Dushanbe

Capital of Tajikistan, situated in the Gissar Valley 160 km/100 mi north of the Afghan frontier; population (1999 est) 582,400. Dushanbe is a road, rail, and air centre. Long-established industries include cotton and silk mills, tanneries, meat-packing factories, and printing works, while factories producing refrigerators, electric cables and automatic looms have been established relatively recently. It is the seat of Tajik State university (1948) and the Takik Academy of Sciences (1951), and has medical, agricultural and teacher-training colleges.

In 1990-91 antigovernment rioting in Dushanbe led to a curfew and a state of emergency being imposed; further antigovernment protests followed in early 1992 in which 100 people died. In August 1992 protesters stormed the presidential palace, forcing President Nabiyev's resignation.