Tajikistan

Tajikistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union on September 9, 1991. Although a nationalist movement inspired the Tajik declaration for sovereignty, national solidarity disintegrated in the months after the country achieved its independence and became consumed by civil war.

While Tajikistan is a relatively homogenous nation composed primarily of Tajiks and Uzbeks, geographic and political divides ultimately precipitated the conflict. In May 1992, after several months...