Bokhtar ( tg, Бохтар), previously known as Qurghonteppa or Kurganteppa, is a city in southwestern Tajikistan, which serves as the capital of the Khatlon region. Bokhtar is the largest city of southern Tajikistan, and is located south of Dushanbe and north of Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Population

It is estimated that the population of the city is close to 110,800 (est. 2019) people, making it the third-largest city in the country. The population fluctuates depending on season (due to

Tajik Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Tajikistan * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik (surname) * Tajik cu ...

emigrant workers in Russia). Along with the capital Dushanbe, Bokhtar is demographically much more diverse than other major Tajik cities such as Khujand, Kulob or

Istaravshan Istaravshan ( tg, Истаравшан; fa, استروشن; russian: Истаравшан) is a city in Sughd Province in Tajikistan. In 2000, the Tajik government changed the name of the city from earlier Uroteppa ( tg, Ӯротеппа; ''Ura- ...

. Ethnicities include Tajiks, Uzbeks, Russians,

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

, Tatars, Ukrainians,

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts o ...

, Greeks and many more. The city had a large number of ethnic Russians who were actively employed by the industrial and agricultural complexes in and around the city. The political opposition in Tajikistan primarily comes from Bokhtar.Ethnic groups at risk: The status of Tajiks
Heritage Society

Overview

Bokhtar, then Qurghonteppa, became the epicenter of conflict by the summer of 1992 and was seriously damaged during the civil war. Many of the local Kulobi and Uzbeks were forced to flee in 1992 following advances and attacks from the pro-opposition Gharmi forces. 12 km east of the Tube, there stands a hill called Ajina tepe with a 12-metre-length image of

Buddha in Nirvana Buddha in Nirvana or "Sleeping Buddha" is a statue which was found in 1959 in the south of Tajikistan by the archaeologist Boris Litvinskiy, during the excavation of the Buddhist temple on the Ajina tepe, in the valley of the Vakhsh River, near th ...

, including remnants of a Buddhist Monastery from the 7th - 8th cent.

Bokhtar International Airport Bokhtar International Airport ( tg, Фурудгоҳи байналмилалии «Бохтар», translit=Furudgohi Baynalmilalii Bohtar, russian: Международный аэропорт «Бохтар»; ) is an international airport fiv ...

serves a handful of cities in Tajikistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. The city is considered to be the heart of cotton ("white gold") cultivation in Tajikistan. Bokhtar and Kulob are the main cities of south Tajikistan. Bokhtar is a regional hub (one of the top four), especially for banking and telecommunications industries. The city was officially renamed on January 22, 2018 to "Bokhtar". Tajik emigrant workers (mostly employed in Russia) have significantly contributed to the local economy since early 2000s. File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of Tajikistan, Mr. Emomali Rahmon in a group photo with the personnel of the India-Tajik Friendship Hospital, in Quarghan Teppa, Dushanbe, Tajikistan on July 13, 2015.jpg, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon with personnel of the India-Tajik Friendship Hospital in Bokhtar, 13 July 2015. File:Qurghonteppa,bazar1.jpg, Bokhtar Bazaar File:Qurghonteppa 2010 01.jpg, Taxi station in Bokhtar

Climate

Bokhtar has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification ''BSk''), with cool winters and very hot summers. Precipitation is quite low, and peaks in spring, while summers are very dry.

Notable people

Sergei Mandreko Sergei Vladimirovich Mandreko (russian: Серге́й Владимирович Мандреко; 1 August 1971 – 8 March 2022) was a Russian-Tajik football coach and player who played as a midfielder. Club career Mandreko was born in Kurgan- ...

(1971-2022) - football coach * Nurudin N. Mukhitdinov (1959-) - politician

Trivia

Finnish electronic duo Pan Sonic have a track entitled "Radio Qurghonteppa" on their 2010 farewell album Gravitoni.

References

External links

Kurgan Tepe
in ''Encyclopaedia Iranica Online'' {{Authority control Populated places in Khatlon Region