The 1990 Dushanbe riots were an anti-government unrest in

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...

, the capital of

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

, from February 12–14, 1990.

History

In 1988, in the aftermath of the Sumgait pogrom and

anti-Armenian Anti-Armenian sentiment, also known as anti-Armenianism and Armenophobia, is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against towards Armenians, Armenia, and Armenian culture. Historically, anti-Armenianism has manifested in several wa ...

riots in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, 39

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

refugees from Azerbaijan were temporarily resettled in

. 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

for

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, official denouncement of the rumours was not able to stop the protests. Assurances by

First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan was the head of the Communist Party of Tajikistan and the highest Executive power in the republic of Tajikistan from 1924 until November 1990. History Shortly after the Soviet Union was f ...

Qahhor Mahkamov Qahhor Mahkamov (russian: Кахар Махкамов, tg, Қаҳҳор Маҳкамов; alternative spelling Kahar Mahkamov; 16 April 1932 – 8 June 2016) was a Tajik politician who served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikist ...

that no resettlement of Armenians was taking place were rejected by the demonstrators. 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 The Communist Party of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҳизби Коммунистии Тоҷикистон, ''Hizbi Kommunistiyi Tojikiston''; russian: Коммунистическая партия Таджикистана) is a communist party in Tajikistan ...

. On February 14, 1990 Mahkamov and Prime Minister of Tajikistan

Izatullo Khayoyev Izatullo Khayoyevich Khayoyev ( tg, Иззатулло Ҳаёев, ''Izzatullo Hayoyev''; russian: Изатулло Хаёевич Хаёев, 22 June 1936 – 25 April 2015) was the first Vice President of Tajikistan from December 1990 to 25 Jun ...

submitted their resignations, but they were not accepted by the Central Committee of the Tajik Communist Party. 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

Yaqub Salimov Yaqub Salimov ( tg, Яъқуб Салимов/ fa, یعقوب سلیموف, russian: Якуб Салимов) served as Minister of the Interior of Tajikistan from December 1993 to 1995 Career Salimov, described as a 'mafia' figure by Olivier R ...

. Smaller scale anti-Armenian incidents were also recorded in neighboring

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dushanbe riots 1990 riots Mass murder in 1990 1990 in Tajikistan Ethnic riots Anti-Armenian pogroms Riots and civil disorder in the Soviet Union Protests in the Soviet Union 20th century in Dushanbe February 1990 events in Asia 1990 protests

History

See also

References