The land that comprises Tajikistan became a part of the emirate of Bukhara.
Southern Tajikistan has a distinctive form of folk music called falak, which is played at celebrations for weddings, circumcisions and other occasions.
In 1992 the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan established a Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Tajikistan consists of four administrative divisions: two provinces (Sughd and Khatlon), one autonomous province (Gorno-Badakhshan), and the Region of Republican Subordination (formerly known as Karotagin Province).
Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, widespread unemployment, and the external debt burden.
Violence against women is frequent, and Tajikistan is a source and transit point for trafficking in women.
Tajikistan is officially a republic, and holds elections for the president and parliament.
Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics.
The current situation of Tajikistan requires that active measures be taken to overcome political corruption as well as revive the economic system.
At Tajikistan's lower elevations, the average temperature range is 73°F to 86°F (23°C to 30°C) in July and 30°F to 37°F ( -1° to 3°C) in January.
Russian troops were stationed in southern Tajikistan, in order to guard the border with Afghanistan, until summer 2005.
The most important form of Sufism, described as Islamic mysticism, in Tajikistan is the Naqshbandiyya, a Sufi order with followers as far away as India and Malaysia.
The growth of mass political involvement among Central Asian Muslims prompted the communist old guard invoked fears that fundamentalist Muslims would destabilize the Tajikistani government.
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia.
To distinguish between the nationality and the ethnicity, some sources use the adjective Tajikistani for the citizens of Tajikistan.
Moscow did little to develop Tajikistan, and it lagged behind other Soviet republics in living conditions, education and industry.
After independence from the USSR, Tajikistan suffered from a devastating civil war which lasted from 1992 to 1999.
Tajikistan cities Panjakent and Istarawshan were founded in that period.
To help increase north-south trade, the United States is constructing a $36-million bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
The modern state of Tajikistan considers that the Tajik name and identity, although in existence for thousands of years in this area, began its formation during the Samanid period.
Meanwhile, conflict increased between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, which fears Islamic radicalism.
Tajikistan frequently appeared as Tadjikistan or Tadzhikistan in English, though when pronounced in English many Tajiks say "Tojikiston."
Tajikistan has environmental problems resulting from the agricultural policies under Soviet rule.
Tajiks in Tajikistan describe all of the major literary works written in Persian until the twentieth century as Tajik, regardless of the ethnicity and native region of the author.
Bactria was located in northern Afghanistan between the Hindu Kush mountain range and the Amu Darya river, and some areas of south Tajikistan.
In 2006, Tajikistan was the recipient of substantial infrastructure development credits from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to improve its roads and electricity transmission network.
The land that is now Tajikistan has been inhabited continuously since 4000 B.C.E.
A marriage sanctified by a religious ceremony is important in Tajikistan.
The Amu Darya and Panj rivers mark the border with Afghanistan, and Tajikistan's mountains are the major source of water for the Aral Sea.
Tajikistan's climate is continental, subtropical, and semiarid, with some desert areas.
A debt restructuring agreement was reached with Russia in December 2002, including a $250-million write-off of Tajikistan's $300-million debt to Russia.
Tajikistan's armed forces consist of the army, air force, air defense forces, presidential national guard, and security forces (internal and border troops), as well as Russian forces, principally the 201st Motor Rifle Division.
Most of Tajikistan's lakes are of glacial origin and are located in the Pamir region.
Tajikistan to this date is one of the few countries in Central Asia to have included an active opposition in its government.
Abu'l-Qasem Lahuti (1887-1957) was an Iranian poet who emigrated to the Soviet Union for political reasons and eventually settled in Tajikistan.
Another poet, Mirzo Tursunzoda (1911-1977), collected Tajik oral literature, wrote poetry of his own about social change in Tajikistan, and turned out various works on popular political themes of the moment.