Russia–Tajikistan relations are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. Both countries were members of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

from the 1920s to 1991, as well as the preceding

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Both countries are close allies and members of the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian politics, political, economy, economic, international security and Defence (military), defence organization of ten member states. It was established in 2001 by the China, People's Republic ...

, the military alliance formed by the

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...

, and the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

. Tajikistan hosts Russian military units and infrastructure in Central Asia. Tajikistan and Russia also work closely together in issues concerning Afghanistan and are partners in anti-terrorism, anti-narcotics, and intelligence operations.

Country comparison

History

Relations between Russia and what is now Tajikistan began with the

Russian conquest of Central Asia In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia embarked on a campaign to Territorial evolution of Russia, expand the Russian frontier to the east. This effort continued until the 19th century under the Russian Empire, when the Imperial Russian Army ...

during the 1800s. Tajikistan was ruled by the

Emirate of Bukhara The Emirate of Bukhara (, ) was a Muslims, Muslim-Uzbeks, Uzbek polity in Central Asia that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rive ...

, which was

conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...

and made a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

by the

in 1873. During this period, Russia imported large amounts of cotton from Tajikistan. Russian troops were involved in putting down several rebellions, including many

Jadidist The Jadid movement or Jadidism was an Turco-Islamic modernist political, religious, and cultural movement in the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century. They normally referred to themselves by the Tatar terms ''Taraqqiparvarlar ...

revolts. In 1916, there were many clashes in Bukhara over civilians being drafted into the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

to serve in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, as well as unfair taxation. During the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Basmachi revolutionaries in

Kokand Kokand ( ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand was ap ...

rebelled from Russian rule, forming the

Turkestan Autonomy The Turkestan Autonomy or Kokand Autonomy was a short-lived state in Central Asia that existed at the beginning of the Russian Civil War. It was formed on 27 November 1917 and existed until 22 February 1918. It was a secular republic, headed by ...

. The

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

launched several offensives against this new state throughout the late 1910s and early 1920s, eventually annexing it into the Soviet Union. A new republic was created for Tajiks, known as the

Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Rep ...

. Soviet rule was highly centralised around Moscow and the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, and dissent against the USSR authorities led to the

1990 Dushanbe riots 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 exacerbat ...

. After the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, Tajikistan declared independence from Moscow in September 1991. Since 1992, Russia has allowed Tajik nationals

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

of Russia and Tajikistan. On May 25, 1993, a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance was signed between the two countries. Tajikistan is highly dependent on the remittances coming from Russia. In 2012, it received US$3.595 billion in migrant remittances, equalling some 48% of its GDP. Some 1.5 million Tajiks work abroad, mostly in Russia. After the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

issued an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

for Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

during the

Russia's invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

in March 2023, Putin will be subject to arrest by the Tajik authorities if he ever visits the country. Tajikistan is a signatory of the ICC

Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...

while Russia does not after it withdrew in 2016 after its annexation of Crimea in 2014. The current Ambassador of Russia to Tajikistan is

Semyon Grigoryev Semyon Vyacheslavovich Grigoriyev () (born 1960 in Moscow), at WebCite is a Russian diplomat and was the first Russian ambassador to Abkhazia, serving between 2008 and 2018. He has served as List of ambassadors of Russia to Tajikistan, ambassador ...

. The current Ambassador of Tajikistan to Russia is Davlatshoh Gulmakhmadzoda. The suspects in the

Crocus City Hall attack On 22 March 2024, a coordinated terrorist attack against civilians occurred at the Crocus City Hall music venue in Crocus City, Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. The attack began at around 20:00 Moscow Time, MSK (UTC+3), shortly before the R ...

were officially identified as citizens of Tajikistan. On 25 March 2024, Tajik authorities arrested nine people from Vahdat District on suspicion of involvement with the attackers. Russia has a large number of Central Asian migrant workers, including those from Tajikistan. The precarious position of Tajik migrants increased after the Crocus City Hall attack.

External links

*
Documents on the Russia–Tajikistan relationship at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* * * * *
Russian Center of Science and Culture in Dushanbe

Diplomatic missions

*
Embassy of Russia in Dushanbe
*
Embassy of Tajikistan in Moscow
*
Consulate-General of Russia in Khuzhand
*
Consulate-General of Tajikistan in Ekaterinburg

Notes

References

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