On the eve of the collapse of the USSR (and 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 path of 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. In approximately the same scenario, the civil war in Tajikistan developed.
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. And therefore, the intensity of passions here was such that it led to a civil war.
Background
However, one should not assume that it began “suddenly and suddenly,” since each phenomenon has its own sources. They were in this case.
Demographic successes, including. What was Tajikistan like in the 1990s? The civil war began precisely in the region of the former Union, where until its last days there was a rapid and constant population growth. In order to somehow use the huge labor reserves, people were transferred to different parts of the republic. But such methods failed to solve the problem to the end. Perestroika began, the industrial boom stopped, and so did the subsidy for resettlement programs. Hidden unemployment reached 25%.
Problems with neighbors
At the same time, the Taliban regime was established in Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan began to roughly 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 did not, and the newly formed Russian Federation could no longer fulfill the duties of arbiter in this region. The tension gradually increased, its logical result was the civil war in Tajikistan.
Start of conflict
In general, the beginning of the conflict was actively promoted by those processes that were taking place on the territory of Afghanistan at that time. Between Pashtun, Tajik and Uzbek groups, an armed struggle for power in the region unfolded. It is expected that the Pashtuns in the person of the Taliban were obviously stronger than their disconnected and constantly quarreling opponents. Of course, Tajiks and Uzbeks hastened to cling to each other. In particular, it was Uzbekistan that actively supported its proteges in the Tajik territory. Thus, the Uzbeks can be considered "full" participants in the civil confrontation. This needs to be described in more detail.
Thus, the official armed forces of Uzbekistan, along with the semi-gang formations of the Hissar Uzbeks, actively intervened in hostilities even in 1997, when the conflict had already begun to finally fade. Before the UN, Uzbeks actively justified themselves by allegedly helping to prevent 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 piece of the pie fatter, hoping to increase their influence in the region. So, in Dushanbe (1992) almost simultaneously opened their embassies Iran and the United States. Naturally, they played on different sides, supporting various opposition forces operating on the territory of Tajikistan. The passive position of Russia, which it occupied from a lack of forces in this region, played into the hands of everyone, especially Saudi Arabia. Arab sheikhs could not help but notice how convenient Tajikistan is as a bridgehead, ideally suited for operations in Afghanistan.
Civil war
Against the background of all this, the appetites of criminal structures were constantly growing, which by that time had played an important role in the administrative apparatus of Tajikistan. Everything worsened after 1989, when a massive amnesty was held. 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 arose. The authorities wanted everything, but it was semi-criminal structures that were optimal for its achievement.
The clashes began in 1989. Some experts believe that the war broke out after anti-communist rallies in Dushanbe. Allegedly, the Soviet government lost face after this. Such views are naive, since already at the end of the 70s the authority of Moscow in these parts was recognized exclusively formally. Nagorno-Karabakh showed the Kremlin's complete inability to act adequately in the event of a threat, so the radical forces at that time simply stepped out of the shadows.
Elections
On November 24, 1991, the first presidential election was held, in which Nabiev won. In general, it was not difficult to do this, since he had no rivals in these "elections". Naturally, after this began mass fermentation, the newly-made president distributed weapons to the Kulyab clans, on whose representatives he relied.
Some exalted authors claim that this was a catastrophic mistake of the democratic society of the young Republic. So here. At that time, so many unaccounted weapons and militants from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan concentrated on the territory of Tajikistan that the onset of the clash was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, the civil war in Tajikistan was predetermined initially.
Armed action
At the beginning of May 1992, the radicals opposed the idea of creating a “National Guard” from Kulob, and immediately went on the offensive. The main communication centers and hospitals were seized, hostages were actively taken, the first blood was shed. Parliament under such pressure quickly provided warring clans with 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, plotted against each other and entered into an open confrontation. Of course, this could not continue for a long time, the civil war in Tajikistan began. In short, its origins should be sought in the reluctance to negotiate with opponents.
The coalition nevertheless had some kind of internal unity, aimed at the physical destruction of all potential opponents. The fighting was carried out with extreme animal brutality. Neither prisoners nor witnesses were left. In early autumn 1992, Nabiyev himself was taken hostage and forced to sign a renunciation. The opposition took power. On this, the brief history of the civil war in Tajikistan could end, as the new elite offered quite sound ideas and did not want 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 enter the battle if the Hissars won decisive victories. However, the Uzbeks did not hesitate to massively use their troops in the territory of a neighboring country, without asking for UN permission. Thanks to such "prefabricated hodgepodge" of punishers, the civil war in Tajikistan (1992-1997) lasted so long.
The destruction of civilians
At the end of 1992, the Hissars and Kulobites captured Dushanbe. Opposition troops began to retreat into the mountains, followed by thousands of refugees. Some of them first went to Apmir, and from there people moved to Afghanistan. The bulk of the people fleeing the war went towards Garm. Unfortunately, punitive units moved there too. When they reached unarmed people, a terrible massacre erupted. Hundreds and thousands of corpses were simply thrown into the Surkhab River. There were so many bodies that the locals did not even come to 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’s not too correct to call this conflict “civilian”, since up to 60% of the troops of the warring parties, not to mention gangs, came from other regions of the former USSR, including Georgia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. So the duration of the hostilities is understandable: for someone outside the country, long and constant armed resistance was extremely beneficial.
In general, the uprising of the opposition did not end there. How long did the civil war in Tajikistan last? 1992-1997, as the official point of view says. But this is far from the case, for the last skirmishes date back to the early 2000s. According to unofficial data, the situation in this Central Asian country to this day is very far from ideal. This is especially true now, when Afghanistan has generally turned into a territory flooded with Wahhabis.
Consequences of war
It is no accident 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 verify this from their own experience.
The events of those years were characterized by enormous casualties among citizens, as well as colossal economic damage: during the hostilities almost the entire industrial infrastructure of the former USSR was destroyed, barely managed to defend the unique hydroelectric power station, which currently provides up to 1/3 of the total budget of Tajikistan. According to official figures, at least 100 thousand people died, the same number went missing. Typically, among the latter - at least 70% of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, who before the collapse of the Union also lived in the Republic of Tajikistan (1992). The civil war only intensified and accelerated the manifestations of xenophobia.
Refugee problem
The exact number of refugees is still not known. Most likely, there were more than a million of them, which the official Tajik authorities are talking about. Incidentally, the refugee problem is still one of the most acute topics that the country's government is trying to avoid in every way when communicating with its colleagues from Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran and even Afghanistan. In our country, it is assumed that at least four million people left the country.
In the first wave, scientists, doctors, writers fled . Thus, Tajikistan (1992-1997) lost not only industrial facilities, but also its intellectual core. Until now, the country is experiencing an acute shortage of many qualified specialists. In particular, for this reason, the development of numerous mineral deposits that are available on the territory of the country has not yet been started.
In 1997, President Rakhmonov issued a decree on the organization of an international fund called “Reconciliation,” which theoretically helped refugees return to Tajikistan. The 1992 civil war cost the country too much, and therefore no one pays any attention to past differences.
Instead of a conclusion
But mainly low-skilled workers and former militants of the warring parties took advantage of this proposal. Literate specialists are not going to return to the country, since they have long been assimilated abroad, and their children no longer know the language or customs of their former homeland. In addition, the almost completely destroyed industry of Tajikistan contributes to an ever-growing number of migrant workers. There is nowhere to work in the country itself, and therefore they are going abroad: in Russia alone, according to 2013 data, at least a million Tajiks are constantly working.
And this is only officially passing through the FMS. According to unofficial data, their number in the territory of our country can reach 2-3.5 million. So the war in Tajikistan once again confirms the thesis that civil strife is the worst thing that can happen in the country. Nobody benefits from them (except external enemies).