Chronology
1917-26 | 1927-40 | 1941-79 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 |1996 | 1997-2000
The colonial period
In 1866-67, the Kokand Khanate (including Khujand and other parts of today's northern Tajikistan) are seized and incorporated into the Turkestan Gubernatorial of the Russian Empire. In 1868, the Bukharan Emirate, including present-day central and southern Tajikistan, becomes a protectorate of the Russian Empire. The Anglo-Russian Convention creates the 'Afghan buffer' between the Russian and British empires in 1872. Russia and Britain end their border dispute in Central Asia in 1875, dividing the Tajik-populated territories along the line that will later become Tajikistan's border in the Pamiri Mountains. In 1916, a popular uprising against Russian rule begins in Khujand and spreads throughout Central Asia.
1917-26
The Russian Empire collapses. In February 1917, the first Muslim political organizations, Shuroi Islomia and Jamiyati Ulamo, emerge. In November, Soviet power is established in northern Tajikistan. By 1918, Basmachi fighters have organized against Soviet control. The Bukharan Emirate falls in 1920 and the Emir flees to Dushanbe. The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic is declared that September. In 1921, the Red Army conquers Dushanbe. Between 1921 and 1926, Soviet campaigns against the Basmachis result in more than 10,000 deaths and the mass flight of Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmenis to Afghanistan – a mass emigration that ends in the early 1930s after approximately 250,000 people have been displaced. In 1922, the bulk of Basmachi forces are crushed.
In 1924, the Soviet government demarcates new administrative-territorial boundaries in Central Asia, following ethno-linguistic divisions. The new Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), with a capital in Dushanbe, is subordinated to the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR), which is given the ancient Tajik-speaking centres of Samarqand, Bukhara and Khujand – a significant deviation from the ethno-linguistic principle. At the beginning of 1925, the Mountainous Badakhshan Autonomous Province is incorporated into the Tajik ASSR.
In 1927, Stalin orders the first purges of political opponents in Tajikistan. The Tajik literary language is transliterated from the classical Arabic script into the Latin script between 1926 and 1928. After years of dispute, Khujand province (Leninabad) is re-allocated to Tajikistan, which becomes the Tajik SSR, a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. From 1929 to 1934, highlanders are forcibly resettled in the Vakhsh valley and the first collective farms are formed. This triggers a second wave of emigration to Afghanistan, where tens of thousands of Tajiks and Uzbeks flee to escape forced collectivization and religious persecution. The main wave of Stalin's purges in 1937-38 almost completely eliminates the Tajik intelligentsia. In 1940, Tajik is transliterated from the Latin script into the Cyrillic.
In the 1950s, more Qarateghinis are forcibly resettled in the Vakhsh valley. The final wave of forced resettlement comes in the 1970s, with the removal Yaghnobis from the mountains to the south-western cotton fields. In 1978, the first underground Islamic youth organizations emerge in Qurghonteppa.
1989
Inter-group tensions, often related to the struggle for limited resources, emerge and escalate into violent clashes between ethnic groups (Kyrgyz and Tajiks; Tajiks and Uzbeks). After mass protest, Tajik replaces Russian as the language of the republic. Many Russian-speakers begin to emigrate from Tajikistan.
1990
In February, rumours that large numbers of Armenian refugees are to be re-housed in the capital spark violent protest in Dushanbe. The Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) is formed in August. The illegal inaugural conference of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRP) is held in October. In December multi-party politics is legalized.
1991
Tajik President Kakhar Makhkamov supports the abortive coup against Mikhail Gorbachev (19-22 August). After the DPT, Rastozhez and other opposition forces organize a public demonstration calling for his resignation and free elections, Makhkamov steps down. On 9 September, the Tajik Supreme Soviet declares Tajikistan's independence. A 14-day rally in Dushanbe later in the month brings an estimated 10,000 protesters on to the streets, elections are called. Nine candidates contest the presidency. The DPT, IRP and Rastokhez form an alliance and put forward a joint candidate, Davlat Khudonazarov. In November, former Communist Party First Secretary Rakhmon Nabiev wins the election amid allegations of vote rigging. The USSR is formally dissolved in December.
In February, US Secretary of State James Baker visits Tajikistan, where he refuses to meet opposition groups and is rumoured to have indicated US support for Nabiev if the latter's government resists Islamic fundamentalism and Iranian influence. Nabiev subsequently acts more decisively against the opposition. A televised address by the Leninabadi speaker of Parliament, Safarali Kenjayev, attacking the Pamiri Interior Minister, Mamadayaz Navjuvanov, triggers confrontations that highlight regional divisions. In March, opposition sympathizers start a 52-day rally in Dushanbe's Shahidon Square, prompting counter-demonstrations from pro-government and anti-IRP factions in Ozodi Square. In April, a 'Badakhshani Autonomous Republic' within Tajikistan is declared.
May-June 1992
On 1 May, in an attempt to end the opposition rally, Nabiev uses emergency powers to form and arm a 'presidential guard' consisting primarily of Kulobis and some Leninabadis. Fighting breaks out, resulting in some deaths. The intervention of the Russian Army's 201st Division on 10 May stabilizes the situation. Weakened by the conflict, Nabiev agrees to a coalition 'Government of National Reconciliation' (GNR). He remains president but allocates a third of the ministerial posts to opposition parties. Leaders in Leninabad and Kulob refuse to recognize the GNR. By mid-May, the protesters have left Dushanbe and the armed conflict shifts south. Skirmishes break out between supporters of the previous government and supporters of opposition parties. Gharmis aligned with the opposition blockade the roads to Kulob, where demonstrators recruited into the 'presidential guard' who have kept their weapons respond by forming the Popular Front militia. By June there is open warfare.
July-August 1992
In July, more than 80 government and opposition politicians and informal leaders from all over the country, meet in Khorugh in an attempt to resolve the conflict without external help. They agree to a ceasefire and to release hostages and disarm militias. But fighting soon intensifies in the Vakhsh valley. In August, almost 100 armed opposition supporters storm the presidential palace and take 35 hostages, including ministers.
September-October 1992
In September, the Presidents of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Russia issue a joint statement promising to intervene to stop the war if fighting spreads in Tajikistan. They announce an increase in the strength of Russian border troops. Under pressure from the militant opposition 'Youth of Dushanbe', Nabiev is forced to resign. A Pamiri, Akbarsho Iskandarov, becomes Acting President and a Leninabadi, Abdumalik Abdullajanov, becomes Prime Minister. After an appeal from the Uzbek and Finnish presidents, the UN sends a fact-finding mission to investigate the war. In late September, the Popular Front breaks through the blockade of Kulob and kills many opposition supporters in Qurghonteppa.
November-December 1992
On 4 November, the Russian Foreign Minister and Central Asian leaders meet in Almaty and ask for Russian troops to continue their peacekeeping role until a unified CIS force can be established. Two weeks later, Kyrgyz President Akaev meets UN Special Envoy Sommereyns and requests the UN to take a peacekeeping role in Tajikistan. After a second UN mission, the UN's humanitarian agencies step in to alleviate the growing human cost of the war. Cooperation between UN and CIS peace initiatives begins.
From 16 November to 2 December, the Tajik Supreme Soviet holds its 16th meeting in Khujand, considered safer than Dushanbe. Some IRP members of Parliament, fearing for their safety, do not attend the Khujand meeting. Nabiev resigns voluntarily and Emomali Rakhmonov, a relatively unknown official from Kulob, is elected head of state. He forms a government without representatives of the democratic-Islamic alliance that is comprised mostly of Kulobi and Leninabadi Communist Party members. The new government overturns all GNR legislation, bans opposition parties and newspapers, and merges Qurghonteppa and Kulob into the new Khatlon province. In early December, the pro-Rakhmonov Popular Front enters Dushanbe. It launches punitive reprisals against Pamiris and Qarateghinis, who are killed or forced to flee. Opposition militias retreat to Gharm, Badakhshan, or Afghanistan. Military clashes in Dushanbe, Kulob and Qurghonteppa between May and November kill approximately 50,000 people – many civilians – send about 100,000 fleeing to Afghanistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, and displace 600,000 inside Tajikistan. Property and infrastructure damage is estimated at US$7 billion.
In January, the UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) establishes an office in Dushanbe and the UNHCR begins operations. The new state prosecutor brings criminal proceedings against prominent opposition leaders, most of whom are in exile. Under the leadership of Said Abdullo Nuri, the Movement for Islamic Revival in Tajikistan (MIRT) is formed in Afghanistan to coordinate the opposition's military and political activities. Military clashes continue in central Tajikistan. In March, Kyrgyz and Uzbek troops join their Russian and Kazakhstani counterparts in Tajikistan. The Dartmouth Conference sponsors the first meeting of the unofficial Inter-Tajik Dialogue in Moscow, bringing together seven participants representing different factions to discuss the conflict and ways to address it.
April-August 1993
In April, opposition forces launch the first 'spring offensive' across the Panj river from Afghanistan into southern Tajikistan – a pattern that is to continue every spring until 1997. CSCE involvement in Tajikistan begins with a visit in April by its chair and follow-up missions in May and August. Later that month, Amnesty International accuses the government and the Popular Front of large-scale human rights abuses in southern Tajikistan. In May, Russia and Tajikistan sign an Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
In June, President Rakhmonov informs the parliament that he intends to build democracy. Battles take place in Tavildara. Russian soldiers are killed when opposition forces attack the 12th Frontier Post on the Afghan border. In July, Russian forces respond by launching shells into northern Afghanistan and on 21 July Russia notifies the UN Security Council that it intends to assist the Tajik government by preventing attacks from Afghanistan. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali states that he will use his good offices to try to find a peaceful settlement. The organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) offers to mediate between Tajikistan and Afghanistan over the cross-border attacks. In early August, Russia urges Moscow-based opposition groups and the Tajik government to negotiate. It also makes a request for UN and CSCE peacekeepers. On 25 August, UN Special Envoy Ismat Kattani travels to Tehran, where many Tajik opposition leaders live in exile, to discuss the situation with Iranian officials. Also in August, a bridge on the Khujand-Dushanbe highway is blown-up, possibly to promote a separatist cause. The Leninabadi provincial government seeks to establish a Free Economic Zone with its own international trade agreements.
September-December 1993
UNHCR efforts to repatriate 20,000 Tajik refugees from Afghanistan are undermined when 15 returnees are murdered in Qurghonteppa. On 9 September, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev announces troop reinforcements and urges government talks with the opposition. Several days later the US agrees to provide humanitarian and development aid on condition that the government undertakes political and economic reform and respects human rights. In October, Russian and Central Asian troops stationed in Tajikistan are formally designated the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS/PKF). The UN is requested designate it a UN peacekeeping operation – a request it never grants. Also in October, the opposition forms a Moscow-based 'Coordination Centre of Democratic Forces of Tajikistan in CIS'. In December, the CSCE Council of Ministers decides to cooperate with the UN to stabilize Tajikistan and a couple months later establishes a permanent mission. With the encouragement of senior Russian officials, the opposition Coordination Centre releases its strategy to end the conflict.
January-April 1994
In early March, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Adamishin meets leaders of the Coordination Centre in Moscow and MIRT leaders in Tehran. He announces subsequently that opposition leaders are ready to hold direct talks with the government. The first round of negotiations is set for mid-March but postponed to April after a proposed member of the government delegation is assassinated. On 5-19 April, the first round of inter-Tajik negotiations takes place in Moscow, with observers from Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia and Uzbekistan, chaired by UN Special Envoy Ramiro Piriz-Ballon. The parties create an agenda for future talks based on three clusters of issues: political settlement; return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs); and constitutional and institutional arrangements. They disagree over prioritization of issues: the government stresses the end of fighting and refugee return whereas the opposition wants an all-party council to govern Tajikistan and legalization of opposition parties. A tangible outcome of the first round of talks is a joint commission on refugees and IDPs, working closely with the UNHCR to promote voluntary repatriation.
May-August 1994
At the beginning of June, the Joint Commission on Refugees holds its first meeting in Moscow, chaired by the UNHCR, and defines its work programme. The second round of inter-Tajik negotiations, in Tehran on 18-28 June, focuses on establishing a ceasefire. Despite general consensus on the principles and terms, disputes over timing prevent agreement. In July, Rakhmonov announces his intention to run for president. In late July, Boutros-Ghali questions both sides' commitment to the peace process and suspends Piriz-Ballon's preparations for the next round of talks. Following this criticism, the government makes concessions to the opposition.
September-December 1994
The government and the opposition hold a consultative meeting in Tehran on 12-17 September. This results in a temporary but open-ended ceasefire agreement which establishes a Joint Commission to monitor implementation. The UN is asked to deploy military observers. In late October, the ceasefire comes into effect. At the third round of negotiations, in Islamabad from 20 October to 1 November, the negotiators agree to extend the ceasefire until February 1995 and draw up monitoring guidelines. Although broader political issues are also discussed, no agreements are reached. Ceasefire violations continue.
On 6 November, a referendum results in the adoption of a new constitution that bans parties based on religion. In elections on the same date, Rakhmonov wins the presidency against Abdullajanov, but CIS, Turkish, Iranian and Pakistani observers report widespread irregularities. The OSCE signals its disapproval of opposition parties' exclusion by not sending observers. The elections mark the rapid political rise of Kulobis.
Some prisoners are exchanged on 10 November, fulfiling an important UTO condition for future talks. On 16 December, the UN Security Council formally establishes UNMOT. It is charged with assisting the Tajik Joint Commission, investigating violations, to supporting the UN Special Envoy, and coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid. Later that month, in violation of the ceasefire agreement, the government sends troops to Badakhshan. Amid continuing ceasefire violations along the Tajik-Afghan border, Russian troops shell northern Afghanistan. Although criticized for its own ceasefire violations, the UTO insists that Russia is violating the ceasefire and renounces its previous agreement to hold the next round of negotiations in Moscow. The talks are postponed indefinitely.
In 1995, the Pakistan-backed Taliban grows into an effective fighting force and begins to consolidate control over large parts of Afghanistan. This changes the political and strategic context of the Tajikistan civil war dramatically, as Tajik parties and foreign countries aspire to contain the Taliban. In late February, local and parliamentary elections are held in Tajikistan. The UTO parties are excluded and the northern-based Party of People's Unity boycotts the vote after the election commission rejects the candidacy of its leader, Abdumalik Abdullajanov. In early April, in violation of the ceasefire, UTO forces begin their annual 'spring offensive' from Afghanistan. The CIS/PKF retaliate by bombing the northern Afghan town of Taloqan, where the IRP has its headquarters. In late April, high-level talks between government and UTO representatives take place in Moscow under UN auspices. They result in agreement to extend the ceasefire for another month and for Rakhmonov and UTO leader Nuri to meet before the next round of negotiations.
May-July 1995
On 17 May, Rakhmonov flies to Kabul to meet Nuri for the first time. Over the next two days, they agree to renew the ceasefire for a further three months but announce no substantive breakthrough. The fourth round of talks, in Almaty from 22 May to 1 June, centres on Tajik political institutions. The UTO proposes a transitional government and indicates that it will recognize Rakhmonov as President if the government accepts this proposal. The government rejects it but indicates willingness to open the political system to opposition parties and to grant amnesty to their supporters. The two sides agree to exchange an equal number of prisoners, to grant Red Cross officials unobstructed access, and to speed up voluntary return of refugees. The government also agrees to suspend the death sentence on opposition leaders during the negotiation process. On 19 July, Rakhmonov and Nuri meet in Tehran. They agree to intensify efforts to reach agreements on the outstanding political and institutional issues. Yet the parties disagree subsequently on the venue for the next round of talks. In late July, the UNHCR begins to repatriate refugees from Afghanistan.
August-December 1995
In early August, senior representatives of the opposition meet with Uzbek officials, as the Uzbek government starts to distance itself from the Tajik government. Between 2-17 August, Piriz-Ballon makes four trips between Rakhmonov in Dushanbe and Nuri in Kabul. The shuttle diplomacy results in the signing of the 'Protocol on the Fundamental Principles for Establishing Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan'. It is the first substantive agreement on political and institutional issues since the negotiations began. Both parties also agree to a continuous round of talks, to begin in September. Arguments over the venue threaten the proposal but agreement is finally reached on Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. On 30 November the fifth (continuous) round of inter-Tajik negotiations begins. It continues until July 1996, with frequent interruptions as the parties' signal their frustration with events on the ground or lack of progress in the talks.
Assassinations and abductions of influential people mark the first part of the year. In February, the previously pro-government Col. Mahmud Khudoiberdyev occupies the south-western towns of Qurghonteppa and Hissar and threatens to attack Dushanbe. While fighting continues, Nuri writes to the UN Secretary-General in early May, demanding an end to the government's ceasefire violations. Fighting continues into July. Also in May, thousands demonstrate in Leninabad, frustrated with the north's perceived disenfranchisement. The government cracks down; five people are killed and hundreds arrested.
July-December 1996
In the aftermath of the Leninabad protests, the National Revival Movement, led by Abdullajanov, demands to be included in the inter-Tajik negotiations as an equal 'third force'. Although the UTO claims to support their demands, the government rejects them. Consequently they do not participate in the peace negotiations. In late September, the Taliban seizes Kabul, then pushes further north. Key CIS countries agree to protect the CIS border against the Taliban and to strengthen border controls. Russia and Uzbekistan increase their cooperation. In September, military commanders of pro-government and UTO forces meet for the first time and sign the Gharm protocol. Nevertheless, between September and December, UTO troops mount offensives in eastern and central Tajikistan and establish themselves within 80km of Dushanbe. On 10 December, Rakhmonov travels to Khos Deh, Afghanistan to meet Nuri, which marks a major turning point in the negotiations. On 23 December, with the UTO gaining ground in central Tajikistan, Rakhmonov and Nuri meet in Moscow. They sign an agreement laying the foundation for the main peace treaty and agree to complete negotiations and implement the agreements reached in twelve to eighteen months. An additional protocol sets out the framework for a Commission on National Reconciliation (CNR). The government makes a major concession when it agrees to grant the Commission significant powers.
The sixth round of inter-Tajik negotiations is held in Tehran and Mashhad, Iran from 6 January to 21 February. By 13 January, the parties have agreed to the protocol on refugees, the least sensitive issue. By 21 February, government and UTO negotiators reach agreement on the statute and membership of the CNR, which will have no designated seats for outside groups. In February, renegade opposition commander Rezwon Sadirov takes international workers hostage. The UN and Red Cross withdraw their personnel to Uzbekistan. Rakhmonov and Nuri respond with a joint statement condemning terrorism and work together to free the hostages. Their cooperation culminates in late February in a joint UTO/government operation to capture Sadirov and his militia. Between 26 February and 8 March in Moscow, the seventh round of inter-Tajik negotiations results in the signing of the Protocol on Military Issues, which covers disarmament and reintegration of opposition forces. Negotiations on the political protocol remain difficult.
April-June 1997
In April and May, the Taliban briefly seizes the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif near the Uzbek border, increasing pressure on the negotiators as many Tajik refugees are based in or near the battleground. From 15 to 17 April, government troops kill hundreds of prisoners in Leninabad – many of whom participated in the May 1996 demonstrations – after a prison riot. On 30 April, Rakhmonov survives an assassination attempt in Khujand. The eighth and final round of negotiations takes place in Tehran from 9 April to 28 May. Yet despite the momentum generated, talks slow down over political issues and the size of the armed contingent protecting UTO members of the CNR. The talks are suspended on 16 April. On 16-18 May, Rakhmonov and Nuri meet in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic and settle the last obstacles to the political protocol. The result is the Bishkek Memorandum and the Protocol on Political Questions. This protocol is based on a power-sharing quota system linked to a sequencing agreement. The government will lift the restrictions on UTO opposition parties, movements, and media as soon as the military protocol is successfully implemented on the condition that they operate within the Tajik legal framework of Tajikistan.
On 22 May, the eighth round of talks resumes in Tehran in anticipation of a June date for signing the peace treaty. The delegations finally agree to the last protocol on guarantees for implementing the general agreement, which in effect completes the treaty. They request the UN to extend UNMOT's mandate to monitor implementation of the agreement in the transition period. They also ask observer states to serve as guarantors of the agreement - who agree, in turn, to form a Contact Group based in Dushanbe for the transition period. In late May and early June, the UTO presses for prisoner exchanges before the agreement is signed and the ceremony is postponed. Khudoiberdyev, who controls Qurghonteppa, re-emerges with new demands in mid-June, thus highlighting the potential of militia commanders to wreck the agreement.
On 27 June in Moscow, Rakhmonov and Nuri sign the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan, which is witnessed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and other officials. Uzbekistan does not attend the ceremony and refuses to endorse the agreement as a guarantor until late August.
Making peace sustainable
July-December 1997
In July, the CNR begins work in Moscow under Nuri's leadership. The members agree on a general amnesty – to enable UTO members to return legally to Tajikistan – and an Act on Mutual Forgiveness. Later that month, prisoners of war are finally exchanged. In a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Rakhmonov and Nuri call for a donors' conference to address the serious economic needs of the country. On 9 August, fighting erupts between pro-government groups. In the following days, forces from the Presidential Guard and the Interior Ministry drive these groups, and Khudoiberdyev's troops, away from Qurghonteppa towards the Uzbek border. In early September, monitored by the government and UN and CIS observers, UTO armed forces begin to move from central Tajikistan to Dushanbe in anticipation of their leaders' return from exile.
The CNR starts work in Dushanbe on 15 September, in a meeting opened by Rakhmonov and led by Nuri. At the Hong Kong meeting of the World Bank and IMF in late September, Tajikistan asks the international community to contribute US$80 million in 1998. Repatriation of refugees continues, with the first phase completed. Yet many returnees lack basic shelter. The next phase of repatriation from Mazar-e Sharif is frustrated by both fighting between Afghan factions and Uzbekistan's reluctance to allow the refugees passage through its territory. Throughout the autumn, the CNR concentrates on drafting amendments to the 1994 constitution, in consultation with the Contact Group. In October, Rakhmonov and Nuri draft a plan to repatriate and integrate UTO forces from Afghanistan. The Presidential Guard headquarters are attacked, probably by formerly pro-government militias and skirmishes escalate on the Tajik-Uzbek border. On 28 December, the first group of UTO fighters take the Tajikistan military oath.
1998
In January, Tajikistan's Prosecutor-General drops all outstanding charges against UTO leaders, in compliance with the amnesty law. In March, Tajikistan joins the common economic market between Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan. Fighting breaks out near Dushanbe between government and pro-UTO troops. In May, Parliament reluctantly agrees to legalize the IRP on condition that mosques and madrasas do not organize party cells. In July, four UNMOT personnel are murdered in Gharm and many international agencies and governments withdraw their personnel. In September opposition leader Otakhon Latifi is assassinated. In November, Khudoiberdyev leads some 1,000 troops across the Uzbek border to invade Leninabad. A Tajik army comprised of former UTO and pro-government soldiers defeats the attack.
1999
In June, relations between the UTO and the government appear close to breakdown but are restored after Parliament approves constitutional changes allowing opposition parties to contest elections later in the year. In August, the UTO makes a formal declaration ending its military-political opposition. Tajikistan's Supreme Court removes the official prohibition on IRP activity. Armed forces from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) invade the Batken region of southern Kyrgyz Republic from the Gharm region of Tajikistan, apparently intending to invade Uzbekistan. The Uzbek government responds by bombing Kyrgyz and Tajik territories. In September, more than a year later than planned in the General Agreement, constitutional amendments are adopted through a public referendum. In November, all remaining bans on opposition political parties are lifted. By December, six parties are registered. In the November presidential elections, Rakhmonov wins 96.91 per cent of votes; his IRP opponent receives 2.1 per cent. International observers report irregularities but accept the results.
2000
In February and March, elections for the new bicameral Parliament are held. Rakhmonov's People's Democratic Party wins most seats and the main opposition parties receive significantly fewer votes than expected. By February, most refugees and IDPs are resettled. Mahmadsaid Ubaidullayev, the mayor of Dushanbe and new speaker of the upper house of Parliament, survives an assassination attempt. With the completion of both presidential and parliamentary elections, the transition period envisioned in the 1997 General Agreement is concluded. The CNR finishes its work in March and UNMOT closes its office in April. In June, Russia and Tajikistan agree to maintain Russian military forces in Tajikistan to replace the now disbanded CIS/PKF. Over the summer, Taliban forces move near the Tajik border. Russia uses its bases in Tajikistan to reinforce military assistance to the Afghan Northern Alliance, loyal to the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani. Also in the summer, the IMU renews its attempts to invade Uzbekistan, apparently crossing from Tajikistan.
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