanbe is home to many talented people. Zebo Aminzoda, born in 1948, is a famous Tajikistani ballet dancer and choreographer. Farruh Negmat-Zadeh, born in 1959, is a well-known Tajikistani artist. Zoya Tajikova, born in 1935, is a respected Tajik musicologist.

Manizha, born in 1991, represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Vazgen Manasyan (1958–2024) was a Tajikistani professional football coach and player of Armenian descent.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Tajikistan

Dushanbe has friendly connections with many cities around the world. Some of these cities are:

• Ankara, Turkey
• Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
• Astana, Kazakhstan
• Baku, Azerbaijan
• Boulder, United States
• Doha, Qatar
• Hainan, China
• Islamabad, Pakistan
• Klagenfurt, Austria
• Lahore, Pakistan
• Lusaka, Zambia
• Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan
• Minsk, Belarus
• Monastir, Tunisia
• Qingdao, China
• Reutlingen, Germany
• Saint Petersburg, Russia
• Sanaa, Yemen
• Shiraz, Iran
• Tehran, Iran
• Ürümqi, China
• Xiamen, China

In 1982, two women named Mary Hey and Sophia Stoller began working to connect Dushanbe with Boulder, even though their countries were not friendly at the time. In 1987, the leaders of Dushanbe made Boulder an official sister city. Since then, the two cities have shared students, tourists, and art. During a difficult time in Dushanbe’s history, Boulder sent help to support the people there.

International conferences

Dushanbe has hosted many important meetings where leaders from different countries come together to discuss important issues. For example, it has held meetings about health, water, and security. In 2019, Dushanbe held a meeting about stopping terrorism and the illegal trade of drugs. Leaders talked about how countries can work together to keep people safe and support development around the world.