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 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 ...

from 1985 to 1991 and was the first

President of Tajikistan The president of Tajikistan is the head of state and de facto head of government of the Republic of Tajikistan. The president heads the executive branch of the country's federal government and is the supreme commander in chief of the Armed Fo ...

from November 1990 until his fall in the August 1991 coup.

Early life and career

Mahkamov was born into a working-class family in the northern city of

Khujand Khujand ( tg, Хуҷанд, Khujand; Uzbek: Хўжанд, romanized: Хo'jand; fa, خجند‌, Khojand), sometimes spelled Khodjent and known as Leninabad (russian: Ленинабад, Leninabad; tg, Ленинобод, Leninobod; fa, لنی ...

on 16 April 1932. He graduated from

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 (ru ...

Industrial Technicom in 1949 and from the Leningrad Mining Institute in 1952 with a degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. He worked as a professor, head engineer, and director of a mine in Isfara. In 1957 he became a member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspape ...

and quickly worked his way into the high ranks of the

Communist Party of Tajikistan The Communist Party of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҳизби Коммунистии Тоҷикистон, ''Hizbi Kommunistiyi Tojikiston''; russian: Коммунистическая партия Таджикистана) is a communist party in Tajikistan ...

, becoming head of the prestigious Committee of the Representatives of the Workers of Leninabad. In 1963 Mahkamov was appointed to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan and from 1963 until 1982 he was Head of the Central Planning and the Vice-Director of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Tajikistan, one of the most powerful positions in the republic.

Leader of Tajikistan

In 1985,

Rahmon Nabiyev Rahmon Nabiyevich Nabiyev, also spelled Rakhmon Nabiev ( tg, Раҳмон Набиев; russian: Рахмон Набиевич Набиев), (5 October 1930 – 11 April 1993) was a Tajik politician who served as the First Secretary of the Comm ...

was ousted in a corruption scandal as

and Mahkamov was chosen to succeed him. Mahkamov's tenure was one of the most turbulent in the republic's history. His accession to power coincided with that of

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

and the advent of

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

and

Glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...

. During Mahkamov's reign in power Tajikistan saw a surge in nationalism, which culminated in the passage of the 1989 ‘’Language Law’’ that designated Tajik the state language of the republic. This law elicited a great deal of fear among the population and an exodus of the non-

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

n population began, especially amongst ethnic

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

.John Payne, "Tadzhiks" chapter in ''The Nationalities Question in the Soviet Union''. London:

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

. 1990. The greatest threat to Mahkamov's power came during the February 1990 Dushanbe riots that rocked the capital. Tajik youths clashed with non-Tajiks and battles were fought in the streets of

between rioters and police and soldiers, resulting in dozens of deaths. Mahkamov oversaw a crackdown on Islamic fundamentalists and a lengthy

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

was put in place. He served as

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Constitution of the Soviet Union recognised the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the earlier Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Congress of Soviets as the highest organs of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic ...

(

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

) from 12 April to 30 November 1990. As part of the political reforms that Gorbachev was instituting the

Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan The Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR ( tg, Совети Олии РСС Тоҷикистон, Soveti Olii RSS Tojikiston; russian: Верховный Совет Таджикской ССР) was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution) of ...

appointed Mahkamov the first

on 30 November 1990. Mahkamov's fall from power came in August 1991 when he supported the failed

August Coup August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named '' Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

by hardliners in Moscow. Protestors took to the streets and demanded Mahkamov's ouster from power and on August 31, 1991 he resigned his positions as President and First Secretary. Mahkamov then retired from politics and sat on the sidelines during the ensuing political instability and

Civil War in Tajikistan The Tajikistani Civil War ( tg, Ҷанги шаҳрвандии Тоҷикистон, translit=Jangi shahrvandiyi Tojikiston / Çangi shahrvandiji Toçikiston; russian: Гражданская война в Таджикистане), also known ...

. In 2000 Mahkamov was appointed a member of the

National Assembly of Tajikistan The National Assembly ( tg, Маҷлиси миллии, ''Majlisi milli''; russian: Национальный совет Высшего собрания) is the upper chamber of Tajikistan's bicameral parliament. It has 33 members : 25 elected for ...

by the order of the President

Emomali Rahmonov Emomali Rahmon (; born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmonov, tg, Эмомалӣ Шарӣпович Раҳмонов, script=Latn, italic=no, Emomalī Sharīpovich Rahmonov; ; born 5 October 1952) has been the 3rd President of Tajikistan since 16 Novem ...

. He died on 8 June 2016 at the age of 84, after suffering a long illness.

References

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahkamov, Qahhor 1931 births 2016 deaths 20th-century engineers Heads of government of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic Tenth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Heads of state of Tajikistan Members of the National Assembly of Tajikistan People from Khujand Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Presidents of Tajikistan Prime Ministers of Tajikistan Saint Petersburg Mining University alumni Soviet engineers Tajikistani engineers First Secretaries of the Communist Party of Tajikistan