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1990 Dushanbe riots

Violent unrest in the Tajik SSR of the Soviet Union

Field	Value
title	1990 Dushanbe riots
partof	the dissolution of the Soviet Union
image	RIAN archive 699865 Dushanbe riots, February 1990.jpg
image_size	350px
caption	BMPs blocking off protesters in the city's main thoroughfare following the imposition of martial law, 14 February 1990
date	12–14 February 1990 ()
place	Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union
coordinates
causes	Local anti-Armenian sentiment and Tajik anti-communist nationalism
result	Outbreak of the Tajikistani Civil War in 1992
side1	Flag of Tajikistan without a crown and stars.svg Tajik nationalists{{bulletedlist
side2	{{Collapsible list
title	Soviet Union
leadfigures1	{{unbulletedlist
leadfigures2	{{unbulletedlist
fatalities	26
injuries	565
map_type	Tajikistan#Soviet Union
map_size	250px
map_label	Dushanbe
map_caption	Location within Tajikistan##Location within the Soviet Union

| Rastokhez}}Flag of Jihad.svg Tajik Islamists | Communist Party of the Soviet Union{{bulletedlist | KGB | MVD | Internal Troops | OMON}}Communist Party of Tajikistan{{bulletedlist | SCNS}}}} | Tohir Abdujabbor}} | Izatullo Khayoyev | Qahhor Mahkamov | Yaqub Salimov}}

The 1990 Dushanbe riots marked a period of heightened civil disobedience and inter-ethnic violence in Dushanbe, the capital city of the Tajik SSR of the Soviet Union. Existing tensions over lacking economic and political reforms were exacerbated by the arrival of Armenian refugees from the Azerbaijan SSR due to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The mass movement of Tajik nationalists (e.g., the Rastokhez), anti-communists, and Islamists targeted ethnic minorities, such as Armenians, Russians, Jews, as well as unaffiliated Tajiks—namely women who did not conform to Islamic clothing standards. By late 1991, the dissolution of the Soviet Union gave way to the Republic of Tajikistan declaring independence, though this was followed by the Tajikistani Civil War less than a year later.

Causes

Armenian refugees

In 1988, in the aftermath of the Sumgait pogrom and anti-Armenian riots in Azerbaijan, 39 Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan were temporarily resettled in Dushanbe. In 1990, the Armenian influx became a subject of the rumour that triggered riots in Dushanbe. The rumour inflated the number of refugees to 2,500–5,000. According to rumour Armenians allegedly were being resettled in new housing in Dushanbe, which was experiencing an acute housing shortage at that time. Despite the fact that Armenian refugees resettled not in public housing but with their relatives, and by 1990 had already left Tajikistan for Armenia, official denouncement of the rumours was not able to stop the protests. Assurances by First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan Qahhor Mahkamov that no resettlement of Armenians were taking place were rejected by the demonstrators.

Economy, politics, and Islam

Soon, demonstrations sponsored by the nationalist Rastokhez movement turned violent. Radical economical and political reforms were demanded by the protesters. Government buildings, shops and other businesses were attacked and looted. Armenians, Russians, and other ethnic minorities were targeted. Abuse of Tajik women wearing European clothes in public also took place. The riots were put down by Soviet troops called into Dushanbe by Mahkamov. However Mahkamov's over-reliance on military force was criticized by Buri Karimov, a deputy chair of Council of Ministers, who called for the resignation of the leadership of the Tajik Communist Party. On February 14, 1990 Mahkamov and Prime Minister of Tajikistan Izatullo Khayoyev submitted their resignations, but they were not accepted by the Central Committee of the Tajik Communist Party.

Riots and other Central Asian SSRs

During the Dushanbe riots, a period lasting a couple of days, 26 people were killed and 565 were injured. Among the Tajik youth activists convicted for participation in the riots was a future minister of the interior of Tajikistan Yaqub Salimov. Smaller scale anti-Armenian incidents were also recorded in neighboring Turkmenistan.

Aftermath

Main article: Tajikistani Civil War

Tajikistan would declare independence on 9 December 1991, from the collapsing Soviet Union. In 1992, a civil war would begin in the newly independent nation.

References

Horowitz, Donald L.. (2002). "The Deadly Ethnic Riot". University of California Press.
(1998). "Conflicting Loyalties and the State in Post-Soviet Russia and Eurasia". Routledge.
Payin, Emil. "Settlement of ethnic conflicts in post-Soviet society". United Nations University Press.
Takeyh, Ray. (2004). "The Receding Shadow of the Prophet". Greenwood Publishing Group.
Kolstø, Pål. (1995). "Russians in the Former Soviet Republics". Indiana University Press.
Collins, Kathleen. (2006). "Clan politics and regime transition in Central Asia". [[Cambridge University Press]].
link. ГАФАРЛЫ. МЕХМАН. (2004-02-25). Novye Izvestiya
Allworth, Edward. (1994). "Central Asia, 130 Years of Russian Dominance". Duke University Press.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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