On the eve of the collapse of the USSR (and back in the early 80s), the situation on the outskirts of the state was such that Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Tajikistan and many other Central Asian republics no longer recognized Moscow and were, in fact, on the way separatism. After the collapse of the Union, a terrible massacre followed: first, our compatriots fell under the distribution, and only then the local authorities began to eliminate all possible competitors. Approximately the same scenario developed the civil war in Tajikistan.
It should be noted that Tajikistan, like Kazakhstan, was one of the few Central Asian republics that really did not want the collapse of the USSR. That is why the intensity of passions here was such that it led to a civil war.
Background
One should not, however, assume that it began“suddenly and suddenly”, since every phenomenon has its own origins. They were in this case as well.
Demographic success - including. What was Tajikistan like in the 1990s? The civil war began precisely in that region of the former Soviet Union, where, until its last days, there was a rapid and constant increase in population. In order to somehow use the huge labor reserves, people were transferred to different parts of the republic. But these methods did not completely solve the problem. Perestroika began, the industrial boom ended, and subsidies for resettlement programs also stopped. Hidden unemployment reached 25%.
Problems with neighbors
At the same time, the Taliban regime was established in Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan began to grossly interfere in the affairs of the former fraternal republic. At the same time, the interests of the United States and Iran clashed on the territory of Tajikistan. Finally, the USSR was gone, and the newly formed Russian Federation could no longer act as an arbiter in this region. The tension gradually increased, its logical outcome was the civil war in Tajikistan.
Start of conflict
In general, the beginning of the conflict was actively promoted by the processes that were taking place on the territory of Afghanistan at that time. Between the Pashtun, Tajik and Uzbek groups, an armed struggle for power in this region unfolded. It is quite expected that the Pashtuns represented by the Taliban turned out to be obviously stronger than their disunited and constantly quarreling opponents. Of course, Tajiks and Uzbekshurried to join each other. In particular, it was Uzbekistan that actively supported its proteges on the territory of the Tajiks. Thus, the Uzbeks can be considered "full" participants in the civil confrontation. This needs more details.
Thus, the official Armed Forces of Uzbekistan, along with the semi-gangster formations of Hissar Uzbeks, actively intervened in hostilities even in 1997, when the conflict had already begun to fade completely. Before the UN, the Uzbeks actively justified themselves by claiming that they allegedly contribute to preventing the spread of radical Islam.
Third Party Actions
Of course, against the backdrop of all this disgrace, all parties did not stop trying to grab a fatter piece of the pie, hoping to increase their influence in the region. So, in Dushanbe (1992), Iran and the USA opened their embassies almost simultaneously. Naturally, they played on different sides, supporting various opposition forces operating on the territory of Tajikistan. The passive position of Russia, which she took from the lack of forces in this region, played into the hands of everyone, especially Saudi Arabia. Arab sheikhs could not fail to notice how convenient Tajikistan is as a springboard, ideally suited for operations in Afghanistan.
The beginning of the civil war
Against the background of all this, the appetites of criminal structures, which by that time played an important role in the administrative apparatus of Tajikistan, were constantly growing. Things got worse after 1989, whencarried out a mass amnesty. Many former prisoners, spurred on by money from third parties, were ready to fight against anyone and anything. It was in this "soup" that the civil war in Tajikistan was born. The authorities wanted everything, but semi-criminal structures were optimally suited to achieve it.
Clashes started back in 1989. Some experts believe that the war broke out after anti-communist rallies in Dushanbe. Allegedly, the Soviet government after that lost face. Such views are naive, since already at the end of the 70s, Moscow's power in these parts was recognized only formally. Nagorno-Karabakh showed the complete inability of the Kremlin to adequately act in case of a threat, so the radical forces at that time simply came out of the shadows.
Elections
On November 24, 1991, the first presidential elections were held, in which Nabiyev won. In general, it was not difficult to do this, since he had no rivals in these “elections”. Naturally, after this, mass unrest began, the newly-made president distributed weapons to the Kulyab clans, on whose representatives he relied.
Some ex alted authors argue that this was a catastrophic mistake of the democratic society of the young Republic. So. At that time, so many unaccounted weapons and militants from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan were concentrated on the territory of Tajikistan that the start of a clash was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, the civil war in Tajikistan was predetermined from the beginning.
Armed actions
In early May 1992, the radicals opposed the idea of creating a "National Guard" from the Kulyab people, immediately going on the offensive. The main communication centers, hospitals were captured, hostages were actively taken, the first blood was shed. Parliament, under such pressure, quickly gave the warring clans some of the key posts. Thus, the spring events of 1992 ended with the formation of a kind of "coalition" government.
Its representatives practically did not do anything useful for the newly-made country, but they were actively at enmity, intrigues each other and entered into open confrontation. Of course, this could not continue for a long time, a civil war began in Tajikistan. In short, its origins should be sought in the unwillingness to negotiate with opponents.
The coalition still had some kind of internal unity aimed at the physical destruction of all potential opponents. The fighting was carried out with extreme, bestial cruelty. No prisoners or witnesses were left behind. In the early autumn of 1992, Nabiev himself was taken hostage and forced to sign a renunciation. The opposition took power. This is where the brief history of the civil war in Tajikistan could have ended, since the new leadership offered quite sensible ideas and was not eager to drown the country in blood… But this was not destined to come true.
Entry into the war of third forces
First, the Hissar Uzbeks joined the forces of the radicals. Secondly, the government of Uzbekistan openly stated that the country's armed forces would also join the battle if the Hissars wonconvincing victories. However, the Uzbeks did not hesitate to massively use their troops on the territory of a neighboring country, without asking for permission from the UN. It was thanks to such “hodgepodges” of punishers that the civil war in Tajikistan lasted so long (1992-1997).
Destruction of civilians
At the end of 1992, the Hissars and Kulyabs captured Dushanbe. The opposition troops began to retreat into the mountains, followed by many thousands of refugees. Some of them went first to Apmir, and from there people moved to Afghanistan. The main masses of people who fled from the war went towards Garm. Unfortunately, the punitive detachments also moved there. When they reached the unarmed people, a terrible massacre broke out. Hundreds and thousands of corpses were simply thrown into the Surkhab River. There were so many bodies that the locals did not even approach the river for almost two decades.
Since then, the war has continued, flaring up, then fading again, for more than five years. In general, it is not very correct to call this conflict “civilian”, since up to 60% of the troops of the warring parties, not to mention gangs, were from other regions of the former USSR, including Georgia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. So the duration of the hostilities is understandable: someone outside the country was extremely profitable for a long and constant armed resistance.
In general, the opposition uprising did not end there. How long did the civil war in Tajikistan last? 1992-1997, according to the official point of view. But this is far fromso, because the latest skirmishes date back to the early 2000s. According to unofficial data, the situation in this Central Asian country is far from ideal to this day. This is especially true now, when Afghanistan has become a territory inundated with Wackhabis.
Consequences of the war
It is no coincidence that they say that the greatest disaster for the country is not an enemy invasion, not a natural disaster, but a civil war. In Tajikistan (1992-1997), the population was able to see this from their own experience.
The events of those years were characterized by huge casu alties among citizens, as well as colossal economic damage: during the hostilities, almost the entire industrial infrastructure of the former Soviet republic was destroyed, they barely managed to defend the unique hydroelectric power station, which today gives up to 1/ 3 of the entire budget of Tajikistan. Only according to official data, at least 100 thousand people died, the same number went missing. Tellingly, among the latter there are at least 70% of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, who also lived on the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan before the collapse of the Union (1992). The civil war only intensified and accelerated the manifestations of xenophobia.
Refugee issue
The exact number of refugees is still not known. Most likely, there were much more than a million, which the official Tajik authorities are talking about. By the way, it is the problem of refugees that is still one of the most acute topics that the government of the countrytries in every possible way to avoid when communicating with his colleagues from Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran and even Afghanistan. In our country, it is assumed that at least four million people left the country.
Scientists, doctors, writers ran in the first wave. Thus, Tajikistan (1992-1997) lost not only industrial facilities, but also its intellectual core. Until now, there is an acute shortage of many qualified specialists in the country. In particular, it is precisely for this reason that the development of numerous mineral deposits that are available on the territory of the country has not yet begun.
President Rakhmonov in 1997 issued a decree on the organization of the interethnic fund "Reconciliation", which theoretically helped refugees return to Tajikistan. The civil war of 1992 cost the country too much, and therefore no one pays attention to past disagreements.
Instead of a conclusion
But mostly low-skilled workers and former militants of the warring parties took advantage of this offer. Competent specialists are no longer going to return to the country, since they have long been assimilated abroad, and their children no longer know either the language or the customs of their former homeland. In addition, the almost completely destroyed industry of Tajikistan contributes to the ever-growing number of guest workers. There is nowhere to work in the country itself, and therefore they go abroad: in Russia alone, according to 2013 data, at least a million Tajiks are constantly working.
Andthese are only those who officially passed through the FMS. According to unofficial data, their number in our country can reach 2-3.5 million. So the war in Tajikistan once again confirms the thesis that civil confrontations are the worst thing that can happen in the country. No one benefits from them (except for external enemies).
