Beginnings to AD 2000:
A Comprehensive Chronology of
Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran

by
Iraj Bashiri

copyright 2001

The AD Era: 1900 to 1996
1901	29 May	British discover oil in southern Iran and proceed to gain concessions for exploitation, refining, and transport of the crude worldwide. After receiving 12,000 pounds sterling and a cut of the profits, Muzaffar al-Din Shah (1896-1907) grants the rights.# Iranians, questioning the legitimacy of the agreement, demand an assembly to examine the document and a constitution according to which similar decisions could be reached in a public forum.
1902		Taqi Arani was born in Tabriz.
1902		The Socialist Revolutionary Party is formed in Russia with widespread support among the masses and the intellectuals.
1903		Sadeq Hedayat is born.
1903		In Afghanistan, Abdurrahman Khan passes away. He is succeeded by Habibullah Khan. Habibiyyeh College--first secondary school--opens in Kabul.
1903		The Wright brothers introduce the first powered flight in a light airplane.
1904		The political group called Hemmat (Aspiration) is founded in Baku to organize social democratic activities among the working peoples of Azarbaijan and Iran.
1904		Heidar Amou Oghly and others organize the first cells of the revolutionary party called the Social Democrats of Iran in the city of Mashad.
1904		Bozorg Alavi is born in Tehran. He studied in Germany and is the author of a number of books including "Her Eyes". He was a member of the Arani group and of Rab'a.
1904		Japan defeats Russia in the Russo-Japanese war.
1904	6 Jul.	Abai Kunanbaev, founder of modern Kazakh literature, passes away.
1905		Badakhshan is annexed by Russia; the Russian Duma rules that all land in Turkestan belongs to the Russian Empire.
1905		Peasant and worker discontent along with demands for greater participation in government culminate in the first Russian revolution. The officials of Imperial Russia successfully suppress Russia’s first revolution. They do not, however, succeed in extinguishing the burning causes of the revolt.
1905		Alash Orda, the Kazakh nationalist party, is founded.
1906		Between 1906 and 1916 close to 1,400,000 Russian agriculturalists enter Kazakhstan displacing large numbers of nomadic Kazakhs who move to Chinese Turkistan.
1906		In Russia, the first democratic parliament, the duma, meets.
1906		14,000 protesters occupy the British Legation; Muzzafar al-Din Shah grants a constitution.for Iran.
1906		The Orenburg-Tashkent line is completed.
1907		Russia and Britain divide Iran, Afghanistan, and Tibet among themselves as zones of influence.
1907		Anglo-Russian Convention divides Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet into zones of influence,
1907	31 Aug.	Russia and Britain define their zones of interest in Central Asia. Amir Habibullah of Afghanistan who had been left out of the discussion refuses to sign the Convention of St. Petersburg.
1908		The Young Turks revolution establishes Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkism as the twin pillars of Ottoman rule in Turkey. Anwar Pasha, Tal’at Pasha, and Jamal Pasha are not only the founders but the ardent promoters of the creation of what is called by Zia Gokalp as the "Greater Turan," comprising Anatolia, the Caucacsus. Trans-caspia, and Central Asia. In spite of Russian and Bukharan vigilance, Turkish spies penetrate Bukhara to spread Pan-Turkist and Pan-Islamic ideas throughout the region.
1908	00 Jun.	Muhammad Ali shells the Majles; suspends the constitution.
1909		The Young Bukharans movement is established in Bukhara.
1909		Close to a hundred Russian and native schools are in operation in Turkestan.
1909		The "Bukhara Mission for the Spread of Useful Knowledge Among the Public" is formed. This Mission, helped by the "Party of Unity and Porgress," facilitates the movement of Turkish spies into Central Asia so that according to Stolypin, within a year the number of Turkish visitors is increased by one half.
1910		The Shi'a - Sunni conflict requires the entrance of Russian troops into the Emirate of Bukhara.
1910		"Societies," like the "Student Association" in Istanbul are created to serve as liason between Istanbul and Central Asia for the import of Turkish nationalism into the region.
1910		The unrest in Russia reaches Central Asia. In Kani Badom, oil workers go on strike demanding an increase in pay and reduction in work hours. They win.
1910		Realizing that his rulership depends on the ignorance of his subjects, Amir Alimkhan (r. 1910-1920) makes an all-out attempt at reviving Pan-Islamism, i.e., a union of all Islamic states against the west, but fails.
1910		Kabul and Jalalabad are linked by telephone line.
1911		Stolypyn, the powerful Russian Prime Minister, is killed.
1911		In Iran, Muhammad Ali is replaced by his eleven-year-old son, Ahmad; the parliament is restored. Anglo-Persian Oil Company is formed; Iran remains in British (south) and Russian (north) spheres of influence; Abadan refinery completed.
1911		In Afghanistan, Mahmud Tarzi publishes Siraj al-Akhbar.
1911		Mahmud Tarzi’s biweekly newspaper Siraj al-Akhbar begins publication.
1912		The Alash Orda party is established among the Kazakhs.
1912		In Nav, a group of debtors assail the house of a money-lender and burn their IOU’s. The situation in Bukhara is depressing. The bais and bourgeois, supported by Russia, oppress the masses. The Amir, feeling free from Russian criticism, takes two thirds of every household’s assets and enslaves women and children. Other than Russia, the Amir’s supporters are foreign bankers who receive a series of concessions for buying Bukhara’s best lands for future development.
1912	11 Jun.	The Russian official in charge of internal affairs confirms the existence of a "spy ring" connecting Central Asia to Istanbul. Munnavvarqari Abdurashidov, a new-method school principal, could have served as the chief of operations for the "communication system" thus established. His repeated travels to Ferghana and other regions supports the notion that he was highly placed in the ranks. #In subsequent years, especially during World War I, the nationalists among whose ranks Pan-Turkists and Pan-Islamists can be named, singled out Russia as their number one enemy. They tried to rally Muslim peasants and workers to their side. Their efforts, however, were frustrated by the very nature of their cause. Central Asian peasants and farmers knew that a bourgeois-based movement would never have sympath with the needs of peasants and workers.
1913		An uprising in Hissar involving the Mullo Bachcha of Hissar and a Russian merchant.
1913		Of the 30 million golden sum assets of the Amir of Bukhara, 1 million gold sums is spent on soldiers and guards, 10,000 gold sums is spent on managers and servants, 1 million gold sums is spent on expensive gifts, and 100,000 gold sums is spent on other things. Not a sum is spent on education, health care, etc.
1914		Russian enters World War I leading to the fall of the Romanov dynasty in February 1917. A Provisional government aiming at a liberal constitutional regime takes over.
1914		A major railway connecting Krasnovodsk and Moscow to Tashkent is completed.
1914		Uprising in Kulab against the Amir’s officials who demand native conscripts; the Termez-Bukhara railroad is completed.
1914		Sardar Muhammad Nadir Khan becomes the Afghan Commander-in-Chief; Afghanistan declares neutrality in WWI.
1915		The price of common commodities in Central Asia is raised to nearly three times of the pre-war prices.
1916		The Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan is formed in Baku. Members are intellectuals from Iranian Azerbaijan. Their platform includes the right of workers to organize and strike; an eight-hour day; old age pensions; a progressive income tax; redistribution of land; and freedom of speech, press and public meetings.
1916		Junaid Khan captures Khiva.
1916		300,000 Kazakhs leave their ancestral lands and flee to Xinjian.
1916		Social-Democrat Party of Azerbaijan is formed in Baku.
1916		An uprising resulting from Russian demands for native workers behind the lines begins in Khojand and spreads into Ferghana, Namangan, Tashkent, and Samarqand. Demand is for 400,000 soldiers. Lack of men to work in the fields results in a devastating famine in Central Asia.
1916		The position of the Jadids vis-a-vis the anti-Imperial forces was more pro-Russia than pro-Bukharan, a situation that could point to their political duplicity. In fact, the Jadids were waiting for the Russian revolution to change the face of their region entirely.
1916		Instruction of Pashto is instituted in Habibiyyeh College
1916	25 Jun.	Empror Nicholas II orders Central Asian males between 19 and 44 years of age to cooperate with the Russian army in the front by providing necessary behind-the-line assistance.
1916	3 Jul.	Khujand Police Commissioner requests to meet with the city elders and discuss the ramifications of the decree. More than a thousand people gather in the Shaykh mosque to meet with him.
1916	4 Jul.	In Khujand as in other areas, Russian officials begin the process of sending eligible men to the front. The populace resists and asks for the anullment of the 25 Jun. Imperial Order. The officials continue to carry out the Imerial Order. The citizens of Khujand and peasants from nearby areas, revolt and kill some of the officials. From Khujand, the revolt spreads into Tashkent and then to other regions.
1916	7 Jul.	Likashin sends in a request for military assistance to prevent further bloodshed.
1916	10 Jul.	M. N. Volkov, Turkistan District Assistant Director, reports that the rich continue to force the poor to take their places as well as the places of their relatives and families at the front. This, he believes, might result in a revolt whereby the poor would kill the rich just to save their kin from certain death at the front.
1916	12 Jul.	Lakashin travels to Khujand and observes the situation first hand. He also explains the import of the 25 Jun. decree to those who would listen.
1916	17 Jul.	Lakashin reports the gravity of the situation in Khujand indicating the grim mood of the people who had believed Kaufman’s promise that no Central Asian males would be recruited for the next fifty years.
1916	21 Jul.	The residents of Qistakuz and Isfara come to Khujand to prevent four men who had been apprehended as rabble rousers in the Khujand uprising from being punished. The Khujand elders meet the leaders of the group outside the city and convince them to return their townsmen to their cities.
1916	1 Aug.	Two peasant groups of 200 and 250 from Ghonchi come to Khujand to force the government stop recruitment. They are dispersed by the police.
1916	9 Aug.	Revolt in Ghonch results in the takeover of the government center.
1917		Kazakhs declare their independence from Russia by establishing an autonomous republic.
1917		Direct Russian imperialist influence in Iran ends.
1917		Bolsheviks renounce all Russian claims to Ottoman land.
1917		Russian emigrants in Bukhara welcome the Bolshevik Revolution inspite of the Amir's rejectioin of the same. Advised by Russians, Alim Khan restructures his government and inlcude a number of Jadids in his cabinet; including Sadr-i Zia.
1917		Towards the end of 1917, Turkestan is in chaos. It does not know whether to denounce the Emperor, support the Emporeror, or follow the dictates of Kerensky.
1917		During the summer of 1917, the Qadimis break away from the Shura and form Ulema Jameti headed by Sher Ali Liapin of Ak Masjid.
1917		Between 1917 and 1936, the Bolsheviks contended with intellectuals who would not totally accept Soviet dicta. The towns in the Ferghana Valley, especially Kokand, cities in Semirechie, Pishpek, Verny, and Dushanbe are among those most vocal.
1917		Between 1917 and 1924, the Muslim population of Central Asia tried to make itself independent of Russian rule. But the Soviets, who took over from the Russians, reestablished their hegemony over the region so that, by 1936, all of Central Asia was redrawn into ethnic-based national entities dependent on Moscow culturally, ideologically, and economically.
1917		Beginning in 1917, and until the end of the 1950’s, the names of Soviet cities were changing. The names of the leaders of the revolution, especially Lenin and Stalin, were displacing the names of the ethnic heroes now put down as Basmachis and troublemakers.
1917	27 Feb.	The Revolution in Russia establishes the Tashkent Committee of the Provisional Government and the Tashkent Soviet of Worker's and Peasant's Deputies.
1917	27 Feb.	Revolution in Petrograd results in the overthrow of the tsar and in the formation of soviets.
1917	8 Mar.	Russian residents of Bukhara along with Central Asian and Bukharan railroad workers take over the city’s administrative centers displacing the officials of the temporary government.
1917	17 Mar.	The Qadimists and the Jadidists set up Shurai Islamiyya (Islamic Council) in Tashkent. The SI is pro-tsarist and supports Pan-Turkism and Pan-Islamism. It also stands for national and religious customizing within Russia.
1917	31 Mar.	The Executive Committee of the United Workers and Soldiers of Tashkent along with the depututies of the peasants and Muslim soviets decide to disband the Gubernatorship of Turkistan. Rather than introducing any new measures, this and the other meetings called by Muslim and Turkish fronts seek to retain the old order, promote capitalism, and support the bais and the mullahs. Jadid leaders like M. Behbudi, Munavvarqari Abdurashidov, and Abdurauf Fitrat are among the promoters of Pan-Turkism and Pan-Islamism at this time.
1917	00 Apr.	Lenin affirs the right of all nations within Russia to separation from Russia and to form independent states of their own.
1917	00 Apr.	Bolshevik policy toward nationalities is codified at the 7th Social Democratic Party congress -- awarded Muslims to choose their own destiny, including separation from Russia.
1917	00 Apr.	Lenin’s declaration, "We are for fraternal union of all peoples..." puts the Khans of Khiva and Bukhara on notice; the Oct. Revolution in Russia, later, clearly indicates to them that their rulership days are numbered.
1917	7 Apr.	Amir Alim Khan announces a set of reforms that leads to the Jadids’ display of gratefulness and the Amir’s subsequent persecution of the most prominent members of the Jadids.
1917	16 Apr.	The First Regional Muslim Congress is convened in Tashkent (450 deligates, 93 of them Russian). They decides that the destiny of Central Asia should not be decided by Russia unilaterally.
1917	23 Apr.	The Muslim Congress in Tashkent ends. Turkistan Muslim Central Soviet is set up as a permanent executive organ. The TMCS is led by Mustafa Chokaev Oghlu (1890-1941) and M. Khoja Behbudi (1874-1919) as well as Ubaidulla Khoja and Asadulla Khoja.
1917	00 May	The Iranian Social Democrat Party Edalat (Justice), is founded officially in Baku and publishes its program in Persian and Azeri.
1917	00 May	Muslims of Russia and central Asia, at the behest of Kerensky government, form the all-Russian Muslim Congress.
1917	25 May	Khujand residents celebrate the return of the behind-the-front workers by forming the Behind-the-Front Workers Union. Jura Zakirov and Abduqadir Rahimbaev, well-known veterans of the behind-the-front era are elected to its presidium.
1917	00 Jun.	The second national meeting in Tashkent emphasizes the need for disbanding clerical, bourgeois establishment and promoting proletarian self-consciousness among Muslims.
1917	3 Sept	Second Muslim Central Asia Congress is convened. It recognizes Samarqand, Ferghanai, Syr Dariya and Transcaspia as Turkistan Federal Republic within Russia. The Conference opposes cotton monoculture and urges cultivation of all food grains.
1917	12 Sept	Radicals displace the Executive Committee of Tashkent Soviet of soldiers and workers, arrest the local officials of the Provisional Government, and take over the military command. The Shurai Islamiya and the Ulema Jameti move to Kokand, now the center of opposition against Tashkent Soviet. The line between the Jadid enlighteners and the promoters of Islamic rule, i.e. the Shurai Islamiyya and the Ulema Jameti becomes defined.
1917	25 Oct.	As a result of events in Russia, the Tashkent Soviet seizes power from the Tashkent Committee.
1917	25 Oct.	Lenin returns from exile and leads the Bolsheviks in their coup to seize power from the monarchists.
1917	00 Nov.	The White Cossacks, under the command of Ataman Dutov, cut off Central Asia from European Russia.
1917	00 Nov.	In Tashkent, the Bolsheviks create a Council of People's Commissars to off set the power of the Mensheviks in Kokand.
1917	15 Nov.	By decree of the Third Regional Congress of Soviets in Tashkent, Muslims are excluded from local government.
1917	15 Nov.	The Bolsheviks Declare that all nations within Russia have the right to secede and that Muslims are free to practice their faith.
1917	25 Nov.	The Fourth Central Asian Muslim Congress in Kokand creates the Muslim Provisional Government of Autonomous Turkestan.
1917	00 Dec.	The authority of Tashkent government is recognized in the main cities of Turkistan.
1917	5 Dec.	The Alash Orda, an independent movement, is established as a barrier against the spread of Communism into the Kazakh steppe.
1917	13 Dec.	Autonomy of Turkistan is declared in Tashkent. Shari’a is restored and private ownership of land and enterprise is reestablished.
1917	22 Dec.	Bekhbudi, a leader in the Kokand government, declares that the aim of the Kokand autonomy is "presevation of land, property, and religion."
1918		Between 1918 and 1920, a Civil War between the Whites and the new Red government rages. The White armies are assisted by European powers and Japan, USA, and Canada.
1918		Enwer Pasha was tried in absentia and was sentenced to death.
1918		The defeat of the Kokand Autonomous government and the White Cossacks in Semirechye led to the consolidation of Bolshevik rule in present-day Kyrgyzstan.
1918		Turkmenistan becomes part of the Turkistan Autonomous Republic.
1918		The Bolsheviks move their capital from Petrograd to Moscow.
1918		Soviet decree specifies the use of the waters of the Amu and the Syr for promotion of agriculture, especially cotton.
1918		During the past four years, a one-sided trade with Russia has developed whereby Turkestani goods are sent to Russia in large amounts but little grain comes back in return.
1918	00 Jan.	The Autonomous Kokand Government is put on notice by the Fourth Regional Congress of Soviets in Tashkent.
1918	00 Jan.	Russia pulls out its troops supporting Isfandiar, the Khan of Khiva, who is at the mercy of Junaid Khan. Khivan Uzbeks fall to Junaid Khan who imposes strict Turkmen laws, confiscates Uzbek property, and persecutes Khivan-Jadids. In Tashkent, refugee Khivans form the "Young Khivan" Revolutionary Committee in exile. In time, the Young Khivans and the dissatisfied Uzbeks unites against Junaid Khan.
1918	6 Jan.	The 1906 popularly elected Constituent Assembly in Russia is dissolved by the Bolsheviks.
1918	31 Jan.	Kalesov distinguishes the Kokand autonomy as bourgeois as opposed to the Tashkent Soviet which he terms popular. With this he unleashes the power of the Soviets against Kokand. Kokand, to defend itself calls on native Central Asian Muslims--Bashmachis--to stop Soviet penetration of the region.
1918	31 Jan.	Troops of the Tashkent Sovnarkom bombs Kokand.
1918	00 Feb.	Between February and 13 March, Bolsheviks capture Kokand; land and water, taken from individuals, are placed under the auspices of Sovnarkom; beginning of the Bolshevik/feudal conflict in the region leading to Basmachi uprisings and Civil War.
1918	11 Feb	The Red Army razes Kokand.
1918	18 Feb.	The Autonomous Kokand Government is crushed by the Tashkent Soviet and the Red Army.
1918	20 Feb	Autonomous Kokand government is liquidated, its army is disbanded, some join the Basmachis.
1918	30 Apr.	Kyrgyzstan becomes part of the Turkistan ASS Republic within the Russian Federation.
1919		Khiva falls to the Soviets.
1919		Majles refuses to ratify the Anglo-Persian oil-exploitation agreement. Musaddiq, a vociferous defender of Iranian rights, is expelled.
1919		The Third Afghan War leads to Afghan Independence; Amir Habibullah Khan is killed; Amanullah Khan becomes king.
1919	25 Feb.	Amir Habibullah is assassinated. He is succeeded by his son Amanullah.
1919	00 Jun.	Afghanistan recognizes the Soviet Union.
1919	5 Jul.	Enver Pasha is sentences to death in absentia by an Istanbul court.
1919	00 Aug	Enver Pasha visits Bolshevik leader Karal Radek in prison in Berlin. He is in Berlin semi-legally registered as "Ali Bey."
1919	00 Aug.	According to the Treaty of Rawalpindi, Britain recognizes the independence of Afghanistan.
1919	00 Sept.	Dutov's blockade of Central Asia ends.
1919	00 Oct.	The Turkestan Commission displaces the Tashkent Soviet.
1919	00 Nov.	Irgash is defeated by the Red Army and subsequently killed.
1919	18 Nov.	Turkmen insurgents, Uzbeks suppressed by Junaid Khan, and the Young Khivans seek assistance from Moscow against Junaid Khan. The Revolutionary Military Council of the Turkistan Front assigns G. B. Skalov to organize an invasion of Khiva.
1919	23 Dec.	Skalov succeeds in rallying the various dissatisfied strata of Khiva to the cause of the Soviets. There are the Jadids at the center, dissatisfied chiefs on the right and the Young Khivan Communists to the left.
1920		Bukhara falls to the Soviets.
1920		The Alash Orda joins the Bolsheviks.
1920		The region of present-day Kazakhstan becomes the Kirghiz Autonomous SS Republic.
1920		Bigamy, Kalymov bride-price, and abduction of desired wives among the tribal people become illegal.
1920		First Communist Party of Iran (CPI) is organized in Gilan
1920		Soviet rule is established. The Basmachi movement retards the Center's willingness to spend funds on the region. Nevertheless, appropriate cadres--social engineers, educators, mechanical engineers, agronomists, and psychologists--flood Tajikistan and transform it into a burgeoning agricultural enterprise in the south and a major industrial center in the north.
1920	15 Jan.	The Turkestan Commission proposes that Turkestan should be divided into several separate ethnic republics.
1920	20 Jan.	The Fifth Congress of the Communist Party of Turkestan proposes the formation of a Soviet Republic comprising all Turkic Peoples and of a parallel Turkic Red Army.
1920	23 Jan	Junaid Khan defeated, flees into the Qara Qum Desert.
1920	00 Feb.	The Tashkent Soviet recaptures the Turkmen city of Ashkabat.
1920	00 Feb	All those appointed by previous Khivan Khans are replaced by Soviet officials.
1920	00 Feb	Links between European Russia and Turkistan are established after two years of separation. M. V. Frunze arrives in Tashkent. He admits that there had been wrong doings in the past and forms the Soviet-Basmachi detachment.
1920	2 Feb.	Soviet troops capture Khiva, resulting in the abolition of the Khanate of Khiva and the end of the Kungrat dynasty.
1920	7 Mar.	Madamia acknowledges Soviet rule. The submission of other Basmachi leaders follow.
1920	00 May	Politburo ratifies the creation of a democratic republic in Bukhara; the manner of its creation (invasion vs internal revolution) remains a question.
1920	00 Jun.	The Communist Party of Iran is organized in the port of Anzali in Gilan province of Iran. It is strongest in the north but soon spreads to the southern cities as well. The Party's platform includes expulsion of the British from Iran; annulment of the 1919 treaty which intended to make Iran a British protectorate; Economic assistance to small farmers; autonomy for Gilan; cancellation of unequal treaties; abolishment of the Qajar dynasty; and extermination of feudalism.
1920	1 Aug.	Frunze employs a two-pronged attack on Bukhara--an internal revolution whereby the Soviets appear as helpers and an military invasion.
1920	3 Aug.	Frunze signs the order to invade Bukhara and names the generals who should undertake command of the regiments.
1920	4-6 Aug	"Young Bukharans" and the "Bukharan Communist Party" join forces. The Amir’s own actions, repressive policies, heavy taxes and unruly military works against him.
1920	16 Aug.	"Young Bukharans" and the "Bukharan Communist Party" meet in a congress in Charju.
1920	23 Aug	Revolutionaries seizure of Charju, Shahri Sabz and Kerminah follows.
1920	26 Aug.	The Kazakh ASS Republic is established.
1920	26 Aug.	The Kirghiz SSRepublic is established.
1920	30 Aug	The Red Army attacks Bukhara.
1920	00 Sept.	Soviet troops led by General Frunze, capture Bukhara, resulting in the abolition of the Khanate of Bukhara and the end of the Mangit dynasty.
1920	00 Sept.	A new Bukharan government is formed under Faizulla Khujaev.
1920	1 Sept	Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 9, Enver Pasha attends the Congress of the Peoples of the East in Baku. He denounces his own role in WWI and pledges to assist the Communists against the imperialists. He also learns aobut the Soviets’ devastation of Turkistan since their advent to power.
1920	1 Sept	The Bukharan revolutionaries request assistance from the Red Army.
1920	11 Sept	Faizullo Khujaev's "Javon Bukharain" joins the Communist Party.
1920	15 Sept.	For 3 days, the Red Army soldiers loot Bukhara.
1920	5-6 Oct	The 4 centuries long rule of Amirs over Bukhara is disestablished and is replaced by the Bukharan Peoples Soviet Republic.
1920	6 Oct.	The People's Republic of Bukhara is established under the leadership of the Young Bukharans and the Bukharan Communist Party. Faizullah Khojaev (1896-1938) serves as chairman and later on as premier.
1921		Introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the Kronstadt rebellion.
1921		The rise of Reza Shah; set up of Republic in Gilan
1921		The high Revolutionary tribunal opens the case to investigate the looting in Bukhara.
1921		Enver Pasha arrives in Central Asia and assumes the command of the Basmachi movement.
1921		During the Fall of 1921, the Bolsheviks (read Lenin) employ Enver Pasha to unite the Muslim of the East.
1921		The village of Dushanbe becomes the center of struggle between the Red Army and the Islamic resurgent Basmachis. In the struggle, Enver Pasha, a Turkish General who starts out to the help Lenin but defects to the Basmachis, is killed by the Red Army (1922: Aug. 4). In Oct. 1924, Tajik ASSR, with its capital at Stalinabad, is established within Uzbekistan SSR. A year later, the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous region is created.
1921		Russia, Turkey, and Iran sign treaties of friendship with the newly formed Afghan government. Britain recognizes the sovrainty of Afghanistan.
1921	15 Mar.	Talat Pasha is assassinated, Enver Pasha becomes the most prominent leader of "Union and Progress."
1921	16 Mar.	Soviets and Mustafa Kemal sign the Treaty of Moscow.
1921	16 Mar.	The Soviets sign a peace treat;y with Mustafa Kamal Ata Turk, the very person Enver Pasha felt the Bolshevkis were to help him defeat.
1921	00 May	Colonel Reza Khan, a Russian-trained Cossack officer, stages a military coup and becomes Iran's Minister of War; Russo-Persian Treaty is signed.
1921	17 May	Alim Khan and his entourage reach Kabul; he is taken to Muradbek. His sons (Shah Murad and Rahim) are taken to Moscow by the Bulsheviks. His assets in Russian banks are taken over by the Bolsheviks.
1921	00 Aug.	Chaos rules in eastern Bukhara. The Red Army leaves eastern Between August 1921 and June 1922 Bukhara, allowing the conflict between Anwar Pasha and Ibrahim Bek weaken the Bashmachi movement.
1921	12 Aug.	Usmon Khojaev captures a number of Turkish officers under Russian rule and, along with their Commanders and the Russian Consul in Dushanbe and some Russian borderguard commanders hands them over to the Bashmachis.
1921	00 Oct.	Enver Pasha (1881-1922) arrives in Bukhara to assist the Soviets.
1921	00 Oct.	Enver Pasha arrives in Bukhara via Ashgabat and Merv.
1921	00 Nov	Enver Pasha leaves Bukhara to join the Basmachis.
1922		Defeat of the Jangali Movment at Manjil and abolition of the Gilan Republic by Qavam al-Saltanah.
1922		The Jangali movement, led by Mirza Kuchik Khan, is defeated; Gilan Republic is abolished.
1922	00 Jan.	With 2000 poorly armed troops, Enver Pasha advances on Dushanbe.
1922	14 Feb	Dushanbe falls to Enver Pasha who uses Kofirnihan as his headquarters.
1922	00 Apr.	Afghan volunteers join forces with Enver Pasha whom they call Sardar.
1922	00 Apr.	Enver Pasha refuses Sovet offers of peace.
1922	00 Jul.	Enver Pasha organizzes the various Basmachi forces into a united force.
1922	4 Aug.	Enwar Pasha and his soldiers are surrounded by the Red Army near the village of Ab-i Dara. Enwar Pasha is killed.
1922	4 Aug	Enver Pasha is killed by Soviet forces.
1922	00 Dec.	The Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) is created. Within it are the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Turkestan and Kirghiz (Kazakh) ASSRs.
1923		Istiqlal High School opens in Kabul.
1923	00 Mar.	The Central Asiatic Economic Council that foresees the administrative unification of the three republics (Turkistan, Bukhara, Khiva) puts the Bolsheviks on notice.
1923	00 Jun.	Stalin denounces the cult of "Sultan Galiev" as a sign of his dissatisfaction with the Muslim Communists' efforts to set up an independent Turkestan.
1923	00 Oct.	Mustafa Kemal becomes the first president of Turkey.
1923	00 Nov.	Reza Khan becomes Iran's Prime Minister as well.
1924		The Kirghiz Autonomous Region is formed.
1924		"Ovoz-i Tojik" and "Shu'la-i Ingilob" are published for the first time.
1924	20 Jan.	Lenin passes away.
1924	00 Feb	The Communist Party of Bukhara decides to divide the Soviet Republic of Bukhara into the Republics of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
1924	3 Mar.	The Caliphate is abolished.
1924	23 Mar.	Territorial Division Committee (hence TDC) composed of 9 members is formed.
1924	00 Apr.	Nusratullo Makhsum travels to Tashkent to inquiry the reasons for keeping the Tajiks from influencing the Territorial Divisions Committee decisions.
1924	00 May	The region of Khowst disagrees with King Amanullahs reforms and rebels. The rebellion is put down with the assistance of the Soviets.
1924	4 Jun.	TDC begins its work.
1924	00 Sept.	The Bukhara Soviet Socialist Republic displaces the People's Republic of Buhkhara.
1924	00 Oct.	The National Delimitation of Soviet Central Asia results in the abolition of the Turkestan ASSR, the Bukharan SSR, and the Khorezmian SSR and the establishment of the Turkmen SSR, the Uzbek SSR, and the Tajik ASSR (as part of the Uzbek SSR).
1924	27 Oct.	The Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan is created. The CPU is purged of 16,000 of its cadres.
1924	27 Oct.	The decisions of the TDC regarding the creation of new republics in Central Asia is accepted by the Central Committee of the CP of the USSR.
1925		Pishpek is made captial of Kirghizia and renamed Frunze.
1925		In Iran, the Constituent Assembly entrusts the rulership of Iran to Reza Khan Pahlavi (1878-1944) who crowns himself Shah, abolishes capitulation, and cultivates amicable relations with Germany. He dissolves the CPI and imprisons 53 of its members. # All employees are required to wear uniforms. A vigorous program of upgrading transportation provides roads and services and a network of grain silos, sugar factories, and national banks cooperates to put Iran's economy on a sound basis. To satisfy the country's technical needs, a program of training Iranians, including women, abroad is devised. Marriages and divorces are registered by governmental officials. A teachers training college and Iran's first university become operational. In foreign correspondence, Iran's official name is changed from Persia to Iran. (In Iran, the country's name has always been Iran.)
1925		"Bidori-i Tojik" and "Donish/Binish" are published for the first time.
1925		A. Lahuti is appointed head of Soviet State Literature.
1925		Lahuti brings a printing press to Tajikistan from Termez to begin publication of newspapers and textbooks.
1925		Only 4 books are published in the Tajiki language in the Autonomous Republic of Tajikistan within Uzbekistan; 268 books are published in Uzbeki in the same year.
1925	14 Feb.	The Turkmenstan SS Republic is created.
1925	15 Mar.	The Tajik Autonomus SSR is created.
1925	00 Apr.	The Kazakh Autonomous SSR replaces the Kirghiz Autonomous SSR.
1925	12 May	The Autonomous SS Kirghiz Republic becomes the autonomous SS Kazakh Republic.
1925	00 Nov.	In Iran, the Constituent Assembly terminates Qajar rule; Reza Khan heads a temporary government.
1926		Cars are seen in Dushanbe for the first time (1924 in Central Asia).
1926		Amir Amanullah is entitled "Shah."
1926	1 Feb.	The Kirghiz Autonomous Republic is established; first purge of the Kirghiz communists from the ICPC..
1927		In the Soviet Union, Lev Trotsky loses his "global socialism" battle against Stalin who advocates "socialism in one place." He is expelled from the Party.
1927		A committee is set up to Latinize the Farsi-based Tajiki alphabet within 5 years.
1927		In afghanistan, the newspaper "Anis" begins publication in Dari. Iran and Afghanistan sign a non-aggression treaty. King Amanullah visits India, Egypt, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, England, Poland, Turkey, Russia. And Iran.
1928		Between 1928 and 1931, the first Five Year Plan for rapid, forced industrialization and collectivization of agriculture goes into effect.
1928		The first group of Kazakh nationalists is liquidated.
1928		Between 1928 and 1932, Stalin’s transformation of Soviet society begins with the introduction of heavy industry but is confronted with severe peasant resistance. To establish the "dictatorship of the masses," therefore, Stalin transforms all the forms into Kolkhozes (collective farms) and Sovkhozes (State farms).
1928		Islamic courts and waqfs are abolished.
1928		Within two years, the Latin script replaces the Arabic alphabet throughout Soviet Central Asia.
1928		A five-year plan for collectivization of Soviet Central Asian goes into operation.
1928		Abduqodir Muhiddinov confesses that he had compromoised his Tajik identity by following the dictates of pan-Turkism.
1928		Baccha Saqqa rises in the mountains of Maimana and Kabul.
1928	00 Apr.	Turkey, declared a secular state, adopts the Latin script.
1929		Reza Shah steps up the suppression of the Communist movement and passes a bill through the parliament banning all Communist activity in Iran. Between 1929 and 1936, the Communist Party operated underground where it developed its intellectual cells.
1929		Latin script replaces the Arabic script used by Uzbeks.
1929		Stalin’s forced collectivization program which requires the nomadic peoples of Central Asia to settle results in a major failure. In Kazakhstan alone 14.5 million people starve to death or are killed. Large number of Central Asians move east into China’s Turkistan to live with and among the Uighurs.
1929		First airplane flies from Dushanbe to Bukhara. Similarly first train, radio and wireless in Tajikistan.
1929		The daily "Islah" is published in Pashtu. Amanullah resigns from kingship. His brother, ‘Inayatullah, resigns after 3 days. Baccha Saqqa becomes king. He calls himself Amir Habibullah. Nadir Khan captures Kabul and claims rulership. Baccha Saqqa is killed.
1929	14 Jan.	The unpopular reforms of King Amanullah bring his rule to a standstill. He abdicates. His brother, Enayatullah, who had led the rebellion against the king, becomes king.
1929	4 Sept.	Khujand, the future center of culture and politics of the republic, is added to Tajikistan raising its population to 1 million and its status to that of an independent republic within the USSR; Dushanbe becomes the capital of Tajikistan SSR 15 October). The old script is referred to as a relic of the "Jadid" past.
1929	17 Oct.	Muhammad Nadir Shah, a moderate reformist aligned with the clergy, becomes king of Afghanistan. Tribal life and tribal rules like consensus and Loya Jirgah reenter Afghan society.
1930		Thus far, Tajikistan has been ruled by Nusratullo Makhsum Lutfulloev, Shirinshah Shatimur, Chinor Imomov, Abdullqadir Muhiddimov, and Abdurrahim Hajibaev.
1930		The Turk-Sib (Turkistan-Siberian) railway opens the way to the Soviets’ colonialization and control of Central Asia and the east.
1930		Bukharin bans "Namunaho-i adabiyyot-i Tojik, " calling it a book detrimental to socialist thought.
1930		Tajikistan undergoes a profound transformation from a collection of medieval cities, rural towns, and qishlaqs into a republic with a considerable industrial and agricultural economy. People's mindset, too, changes from predominantly rural to urban. # A number of purges (1931-1937) take place in the Communist Party of the newly-formed republic; Ibrahim Beg, the chief Basmachi leader, is executed.
1930		In Afghanistan, Nadir Shah confirms support for the treaties signed in 1921 and1923.
1931		Basmachi rebel Ibrahim Beg is executed.
1931		First Tajik motion picture "When the Amirs Die" is released.
1931	31 Oct.	A new constitution establishes the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam as the official religion of Afghanistan.
1932		Iraq emerges as a nation and joins the League of Nations. An attempt is made to clarify the boundary between Iran and Iraq as well as to determine who should control the Shatt.
1932		In a second wave (first wave was in 1916), ethnic Kazakhs flee their homeland. This time they were fleeing from forced Soviet collectivization. Altogether, over 1,000,000 Kazakhs fled to China.
1932		Last Bashmachi incursions occur in the Maschah and Gharm regions before the new era begins.
1932	00 Mar.	The Karakalpak region southeast of Lake Aral is taken away from ASS Kazakh Republic and placed in SS Republic of Uzbekistan.
1933	23 Jun.	Rudzutak, central Communist Party Committee appointee, begins reforms of Bukhara administration by replacing its key figures. Abdullo Rahimbaev is appointed Central Committee Secretary.
1933	8 Nov.	Muhammad Zahir Shah ascends the throne of Afghanistan and continues the moderate reforms of his father.
1934		In spite of Dr. Arani's efforts, the Communist Party of Iran is dissolved.
1934		Union of Tajik writers is formed.
1934		The Literary Circle at Kabul is inaugurated. Nadir Shah is killed. His son, Muhammad Zahir Shah becomes king. His uncle, Hashim Khan, becomes Prime Minister.
1934	1 Dec	Simeon Kirov, Lenin’s favorite Communist leader to succeed him, is murdered in Smolni castle. This is the beginning of Stalin's reign of terror.
1935		Turkey helps settle dispute between Iran and Afghanistan.
1936		Between 1936 and 1937 Arani, Bozorg Alavi and 51 other collaborators of the Communist Party of Iran are arrested and incarcerated.
1936		Between 1936 and 1941, the period usually referrd to as the "Great Purge," the amount of forced labor increased dramatically. An esitmated 8 million Soviets served sentences of more than ten years in gulags controlled by the NKVD. Many Central Asian leaders who had participated in the independence movement could be found among the inmates.
1936		Karakalpak Autonomous SSR is incorporated into Uzbek SSR.
1936		Pashtu becomes Afghan national language.
1936		Pashto is given preference over Dari as the official language of Afghanistan.
1936	00 Mar.	The Karakalpak A.S.S.R. is removed from Kazakhstan and placed in SSR of Uzbekistan.
1936	5 Dec.	ASS Republic of Kazakhstan becomes the constituent of the SSRepublic of Kazakhstan.
1936	5 Dec.	The Kirghiz SSR is established as a constituent republic in the USSR.
1936	5 Dec.	The Kazakh and Kirghiz SSRs are created.
1937		The Shatt is recognized as an international waterway. Iran is given the right of use of the river for four miles in front of Khorramshahr and Abadan.
1937		Thousands of Kyrgyz members of the CP of Kyrgyzstan are purged.
1937		The 28 members of the Union of Writers of Tajikistan are divided into 2 groups of 14. Each group writing articles detrimental to the other.
1937		Nusrataullo Makhsum is sentenced to death.
1937		Eleven Turkish officers are accepted in Afghanistan as consultants. The Sa'd Abad Treaty among Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey is signed.
1938		The Troika executioners sentenced people in absentia.
1938	00 Mar.	Uzbek Communist leaders Faizullah Khojaev and Akmal Ikramov are executed.
1939		Large numbers of White Russians, pursued by the Red Army, emigrate to Iran; Iran announces impartiality in WWII; Allies (Britain from the south, Soviets from the north) invade Iran. Reza Shah abdicates in favor of his son, Muhammad Reza, a figurehead ruler.
1939		Within a couple of years, the Cyrillic script replaces the Latin Alphabet in Soviet Central Asia.
1940		Taqi Arani, one of the major leaders of the Communist Party of Iran is poisoned. He was educated in Tehran and Germany. As a university professor, he changed his interest from nationalism to socialism then to Marxism. In Tehran, he formed discussion groups and Published the newspaper "Donya".
1940		In Uzbekistan Cyrillic script replaces Latin script.
1940		Entire regions, like Tavil-Dara, Gharm, Vakhsh, and Qurqanteppe choose to respect their ancient traditions of land management and Islamic traditions. Known as Wahhabis, they institute their own schools, hire their own teachers, and organize their own society. Even today, this region continues to be a hotbed of Muslim resistance. # During World War II, in order to safeguard against mass protests, the communists allow moderate improvements in the lives of select groups of Tajiks... . 233,000 houses, many schools, health centers, and recreation areas are built and given to deserving Sovietized "Muslim" families. Access to knowledge, however, remains limited. Rather than training Tajiks for the future, more factories and low-level jobs are created.
1941		Allied troops, mostly Soviet and British, move into Iran; Reza Shah abdicates.
1941		Between 1941 and 1945, American cargo consisting of metals, food, jeeps, airplanes, and the like, was shipped from Bushire and Khurramshahr on the Persian Gulf to Chalus on the Caspian Sea. That whole sector of western Iran was under US control.
1941		Between 1941 and 1945, large ethnic populations, especially Meskhetians (1944) and Crimean Tatars (1954) whom Stalin suspected of possible cooperation with the Germans, were deported to Central Asia and Siberia.
1941	22 Jun.	Hitler invades Russia; Timur’s tomb is exhumed.
1941	25 Aug.	The Allied Forces, having failed to convince Reza Shah to break Iran's ties to Germany, enter Iranian territory. Reza Shah abdicates and his son, Mohammad Reza, is installed in his place.
1941	00 Sept.	The Tudeh Party is formed to continue the activities of the banned Communist Party of Iran. The platform of the Party includes release of the rest of the gang of 53; recognition of the Tudeh Party as a legitimate organization; publication of a daily newspaper; and establishment of friendly relations with the Allies, especially the Soviet Union. The Party also asks for the legislation of occupational insurance; procurement of individual freedom; democratization of the economic and the political institutions; land reform; recognition of trade unions; right of collective bargaining; working condtions and work hours; health care; education; and village cooperatives.
1942		With the murder of Shah Shuja’, the Durrani rule in Afghanistan comes to an end.
1942		In Iran, following the same ideals and operating according to the same platform, Marxist, pro-Soviet Tudeh Party rises from the ashes of the outlawed CPI.
1942		As a reconciliatory measure and due to need for Muslim assistance at the front, the Soviets grant Islam official legal status and establish four Spiritual Directorates in Ufa, Tashkent, Makhach Qala, and Baku.
1943		Russian defenders of Leningrad defeat the Germans at Stalingrad.
1943		US sends its first military mission to Iran. Not an occupation force, the mission ensures protection of US interests against possible Soviet aggression.
1943		The Sa’d Abad Treaty is automatically renewed.
1944		The Tudeh Party claims that it has 25,000 members and captures 8 seats in the 14th Majlis.
1944		The largest rally in Iranian Communist history boasts of 500,000 participants. Soviet Red Flag is hoisted in the Sepah Square. The meeting is invaded by the police. Many memebers are arrested.
1944		Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin meet in Tehran, recognize Iran as the "bridge of victory," and pledge assistance at war’s end.
1944		Tudeh, claiming 25,000 members, occupies 8 seats in the 14th Majles. 500,000 participate in a rally organized by the Party. Soviet Red Flag is hoisted at Sepah Square.
1944		Government of Afghanistan claims Jama al-Din al-Afghani to be an Afghan citizen and buries his supposed remains under a respectful shrine on the grounds of Kabul University.
1944		The Central Muslim Religious Board in Ufa is split into four "Spiritual Directorates," as follows: 1. Muslim Religious Board of Central Asia and Kazakhstan at Tashkent; 2. Muslim Religious Board of the European part of the USSR and Siberia at Ufa; 3. Muslim Religious Board of the Northern Caucasus at Buynaksk; and 4. Muslim Religious Board of Transcaucasus at Baku.
1944		Large numbers of Crimean Tatars, Meskhetian Turks, and other Caucasian Muslims are moved to Soviet Central Asia.
1945		Reza Shah passes away in exile in Johannesburg; USSR Foreign Minister arrives in Tehran to negotiate northern Iranian oil concessions; Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan is proclaimed.
1945		Amir Alim Khan, the last Manghit Amir, passes away in Afghanistan.
1946		Iran appeals to the UN Security Council against Soviet aggression in Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. UN protects Iran’s rights.
1946		In afghanistan, Muhammad Hashim Khan resigns as prime minister. Mahmud Khan becomes prime minister.
1946		Kabul university consisting of four faculties of medicine, law, natural sciences, and politics is established.
1947		The war-time alliance between Russia and the West is swiftly replaced by the Cold War. Soviet regimes are established throughout Eastern Europe.
1947		The city of Temirtau is established to accommodate the Karaganda Metal Works.
1947		Majles rejects the Iran-Soviet oil concession.
1948		Tudeh Party is at its peak.
1948		Tudeh at peak.
1948	6 Oct.	Earthquake destroys the city of Ashkhabad.
1949		An attempt to assassinate the Shah is not successful. The Tudeh Party is blamed; its members are arrested and tortured.
1949		The USSR tests it first atomic bomb in northern Kazakhstan.
1949		Unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Shah results in persecution of Tudeh members.
1950		Mosaddeq introduces a bill in the Majles to create the SAVAK to control the underground activities of the Tudeh Party.
1950		Musaddiq introduces a bill to create SAVAK (Secret Police).
1950		In Tajikistan, in the early 1950s, mining, fuel, textile, foodstuffs, and building materials are a priority. Improvement in lifestyle, materially and psychologically, is also given attention. In order to accommodate war veterans, two cotton processing factories are built in Qurqanteppe, a third hydroelectric station is built on the Varzob. # In the latter part of the 1950s, large tracts of marshland around Qurqanteppe, Kulab (lower Vakhsh), and Dushanbe are recovered and cultivated; the Sharsharah and the foundation of the Sarband hydroelectric stations (both on the upper) are completed. A watershed in the building of socialism, this period provides much of the infrastructure required by the agricultural sector; the pro-Islamic policies dictated by World War II are reversed.
1950		Pakistan seals its northern border effectively separating the land-locked Afghans from all port facilities and markets to their south.
1951		Between 1951 and 1953 most cities of Iran are under military curfew. Tudeh organizations are closed, the newspaper, "Besu-ye Ayandeh," is banned.banning the paper:
1951		In Iran, Muhammad Musaddiq leads the social-democratic National Front into power; oil fields are nationalized; Britain sets up economic blockade; Tudeh organizations are closed; Sadeq Hedayat passes away.
1952		As Iranian economy weakens while the Tudeh gains in strength, US President Eisenhower fears Communist takeover.
1953		After the expulsion of the British from Iran, the border issue flares up. Iranians refuse to abide by the 1937 treaty by claiming that the median line should form the boundary.
1953		In Afghanistan, Shah Mahmud resigns as prime minister. Davood Khan becomes prime minister.
1953	00 Mar.	Joseph Stalin passes away.
1953	5 Mar.	Stalin passes away.
1953	00 Aug.	The USSR tests its first hydrogen bomb.
1953	00 Aug.	Musaddiq refuses the Shah’s suggestion and US’s insistence that he should resign. Shah flees while his generals and the CIA ( Allen Dulles, Kermit Roosevelt, H. Norman Schwartzkopf) carry out a coup in his favor. Within three days, the Shah returns and bans all political opposition.
1953	00 Sept.	Aided by the Soviets, Premier Muhammad Daud launches a series of reforms including voluntary unveiling of women.
1954		Iran receives aid and nominal control of its oil fields. Management and development rights remain with the Anglo-American consortium.
1954	15 Jul.	In Tajikistan, Sadriddin Aini (b. 1878), Tajik novelist and literary scholar passes away. Founder of Tajik Soviet literature, Aini grows up in rural Bukhara, studies in Bukhara schools, and writes about Bukhara of the turn at the century, especially its religious schools, government, and law. Aini’s Reminiscences is a most valuable book written about the Sovietization of Central Asia.
1954	00 Dec.	60,000,000 acres previously used as pastureland by the nomadic Kazakhs form the basis for First Secretary of the CP Nikita Khrushchev’s ill-designed Virgin Lands Project. A lack of post-production planning dooms the project in spite of the efforts of those exiled to kazakhstn in 1944 and many others who flooded the region from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus as technicians. Altoghether 10,000,000 Soviets were added to the population of Kazakhstan.
1955		The Tudeh Party's underground organisation among the military personnel is uncovered and a large number of officers are arrested and later executed.
1955		Martial law in Tehran, in effect since 1951, ends.
1956		Krushchev's secret speech denounces Stalin's crimes. Krushchev initiates reforms, ends the purges and restores the primacy of the Party over one-man rule.
1956		The Tudeh Party is internationalized and grafted to Islam.
1956		Tudeh, now a member of the International Community, is grafted to Islam.
1957		Mosaddeq's bill passes and SAVAK is established. Teymur Bakhtiyar, a royalist takes charge, infiltrates the Tudeh, and arrests 600 officers; confiscates Tudeh printing presses and ammunition (12,000 grenades); key Tudeh members defect to the government.
1957		SAVAK is formed; assembly of motor vehicles begins.
1957		In Afghanistan, Radio Moscow begins a broadcast program in Pashtu.
1957	16 Mar.	Abul Qasim Lahuti (b. 1887) passes away in Moscow. Born in Kermanshah, Iran, the future Tajik poet flees Iran in 1922 and joins the Tajiks in their quest for supremacy. "Kremlin," "Victory," and "Revolution" are examples of the themes he develops.
1958		Khrushchev becomes premier of the Soviet Union.
1958	11 May	Khosrow Roozbeh, one of the prominent leaders of the Tudeh Party of Iran faces the firing squad and dies.
1959		The Afghan-Russian Friendship House opens; educational exchange between Afghanistan and Turkey is signed.
1959		The costly Hilmand project in Afghanistan, patterned on the Tennessee Valley Authority project of the United State is completed.
1959	00 Mar.	In Uzbekistan, Sharif Rashidov becomes the First Secretary of the CPU.
1960		In Tajikistan, Jabbor Rasulov becomes the First Secretary of the CPT (1961). Light industry of lower Vakhsh is expanded and developed. Automotive industry responds to the immediate needs of engineers, managers, and farmers. Furthermore, a combination of automation and the brigade system leads to the expansion of irrigation and development of some 13,615 hectares of land. Production of automotive tools, electricity, and foodstuffs boosts both light industry and trade; naturally, it also improves the lifestyle of the individual Tajik. The hydroelectric factory on the Vakhsh, the "Pamir" refrigerator plant, and the Hissar Hydrozal are prominent example of this prosperous era. The major achievement of the Soviet Tajiks, however, is the inclusion of their textile combinat among the textile production outlets of the USSR (1966).
1960		Russia makes a gift of 50,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan. King Amanullah passes away in Switzerland.
1961		Shah abandons the Arab League for relations with Israel; secures his wealth in the Pahlavi Foundation, dissolves the Majles, begins Land Reform; Mehdi Bazargan forms the Iran Freedom Party.
1961		From 1961 to 1985 Turdakan Usubaliev serves at the First Secretary of Kirghiz SSR.
1961		Jabbor Rasulov becomes the First Secretary of the CP of Tajikistan.
1961	Oct.	The concepts of sblizhenie (XXX) and sliianie (XXX) are introduced by the 22nd Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) Party Congress.
1961	12 Apr.	Yuri Gagarin becomes the first space traveler aboard Vostok 1.
1961	27 Jun.	Mukhtar Auezov, Soviet novelist and playwright, passes away.
1962		Mass exodus of Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Soviet Central Asia.
1962		Iranian ambassador in Pakistan suggests a confederation among Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Transit Agreement between Iran and Afghanistan is signed. Iran accepts Pakistan to mediate in her quarrels with Afghanistan. The Shah of Iran travels to Kabul and Rawalpindi. He meets with Muhammad Zahir Shah and Ayyub Khan of Pakistan. In Kwait, Ayyub khan revives the concept of the confederation among the three nations against foreign aggression. Iran protests the damming of the Hirmand due to loss of agricultural land.
1963		The Tudeh Party is helplessness against the reforms implemented by the Shah in hte course of his "White Revolution."
1963		National Front gains in strength. Shah urges the US Congress for additional assistance. Kennedy urges the Shah to gear his economic reforms to American interests; Islamic clergy protest the Shah’s dictatorial rule.
1963		Huge crop failure in Russia forces Khrushchev to buy wheat from abroad.
1963		In afghnistan, after nine and a half years, Daud Khan resigns as prime minister. Afghan and Pakistani representatives meet in Tehran to resolve the Pushtunistan problem. The Shah of Iran recognizes the Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan confederation to be sound but not without flaw.
1963	26 Jan.	The White Revolution, calling for land reform, literacy, and women’s rights is launched; opens way for foreign agribusiness ventures. Companies such as Dow Chemical, Bank of America, John Deere, and Royal Dutch Shell operate freely in Iran’s economic sectors. Tudeh, which had consistently asked for similar reforms, is helpless.
1963	00 Mar.	Khomeini denounces the White Revolution; Shah’s commandos attack a gathering at the Faizeyeh Theological College.
1963	5 Jun.	Large numbers of unarmed people are murdered in the streets and bazaars of Tehran, Qom, and Shiraz; Khomeini is imprisoned then released.
1963	00 Aug.	US military advisors are given diplomatic immunity.
1963	19 Sept.	The Supreme Soviet orders Kazakhstan to hand over 40,000 sq. km. To the republic of Uzbekistan.
1964		Krushchev is outsted and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev who follows more cautious policies.
1964		Dr. Ali Shari’ati is arrested upon arriving in Iran from Paris where he had been studying.
1964		Between 1964 and 1986 Dinmukhammad Kunaev served as the First Secretaty of Kazakhstan, replacing Leonid Brezhenev.
1964	1 Oct.	Afghanistan becomes a constitutional monarchy and Afghans are promised most of the rights received by those living in a democracy including free press, freedom of assembly, and the right to form political parties. Both Pashto and Dari are recognized as official languages.
1964	4 Nov.	Khomeini is exiled to Turkey, moves to Najaf, Iraq, in 1965.
1965		Hardliner, Leonid Brezhnev, who replaces Khrushchev in 1964, elevates the Soviet Union to match, at times possibly surpass, the US in defense, diplomacy, and sports.
1965		Within the next two years, the Shah buys two squadrons of F-14 fighter-bombers from the US and uses them against the rebellious Qashqai tribes in the south; SAVAK is accused of intensifying repression.
1965		First Kabul census: 435,203. Muhammad Yusef resigns as prime minister. Muhammad Hashim Minval succeeds him. Ms Kubra Nurza’I becomes Minister of Health—1st woman minister. Muhammad Uthman Sidqi becomes Minister of Media.
1965		The nucleus of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) is formed.
1965	00 Jun.	Iran and the USSR reach agreement for steel mill, tool plants, and pipeline for the amount of $290 million.
1966		The remains of Enwar Pasha are returned to Turkey by the Tajik government.
1966		In afghanistan, Payam-i Imruz, a Dari journal, is published twice each week. Khalil Allah Khalili becomes Afghanistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The newspaper "Khalq" is published by Muhammad Taraki in both Pashtu and Dari. It is banned after a short run. The 286th year of Afghan Pashtu poet Khushhal Khan Khatak (lived during the 17th century) is celebrated.
1966	25 Apr.	Tashkent is destroyed by an earthquake.
1967		In afghanistan, women gained the right to have birth certificates. Mivand val resigns as prime minister. Nur Ahmad ‘E’temadi becomes Prime Minister.
1967		In Afghanistan, the PDPA splits into the Khalq (tribal) and Parcham (urban) factions.
1967		Kabul students demonstrate.
1968		Britain finalizes plans to pull its military out of the Persian Gulf.
1968		Queen Sorayya, king Amanullah’s wife, passes away in Rome. Her body is brought back to Afghanistan and buried in Jalal Abad.
1968	00 Mar.	USSR economic deligation visits Iran for start of work on steel plant.
1968	00 Sept.	Iranian steel delegation visits the USSR for talks on the Isfahan steel mill project.
1969		Between 1969 and 1986 Makhamed nazar Gapurov serves as the First Secretary of Turkmenistan
1969	00 Jan.	14 artists and writers are incarcerated and tortured by military tribunal; Iranian embassy in Rome is occupied as part of a worldwide Iranian student protest against the Shah; SAVAK operates inside the US.
1970		In the 1970's Soviet scientists discover valuable minerals in western Turkmenistan beneath the salty waters of Kara-Bogaz Gol.
1970		During the 1970's, the Shah of Iran agitates the Kurdish population of Iraq. The kurds, who received Iranian funds and weapons, sue for autonomy claiming that the control of the oil fields of Mosul should be given to them.
1970		The US/Soviet Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) lead to a nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
1970		Amnesty International and Le Monde report mass jailing, arbitrary arrests, and torture inside Iranian prisons.
1970	00 Mar.	Contract is signed between the USSR and Iran for new facilities in Isfahan steel works.
1970	00 Aug.	Protocol is sighned between Iran and the USSR on gas export, steel works, and power plants,
1971		The Fedayeen (anti-Soviet Marxist-Leninist) and the Mujahidin (radical Islamic nationalist with Marxist tendencies) become active and remain so until 1976-77 when they splinter into more factions; British military leaves the Middle East.
1971		In Central Asia, the Central Committee of CPSU calls for an increase in atheistic work and vigorous enforcement of Soviet anti-religious laws. Soviet holidays replace Muslim holidays.
1971	00 Oct.	At the cost of more than $60,000,000, at Persepolis, the Shah celebrates the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire. Food and water are flown in from Paris.
1972		House of Scientific Atheism opens (1972).
1972	00 May	At Tehran University, Richard Nixon is met with a silent protest staged by students. Shah accepts to protect U. S. interests in the Middle East in exchange for arms; Iranian military purchases reach $519 million.
1973		Iran does not participate in the oil boycott, raises the price of its crude; former CIA head, Richard Helms, becomes the US ambassador to Iran; 20 year oil agreement with the consortium of Western firms concluded.
1973		The planning stage of "Islam Against Communism," a program for Central Asia supported by the US, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and other countries coincides with the revival of the Wahhabi movement in Tajikistan (1975).
1973	17 Jul.	Daoud Khan overthrows the monarch Zahir Shah and establishes a republic in Afghanistan and proceeds to establish relations with the Sovits, Iran, and the Persian Guld States.
1974		Iranian oil revenues reach $18 billion. French government contracts to build two nuclear plants at $2 billion each.
1974	00 May	Amnesty International singles out Iran as the country with the worst record of human rights; Iran buys a major share in the Krupp firm of West Germany.
1975		General Saddam Hossein signs the Treaty of Algiers according to which the median line is recognized as the boundary between Iran and Iraq; maps depicting the division with separate names for each side of the river are issued.
1975		In the Fall of 1975, a new group of Iranian activists, related to Tudeh Party, appears under the title of Navid. The publication of "Navid" followed.
1975		Iran becomes a one-party state; riots follow government-sponsored price raises.
1975		Islamic Resurgence Party is established in southern Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan as a clandestine stronghold for the continuation of Islamic values and teachings.
1975	6 Mar.	Iran and Iraq settle Shat al-Arab dispute by Iran agreeing to withdraw its support for Iraqi Kurds.
1976		The first anti-Communist protest by a Muslim group is staged in Qurqanteppe by Mullah Abdullo Nuri, followed by a covert Islamic movement, the Islamic Resurgence Party (IRP) in the USSR (1978).
1976		In Geneva, prisoners, subjected to SAVAK torture, speak to the International Commission of Jurists.
1976		Padgorni visits Kabul.
1977		Carter, keeping human rights in the forefront of his policy agenda, presses the Shah to moderate his stance. William L. Sullivan, the new Ambassador to Iran, repeatedly meets with the Shah discusses strategies whereby the Iranian government could suppress the opposition.
1977		Trade agreement for 30 years is signed between Afghanistan and the USSR.
1977	00 Apr.	In Iran, military trial of dissidents is open to press in more than five years.
1977	00 Jun.	In London, Ali Shari’ati, former University of Mashad teacher and a victim of SAVAK torture, passes away under mysterious circumstances. Along with Jalal Al-i Ahmad, Shari’ati is one of the foremost exponents of the Islamic Revolution that swept the Shah from power.
1977	12 Jun.	In an "open letter," moderate leaders of the National Front plead with the Shah to discontinue despotism and allow free elections.
1977	23 Jun.	International League for Human Rights, protesting mass arrests and torture, sends messages to Carter and the Congress; the League accuses the State Department of withholding information.
1977	00 Aug.	Shah appoints Jamshid Amouzegar, a liberal Prime Minister and frees 572 political prisoners.
1977	24 Sept.	Tajik Soviet poet, Mirzo Tursunzoda (b. 1911) passes away. Influenced by Aini and Lahuti, Tursunzoda produces some of the most memorable marches of early Soviet times. Unlike his predecessors, however, he addresses international issues, especially those dealing with India.
1977	29 Oct.	In Iraq, Khomeini’s son passes away under suspicious circumstances.
1977	15 Nov.	8,500 Iranians demonstrate outside as Carter entertains the Shah at the White House. Mace and tear-gas are used to disperse the crowd.
1977	00 Dec.	Carter visits Iran. On New Year’s Eve, calling Iran an island of stability in a sea of troubles, he toasts the Shah, "Your Majesty, your view of human rights and mine are the same."
1977	31 Dec.	Iran’s military purchase reaches $5.8 billion. 7,676 Americans work in more than thirty para-military organizations in Iran. Bell International, Hughes Aircraft, Computer Sciences Corp., Harsco, TRW, Rockwell International, GTE, Lockheed, and Harris Corp. top the list.
1978		Kirghiz SSR adopts a new constitution.
1978		In Afghanistan, Khalq and Parcham forces reunite and overthrow the government of Daoud Khan; the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is formed.
1978	7 Jan.	Between 7 and 9 January, Islamic clergy stage massive rallies in Qom, protesting land reform policies, the ban of the veil, and an attack on Khomeini in a Tehran newspaper. Police opens fire on unarmed demonstrators, killing dozens. Forty-day cycles of killings and mourning begin. Khomeini becomes the focus of the opposition.
1978	14 Feb.	US ambassador Adlph Dubs is killed in Afghanistan.
1978	17 Feb.	To mourn the Qom deaths, religious leaders call for business shutdowns. In Tabriz and other cities, demonstrations are interrupted by army tanks, scores are killed.
1978	28 Feb.	Amnesty International accuses Iran of denying defenders the right to a fair trial.
1978	1 Mar.	Kurdish tribesmen present a list of demands for autonomy.
1978	00 Apr.	In a Communist coup, both Davood Khan and his brother are killed. Taraki becomes president. Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is born. Russia immediately recognized the Republic. Parcham ministers are dismissed. Babrak Karmal becomes ambassador to Prague (Jul.)
1978	27 Apr.	Daud Khan is killed by Marxist military commanders who form a new government headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki.
1978	9 May	Army, police, and SAVAK step up activity. Police kill two Shi’ite clergy at the home of Ayatollah Shari’at-Madari.
1978	18 Aug.	Between 18 and 20 August, movie houses in Meshed, Reza’iyyeh, and Shiraz are set on fire; 430 die in a movie theater fire in Abadan. SAVAK is blamed. Anti-Shah riots break out in Abadan.
1978	27 Aug.	Sharif-Emami becomes prime minister, abolishes the portfolio of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs, closes the casinos, and resumes the use of the traditional calendar.
1978	7 Sept.	Between 7 and 9 January, martial law is declared in Tehran and eleven other cities; Troops open fire on unarmed demonstrators in Jaleh Square, killing 3,000, including 700 women; Carter reaffirms US support for the Shah.
1978	24 Sept	Between 24 September and 4 October, 10,000 oil workers go on strike; industrial actions against the government leads to strikes in all service sectors.
1978	6 Oct.	Khomeini, expelled from Iraq, joins Abolhassan Bani-Sadr and Sadeq Ghotbzadeh in Paris.
1978	19 Oct.	Afghanistan chooses a red flag.
1978	31 Oct.	The oil industry is shut down. Speaking with Crown Prince Reza, Carter reaffirms US support for the Shah.
1978	1 Nov.	16th anniversary of Khomeini’s exile is commemorated.
1978	3 Nov.	Between 3 and 5 of November, Sanjabi joins forces with Khomeini; Prime Minister Sharif-Emami resigns.
1978	6 Nov.	Shah admits past mistakes and appoints a military government led by General Azhari; State Department forms a working group on Iran; Khomeini and Sanjabi rule out cooperation with the Shah.
1978	7 Nov.	Former Prime Minister Hoveida, SAVAK chief General Ne’matollah Nassiri, and six former cabinet members are arrested; State Department confirms that US is supplying Iran with tear gas, shields, helmets, and batons.
1978	13 Nov.	Oil workers return to work in response to government threats; 200 suspected of organizing strikes in the oil fields are arrested; work slowdown begins in Ahwaz.
1978	19 Nov.	US denies Soviet allegations of interference in Iranian military affairs; Shah frees 210 political prisoners.
1978	28 Nov.	Government bans processions during the month of Muharram; announces a revision of laws to conform with Islamic principles.
1978	30 Nov.	A bill granting 25% pay raise to 70,000 civil servants is approved.
1978	1 Dec.	Between 1 and 5 December, demonstrators defy ban at the cost of 700 lives; Carter appoints George Ball to study the Gulf crisis.
1978	6 Dec.	Between 6 and 18 December, Khomeini calls for a national day of mourning and a general strike.
1978	13 Dec.	Former Prime Minister Ali Amini suggests the establishment of a Regency Council. Sanjabi suggests that the Shah relinquish power to the Regency Council. Khomeini insists on a referendum on the monarchy.
1978	26 Dec.	Between 26 and 28 December, Iran rations fuel; US orders the aircraft carrier Constellation to leave the Philippines for the South China Sea.
1978	29 Dec.	Shah asks Shapur Bakhtiar (1916-91) to form a civilian government. Paris-educated Bakhtiar is an opponent of both the Shah and Khomeini. Second man in Iran’s National Front, a monarchist and former deputy Minister of Labor in Mosaddeq’s cabinet, he intends to phase out martial law, return the military to the barracks, put an end to heavy military spending, abolish the SAVAK, except for the intelligence department, and stop sale of oil to Israel and South Africa. Khomeini can return provided he does not interfere in Iranian politics.
1978	30 Dec.	Khomeini and the National Front denounce Bakhtiar’s appointment; Americans are advised to leave Iran; General Azhari resigns.
1979	1 Jan.	Khomeini declares willingness to work with US, provided the Shah leaves and the US ends its interference in Iranian affairs.
1979	3 Jan.	General Robert E. Huyser arrives in Iran to redirect the military to support Bakhtiar and to prepare a contingency plan in case the Bakhtiar government collapses. Bakhtiar halts the sale of oil to South Africa and Israel and announces the Shah’s decision to leave the country temporarily.
1979	5 Jan.	A dual government rules. One under Bakhtiar who is criticized for capitulating to the Shah and the West, the other under Khomeini who directs the oil workers to produce enough oil for domestic consumption.
1979	8 Jan.	Between 8 and 11 January, Bakhtiar presents his cabinet to the Majles and proposes a 17-point program, including dissolution of SAVAK, greater political rights, and a greater role for the religious leaders in government.
1979	13 Jan.	Government announces the formation of a 9-man regency council; Khomeini appoints a Provisional Revolutionary Council to displace Bakhtiar’s "illegal" government, introduces a provisional government to oversee elections, and an assembly to write a constitution.
1979	16 Jan.	Having transferred some $2-4 billion to his accounts abroad, the Shah flies to Egypt; Khomeini calls on members of the government and the Regency Council to resign.
1979	22 Jan.	Tehrani, head of the Regency Council, resigns.
1979	25 Jan.	Between 25 and 29 January, Khomeini refuses to meet with Bakhtiar in Paris, unless Bakhtiar resigns; 200,000 barrels of diesel fuel and gasoline are shipped from US to Iran.
1979	30 Jan.	Government allows Khomeini to return; Nonessential US government personnel leave Iran.
1979	1 Feb.	Between 1 and 5 February, 3 million celebrate Khomeini’s return; Khomeini appoints Mehdi Bazargan prime minister in a provisional government.
1979	10 Feb.	Between 10 and 13 February, mass desertions in the army and a route of the elite Imperial Guard by Khomeini supporters, prevent the US from implementing a coup. Bakhtiar’s government falls; Tudeh expresses support as Khomeini takes Iran.
1979	16 Feb.	Nassiri, is executed. The 30,000-man Imperial Guard is dissolved.
1979	00 Mar.	Soviet Air Force begins a massacre. 30,000 are killed.
1979	7 Mar.	People’s Revolutionary Councils become operational.
1979	8 Mar.	Between 8 and 12 March, Tehran women protest against the required Islamic dress code.
1979	12 Mar.	Between 12 and 16 March, Shari’at-Madari and Bazargan convince Khomeini to place a ban on the Revolutionary Council’s recent trials but fail to give the people a wider spectrum of choices by stopping the projected referendum on the monarchy.
1979	18 Mar.	Between 18 and 21 March, Kurdish tribesmen and government officials in Sanandaj fight over the Kurd’s demand for autonomy.
1979	25 Mar.	Government announces its intention to grant limited autonomy to the Kurds and appoints a Kurd, Ibrahim Yunesi, governor of Kurdistan province.
1979	26 Mar.	Turkmen tribesmen and government officials in Gunbad Qabus fight over autonomy; unrest reported among Baluchi tribesmen.
1979	27 Mar.	In afghanistan, Hafizullah Amin, the Foreign Minister, becomes Prime Minister. First year of Revolution comes to an end.
1979	30 Mar.	Shah flies to the Bahamas.
1979	31 Mar.	Voting begins to establish a democratic republic with a freely-elected parliament—a theocracy. In it, the Ayatollah acts as a high counselor (Faqih). The republic will break ties with Israel in support of the Palestinian cause, stop shipment of oil to Israel and South Africa, break ties with monarchical states like Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf States, and export Shi’ism to other Middle Eastern nations. It will engage in a radical redistribution of personal income, turn most companies over to the people, establish foreign coops and modernize agriculture. It will create a people’s army, censor books, movies, and all things Western, and will treat women with full respect.
1979	1 Apr.	Khomeini announces the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
1979	5 Apr.	Between 5 April 5 and 13 April, 35 high-ranking former officials, including former Prime Minister Hoveida, are executed.
1979	18 Apr.	Between 18 April and 20 April, olitical differences between Taleghani and Khomeini are reconciled.
1979	21 Apr.	Between 21 April and 26 April, hostilities between the Kurds and the Turks in Naghdah, Azerbaijan, result in 1,000 deaths.
1979	27Apr.	In afghanistan, all shopkeepers are forced to paint the front of their shops red. Otherwise they would be fined or imprisoned.
1979	28 Apr.	Preliminary draft of the constitution is published.
1979	1 May	Ayatollah Morteza Motahheri, important Revolutionary Council member and ideologue, is assassinated.
1979	9 May	Government begins the execution of private individuals on charges of corruption.
1979	9 Jun.	Between 9 June and July 6, Government nationalizes 37 banks, all insurance companies and large-scale industries.
1979	10 Jun.	Shah leaves the Bahamas for Mexico.
1979	00 Jul.	Taraki acquires special powers to deal with the Afghan Mujahidin.
1979	19 Jul.	Bazargan’s government is advised to share power with the Revolutionary Council. Council members serve as ministers while cabinet members sit on the Council.
1979	23 Jul.	Khomeini bans playing music on radio and television stations.
1979	00 Aug.	Thousands are killed in Kabul.
1979	14 Aug.	Between 4 August and September 6, Khomeini rejects an accord between Taleghani and the Kurds. The Kurds’ rebellion is crushed.
1979	00 Sept.	Amin murders Taraki and, with the help of the Soviets, becomes president.
1979	10 Sept.	Taleghani passes away.
1979	12 Sept.	The Constituent Assembly grants supreme power to the Faqih.
1979	5 Oct.	US resumes shipment of military parts to Iran.
1979	19 Oct.	Between 19 and 22 October, US informs Iran of its intention to admit the Shah temporarily for medical attention; Iran warns of the consequences of admitting the former monarch; Shah flies to New York City.
1979	3 Nov.	The Soviets roll in 20 battalions into Afghanistan.
1979	4 Nov.	Iranian militants storm US embassy, seize 90 hostages, including 62 Americans, demand the return of the Shah. US refuses.
1979	6 Nov.	Bazargan government resigns; Revolutionary Council takes over its duties.
1979	11 Nov.	Bani-Sadr becomes Acting Foreign Minister; calls for the return of the Shah and his assets.
1979	12 Nov.	Between November 12 and 14, Carter freezes official Iranian assets; suspends US imports from Iran.
1979	19 Nov.	13 hostages (5 women, 8 black men) are released.
1979	26 Nov.	Shari’at-Madari denounces the taking of the hostages. UN Security Council appeals to both countries for moderation.
1979	28 Nov.	Hard-liner Ghotbzadeh replaces moderate Bani-Sadr as Foreign Minister.
1979	29 Nov.	US files suit in the World Court; Mexico refuses to take back the deposed Shah.
1979	1 Dec.	UN Security Council begins debate on the crisis.
1979	2 Dec.	New Islamic Constitution is approved. The referendum is boycotted in Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Baluchistan; Shah is moved to Lakeland Air Force Base.
1979	2 Dec.	Between 2 December, 1979 and 12 January, 1980, clashes between Khomeini and Shari’at-Madari over the Constitution and the power of the Faqih result in minority uprisings.
1979	2 Dec.	Land reform announced. Those opposed to the regime call for a Jihad and rebel.
1979	3 Dec.	Between 3 and 7 December, Russian Air Force brings in troops into Kabul.
1979	4 Dec.	New Islamic Constitution is adopted.
1979	7 Dec.	Shah charges US with betrayal.
1979	12 Dec.	183 Iranians are given notice to leave the US within five days.
1979	15 Dec.	Shah arrives in Panama; International Court of Justice orders Iran to release the hostages.
1979	21 Dec.	1,500 Russian parachutists are dropped in Bagram, 50 miles from Kabul.
1979:	24 Dec.	Frustrated at their inability to stem the tide of religious zeal in their southern republics and threatened by a possible Iranian takeover of the region, the Soviets, from their military base in Termez, Uzbekistan, invade Afghanistan and remain there until Apr. 1989.
1979	27 Dec.	Babrak Karmal becomes president. Hafizullah Amin is marked as an agent for the CIA.
1980		Soviet officials dammed the channel that links the Kara-Bogaz Gol with the Caspian Sea. Gulf water evaporates, leaving the gulf's sandy floor.
1980		In Afghanistan, Russia continues to add to their forces. They use gas bombs and other means to intimidate the population
1980	1 Jan.	UN Secretary General Waldheim arrives in Tehran but cannot mediate or negotiate with the captors.
1980	3 Jan.	Khomeini refuses to meet Waldheim who pledges to investigate human rights during the Shah’s regime.
1980	16 Jan.	Between 16 and 21 January, Christopher and Behzad Nabavi sign the final agreement; hostages return home.
1980	25 Jan.	Between 25 and 30 January, Bani-Sadr is elected Iran’s first president.
1980	11 Feb.	Iranians celebrate the first anniversary of the revolution.
1980	24 Feb.	In Iran, between 24 February and 1 March, the United Nations fact-finding commission meets with Ghotbzadeh.
1980	14 Mar.	In the first election for the National Assembly, Islamic Republican Party, with strong fundamentalist leanings, wins plurality.
1980	23 Mar.	Shah returns to Egypt.
1980	00 Apr.	On the anniversary of the Revolution, the demonstrators are massacred.
1980:	7 Apr.	Khomeini rules the hostages must remain in the hands of the militants; Carter breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran, expels the remaining 5 Iranian diplomats.
1980	13 Apr.	Between 13 and 18 April, US threatens military action against Iran.
1980	20 Apr.	New York Times confirms White House involvement in assessing the possibilities of an American-backed military coup in Iran.
1980	23 Apr.	Iran announces new trade accords with the Soviet Union, Romania, and East Germany.
1980	24 Apr.	Between 24 and 29 april, US attempts to rescue the hostages, but the attempt fails. Eight servicemen die; Iran moves the hostages to various locations to foil further rescue attempts; Senator Edmund Muskie replaces Secretary of State Cyrus Vance who resigns in disagreement over the failed rescue mission. Carter accepts all responsibility for the failed mission.
1980	28 May	Iranian Parliament opens.
1980	2 Jun.	Sixty countries participate in the "Conference on US Intervention in Iran" held in Tehran Between 2 and 5 January,. Americans participating include former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark.
1980	10 Jul.	Coup attempt, led by Iranian Air Force officers, is foiled.
1980	27 Jul.	Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (1919-80) passes away. He ascends the throne (1941) at the age of 21. Confronted by Musaddiq on his support of foreign oil interests, he flees the country (1953). Returned to power by the CIA, becomes an autocrat, using his formidable SAVAK to keep the antagonized middle class and religious leaders in line. In 1979, he is challenged once again by Ayatollah Khomeini who establishes an Islamic Republic in Iran. A king without a country, the former Shah visits Egypt, the Bahamas, Mexico, US, and Panama before he passes away in Egypt. He is buried in a Cairo mosque. Richard Nixon attends the funeral. Ronald Reagan praises the Shah as a "loyal and valued friend."
1980	9 Aug.	In Iran, Mohammad Ali Rajaie is nominated Prime Minister.
1980	12 Sept.	Return of the Shah’s wealth, cancellation of US claims against Iran, unfreezing of Iranian assets, and a guarantee not to interfere in Iranian affairs are Khomeini’s conditions for ending the crisis. Demand for an apology is dropped.
1980	17 Sept.	Majles agrees to set up a special committee to solve the hostage issue.
1980	19 Sept.	Between 19 to 22 September, Border skirmishes end in large-scale military conflict between Iraq and Iran. Oil refineries in both nations are bombed.
1980	22 Sept.	Iraq invades Iran and captures some fifty square kilometers of Iranian territory. The city of Khorramshahr falls and the city of Abadan is put under siege.
1980	28 Sept.	UN Security Council calls for a halt to the fighting between Iran and Iraq.
1980	16 Oct.	Between 16 and 18 October, Rajaie tells a New York news conference that the release of hostages is "not far away."
1980	20 Oct.	Carter says he will lift sanctions, if hostages are freed.
1980	10 Nov.	Between 10 and 20 November, Warren Christopher delivers US’s response to Iran’s conditions; US accepts all four conditions in principle.
1980	27 Nov.	Militants turn the hostages over to the government.; Reagan calls Iran’s demand of $24 billion unacceptable.
1956	00 Mar.	Agreement is reached between Kabul and Moscow on the Hindu Kush highway and airfields.
1970	00 Feb.	A section of the Kabul-Shabirghan highway is completed.
1971	00 Aug.	In Afghanistan, the Shabirghan-Kabul highway is completed.
1981	6 Jun.	Khomeini replaces Bani-Sadr as army commander.
1981	21 Jun.	Between Jun e 21 and 24, Parliament, led by Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, wins an overwhelming vote of no confidence against Bani-Sadr who is ousted; Mohammad Ali Rajaie becomes president.
1981	28 Jun.	Beheshti, Head of the Islamic Republican Party and Iran's Chief Justice, is killed in a Mujahidin-i Khalq bomb blast that kills 74.
1981	22 Aug.	A five-member advisory council of resistance is formed by the Mujahidin of Afghanistan. The council opposes the Soviet-backed regime and declare a jihad or holy war.
1981	30 Aug.	Rajaie and Javad Bahonar are killed by a bomb.
1981	2 Oct.	Mohammad Ali Khamenei is elected president.
1982	6 Feb.	The Islamic Republic of Iran declares the Tudeh Party of Iran illegal, accuses many members of treason and collaboration with the KGB.
1982	00 Mar.	Iran launches an offensive, regains border areas occupied by Iraq.
1982	2 Apr.	In Tajikistan, Rasulov, First Secretary of the CPT, passes away. Rahmon Nabiev, resolved to curb Islam promoted by the Pamiris and Gharmis, becomes First Party Secretary. Nabiev's efforts at suppressing the anti-communist forces are out of step with the times.
1982	00 May	During May and June, Iraqi forces are pushed out of Abadan, Khorramshahr, and other disputed areas.
1982	22 Sept.	Ghotbzadeh, former Khomeini aide and foreign minister, is executed by firing squad on charges of treason.
1983		Kara-Bogaz Gol is completely drained of seawater. Large deposits of salt remain, creating health hazard to people living downwind in western Turkmenistan.
1983	00 Mar.	In March and April, the US embassy in Beirut is destroyed, Iran is blamed; 4 Mujahidin hideouts are discovered and destroyed.
1983	00 Apr.	During April and May, the Tudeh is outlawed; members have one month to report; 84 Russian diplomats are expelled on charges of interfering in Iran's affairs and links to the Tudeh.
1983	00 May	During May and June, the USSR expels 3 Iranian diplomats; an exhibition sponsored by the Hujatiyyeh is forced to close.
1983	00 Jun.	In June and July, the French lease fighter planes equipped with Exocet missiles to Iraq. Iran closes the French consulate in Isfahan and the cultural institute in Tehran; Khomeini submits his will to the Assembly of Experts.
1983	00 Jul.	From July through August, the US warns Iran against closing the Hormuz Strait; Hujatiyyeh assemblies throughout the country are closed; members are advised to join mainstream Islamic revolution.
1983	00 Aug.	In August and September, the Baha'is, are accused of spying, close their 600 assemblies in Iran.
1983	00 Sept.	Between September and October, France delivers Super-Etendard equipped with Exocet missiles to Iraq.
1983	00 Oct.	First Secretary of Uzbekistan Sharif Rashidov, charged with corruption, is removed from office.
1983	00 Oct.	Sharif Rashidov, First Secretary of Uzbekistan, is removed from office on charges of corruption.
1983	00 Nov.	During November and December, the military wing of the Tudeh Party (about 300) is put on trial. The trial reveals that F-14 manuals, information on spare parts, and a number of Iranian military aircraft have been compromised.
1983	00 Dec.	In December and January, the US moves to prevent an Iraqi defeat.
1984		Seawater is allowed to refill the Kara-Bogaz Gol. Damage to the farms and pasturelands remains.
1984	00 Jan.	From January to March, the US government lists Iran among the nations supporting terrorism; Tudeh officers convicted as Party members and spies receive 30-year to life sentences; 10 officers, referred to the High Judiciary Council, are executed.
1984	00 Apr.	Between April and May, Ehsan Tabari confesses to espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union; women are encouraged to become involved in education.
1984	6 Apr.	Mujahidins' ties to Iraq ends the Bani-Sadr-Rajavi alliance.
1984	00 Jun.	In June and July, Iran decides that French and German languages are to be promoted alongside English; wives can legally sue for divorce.
1984	00 Aug.	In August and September, Khomeini accuses the clergy of "inappropriate interference in government affairs;" Kharg Island is shut down for repairs.
1984	00 Sept.	September-October, Ayatollah Haj Seyyed Abdullah Shirazi (95) passes away.
1984	00 Nov.	During November and December, Board charged with converting Western-oriented education to Islamic education is enhanced by 8 members.
1985		Absamat Masaliyev replaces Usubaliev as First Secretary of Kirghiz SSR.
1985		Between Dec. 1985 and Jan. 1986, Baghdad attacks Hoveyzeh and oil-rich, artificial Majnoon Island; Turkey and Iran sign a bilateral trade agreement worth $3 billion; Jumhuri Islami, official government organ, alleges bribery and corruption to be rampant in government offices.
1985		In the face of intense Moscow-supported anti-Islamic activities in the Republic, Said Abdullo Nuri (b. 1947) urges his followers to petition the 29th Congress of the USSR CP to establish an Islamic republic. The self-educated technician, who becomes the leader of the Opposition in the 1990s, is imprisoned.
1985	00 Jan.-Feb.	After 4 years, Lajavardi, aka "Butcher of Tehran," is replaced by Razini.
1985	00 Jan.	Anti-Russian riots in Dushanbe, Tajikistan foresees hard times to come.
1985	00 Feb.-Mar.	Bazargan calls on Iranians to rise nonviolently against the regime for the causes of freedom and independence; UN accuses both Iran and Iraq of mistreating POWs.
1985	00 Mar.-Apr.	Iraq intensifies bombing of Iranian cities, especially Dezful; Iran accuses Iraq of using chemical weapons.
1985	00 Mar.	Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the General Secretary of the CPSU.
1985	00 Mar.	Mikhail Gorbachev is elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR. By unleashing perestroika (restructuring) and galsnost' (openness) Gorbachev influences not only the future of the Soviet Union but of the world.
1985	20 Mar.	24 Iranian cities are invaded by Iraqi rockets; Iran devastates Karkuk and the center of Baghdad.
1985	00 Apr.-May	Majles votes on a bill requiring women who want to study abroad to be married; Tudeh founder, Iraj Eskandari, passes away.
1985	00 May	Afghan Mujahidin centered in Pishawar establish the Islamic Union of Mujahidin.
1985	00 Jun.-Jul.	USSR removes its technical personnel from Iran; Khoiniha, leader of the students who seized the American embassy, becomes Prosecutor General.
1985	00 Jul.-Aug.	Iraqi planes bomb Kharg Island; three new members are elected to the Supreme Judicial Council; Bazargan is found ineligible to stand for presidency.
1985	00 Aug.-Sept.	Iraqi bombs damage 10 of 14 tanker berths at Kharg; Iran's economy suffers from a sharp decline in agriculture and industrial production.
1985	00 Sept.-Oct.	Tanker war in the Gulf heats up; Khamenei becomes president for a second term.
1985	00 Oct.-Nov.	Khomeini warns against interfering with the market; Nicaraguan soldiers shoot down a Contra-resupply plane (Oct. 5). One American survives.
1985	00 Nov.-Dec.	Assembly of Experts nominates Ayatollah Hosseinali Muntazeri as Khomeini's successor.
1986		In Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections more than half of the seats are filled by Kazakhs.
1986		In the USSR, the 27th CPSU Party Congress approves the policies of "perestroika" (restructuring) and "glasnost" (openness).
1986	00 Jan.-Feb.	Iran captures Iraq’s Faw peninsula plus 800 sq. km. Of Iraqi territory. Iraq damages Iran’s Ganaveh pipelines, reducing production by one-half; Ayatollah Muhammad Reza Golpayegani views the war simultaneously as a great loss and an agent of national solidarity.
1986	00 Feb.-Mar.	US condemns Iraq for its alleged use of chemical weapons; Iran demands that Iraq be recognized as aggressor; Khomeini and Rafsanjani ask women to become the army’s scientific and cultural defensive wall against the West.
1986	21 Mar.	Montazeri is elected to succeed Khomeini.
1986	26 Apr.	The Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine kills 5,000 and disables 30,000 people.
1986	4 May	In Afghanistan, Najibullah becomes the head of government but fails to foster good relations with the Mujahidin.
1986	6 Nov.	Lebanese newspaper Al-Shiraa reports on US’s secret arms sales to Iran. Reagan acknowledges the sale but denies hostage connection.
1986	00 Dec.	Appointment of Genadii Kolbin, an ethnic Russian, as First Secretary instead of Dimmukhamed Kunaev sets off a series of Anti-Soiveet riots in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. 17 are killed and hundreds are reported injured.
1986	17 Dec.	Anti-Russian riots in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, are the first signs of a crack in the solid Soviet shield.
1987	00 Nov.	Veterans of the war in Afghanistan hold a protest demonstration in Ashkhabad.
1988		In Tajikistan, even though the fall of the Soviet Union is yet to come, the struggle for filling the potential power vacuum is already under way. Three forces compete: the communist government, official or Soviet Islam, and revivalist-democratic forces spearheaded by extremist Muslims like Akbar Turajonzoda who competes with Haidar Sharifzoda for the position of Qozikalon (chief judge). Turajonzoda, a graduate of the Islamic University of Jordan, is described, on the one hand, as an astute politician, a true democrat, and Tajikistan’s pride and, on the other hand, as the ambitious leader of the extremist Wahhabi movement. He is a major player in the 1990s peace negotiations. Sharifzoda (b. 1946) is a graduate of the Bukhara Theological School. As Imam Khatib of the Kulab mosque, he tries but fails to separate his mosque from the Qoziyyot of Tajikistan (1991).
1988		The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan does not end the turmoil in that country; rather, it plunges Afghanistan into a bloody civil war.
1988	15 Apr.	Gorbachev announces that the Soviet Union would withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by 15 February, 1989.
1988	00 May	Ongoing demonstration on unemployment in Ashkhabad.
1988	3 Jul.	US navy warship, mistaking an Iranian commercial airliner for an F-14 fighter jet, shoots it down. 290 aboard die.
1988	18 Jul.	Khomeini agrees to cease-fire negotiations with Iraq.
1988	20 Aug.	Cease-fire goes into effect.
1988	00 Nov.	Senior US officials negotiate an exchange of hostages for arms (Iran-Contra).
1988	21 Dec.	Iran's Labor Ministry facilitates repatriation of Iranian professionals abroad by providing travel expenses and housing.
1989		Gorbachev is forced to withdraw all Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
1989		After access to the secret archives, the Tajiks learn about the contents of Shatemur's letter to Stalin.
1989	00 Jan.	Central Asian republics enact new language laws to exclude Russian as their primary, official language. Russian is retained as inter-ethnic language as well as the language of international affairs.
1989	00 Feb.	Riots in Alma-Ata are followed by similar Anti-Russian riots in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
1989	8 Feb.	10th year of Islamic Revolution is celebrated; Khamenei distinguishes pride and national integrity, rather than functional party systems, as the main achievement of the revolution.
1989	14 Feb.	Between February 14 and 18, Khomeini issues a fatwa that British author of Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie, should be executed.
1989	23 Feb.	An Afghan interim government formed in exile does not succeed in bringing harmony among the disparate groups in the country.
1989	00 Mar.	Moderate Montazeri's overt criticism of the regime causes him to resign as Khomeini's successor.
1989	7 Apr.	After eight years, oil flows through the tubing of the gigantic Abadan refinery.
1989	28 Apr.	Khamenei empowers a 20-member commission to review the constitution.
1989	00 May	The Birlik Party of Uzbekistan is founded.
1989	5 May	Iran and Japan sign a $1.9 billion agreement for an oil refinery at Arak.
1989	12 May	Majles speaker Rafsanjani advocates the killing of 5 Americans or British or French in lieu of every Palestinian killed.
1989	19 May	Iran and China sign economic and cultural cooperation agreement.
1989	26 May	The Birlik Party of Uzbekistan is formed.
1989	00 Jun.	In Kazakhstan, Genadii Kolbin is replaced by ethnic Kazakh Nursultan Nazarbaev.
1989	00 Jun.	Riots in Novyi 'Uzen, Kazakhstan.
1989	2 Jun.	In Iran, the post of "prime minister" is eliminated; all power is concentrated in the presidency.
1989	3 Jun.	Between the 3rd and 4th of June a hundred are killed as a result of clashes between the ethnic Uzbeks and the Meskhetian Turks.
1989	3 Jun.	On June 3 and 4, ethnic violence in Uzbekistan (Tashkent and Ferghana) between Uzbeks and Meskhetian Turks ending in 100 dead.
1989	3 Jun.	Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini (b. 1902), frail, old leader who inspires as much fear as he inspires hate for the Iranian monarchy and the West, passes away, leaving no successor. His ten-year legacy includes Shi'ite activism, Islamic fundamentalism, hostage-taking, Iran-Contra, the Rushdie fatwa, and the Iran-Iraq war. Time Magazine's 1979 Man of the Year, Khomeini restores Iranian history to its 16th century course.
1989	4 Jun.	Khamenei is nominated as the Faqih.
1989	23 Jun.	Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Araki succeeds Khomeini as marja'.
1989	30 Jun.	Rafsanjani's visit to the Soviet Union results in Iranian sale of gas to and purchase of arms from the USSR--a deal worth $6 billion.
1989	7 Jul.	An economic agreement worth $15 billion is signed between Iran and USSR.
1989	3 Aug.	Majles Speaker (1980-89), former Acting-Commander of the Armed Forces (1988-89), and Deputy Chair of the Council of Experts, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (b. 1934), becomes President. Moderate and pragmatic, he begins to rebuild Iran through economic liberalization.
1989	6 Aug.	Khomeini's student, Ali Hoseini Khamenei (b. 1940) is confirmed by the Assembly of Experts as the nation's Spiritual Leader. Revolutionary Committee member (1979) and a Central Committee of the Islamic Republican Party member, Khamenei served two-terms as president (1981-89).
1989	00 Sept.	The Rastokhiz (Rebirth) National Front is registered. The objectives of the movement include: gaining independence; gradual revival of the Persian alphabet; installation of a democratic government; rule by parliament and a prime minister; assurance of economic and cultural progress; individual freedom; independent economy with ties to other countries; ownership of private property; agrarian reforms; and privatization of the means of production. Rastokhiz becomes one of the contributors to the Opposition (later called United Tajik Opposition or UTO).
1990	00 Jan.	The Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT), with 2000 supporters, is founded. The objectives of the secular party include freedom of language and religion; achievement of complete economic, political, and cultural autonomy; dissolution of the Communist Party; land reform; privatization; equal partnership with superpowers; and creation of commercial relations with South Korea, Japan, France, Germany, and Iran. DPT becomes one of the contributors to the UTO.
1990	12 Jan.	A new Islamic Board is set up in Kazakhstan by the Grand Mufti Radbek Nisanbaiov.
1990	00 Feb.	In Uzbekistan, the Birlik Party is divided into Birlik and Erk parties.
1990	12 Feb.	Between February 12 and 15, in Tajikistan, the first confrontation between Muslims and Communists ends in a number of deaths. Resettlement of Armenians in Tajikistan serves as a pretense for challenging the Communist authorities.
1990	22 Feb.	Nazarbaev is elected president and head of the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan.
1990	00 Mar.	In Tajikistan, Opposition candidates are barred from the Supreme Soviet elections. Communist-dominated parliament elects Mahkamov president.
1990	24 Mar.	Islam Karimov is elected president of Uzbekistan.
1990	24 Mar.	Uzbeks appoint Islam Karimov as their president.
1990	5 Apr.	Italy and Iran sign a $13 billion agreement to cooperate in the fields of steel, gas, petrochemical, and industrial productions.
1990	8 Apr.	After eleven years, Iran begins exporting natural gas to the Soviet Union.
1990	10 Apr.	Absamat Masaliev is reelected the First Secretary of Kirghiz SSR.
1990	00 May	A dispute between the Uzbek and Kyrgyz inhabitants of the city of Osh turns into sporadic riots in the region. Soviet troops restore order.
1990	13 May	Between May 13 and 15, ninety liberals send an open letter to Rafsanjani complaining about the economy, lack of freedom, and political and judicial insecurity; 18 liberals are arrested; women are forbidden from wearing "see-through" dresses, men from wearing shirts open in the front.
1990	00 Jun.	Islamic Resurgence Party (IRP) is formed and immediately banned by Tajik government.
1990	3 Jun.	Conflict breaks out in Osh between the Uzbeks and the Kirghiz.
1990	20 Jun.	Uzbekistan declares it sovereignty.
1990	21 Jun.	An earthquake, 7.3 on the Richter scale, shakes northern Iran: 45,000 killed, 100,000 injured, 400,000 homeless.
1990	3 Jul.	From July 3 through August 21, Iran and Iraq normalize relations; last Iraqi soldier leaves Iran; Iran and Iraq exchange POWs.
1990	26 Jul.	Agreement is signed in Khorog among republic and regional leaders, governors, leaders of the parties, religious leaders, and armed groups to normalize relations; Presidium decrees that the government should buy the weapons used for self-protection; budget is set aside.
1990	00 Aug.	N. Nazarbaev is elected president of Kazakhstan.
1990	00 Aug.	Rafsanjani's support of sigha (temporary marriage) angers feminists.
1990	9 Aug.	Grand Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi (96) passes away.
1990	19 Aug.	A coup attempt in the Soviet Union by hardline Communists against Mikhail Gorbachev is thwarted.
1990	27 Aug.	Iran and UK normalize relations.
1990	26 Oct.	Saparmurad Niyazov is elected president of Turkmenistan (98%).
1990	28 Oct.	Askar Akaev is elected president of Kyrgyzstan.
1990	1 Dec.	In Tajikistan, the DPT branches out in all directions entering major cities and districts (vilayats); first official meeting of the DPT.
1991		Between 1991 and 1998, close to 40,000 Kazakh families return to Kazakhstan.
1991		In Iran, Rafsanjani decentralizes the command system; introduces free-market mechanisms.
1991		During the summer, the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent declarations of independence by the Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
1991	9 Jan.	In Tajikistan, President Mahkamov meets with a group of Muslim religious figures, including Akbar Turajonzoda, to discuss the needs of the faithful. Agreement is reached on declaring the two most important Muslim holidays to be days of rest, and on making slaughtering of animals in accord with religious law possible. Mahkamov contrasts the "constructive" attitude of the delegation--members of official Islam--with the "confrontational" attitude of other groups--presumably the Wahhabis.
1991	00 Feb.	One million Kurdish refugees flee Iraq and enter Iran.
1991	00 Feb.	Giants of centralized economy--Gosplan, Gosstroy, Gossnab--are replaced by small committees and ministries.
1991	18 Feb.	Both the Central Committee of the CP and the DPT discuss the referendum on the future of the USSR. The Communists call for retention of the Union, with a republican president and a Communist Party chief; they condemn the "destructive forces" that question the USSR's existence. The Democrats call for a boycott of the referendum on grounds that the political and economic bases on which the new union draws are unclear.
1991	17 Mar.	In a referendum, 95% of the population of Kyrgyzstan votes in favor of retaining the Soviet Union.
1991	27 Apr.	In Tajikistan, the continuing struggle between the mainstream Muslims and the extremists, Haidar Sharifzoda (Hanafi Sunni), the khatib of the Kulab mosque, calls for the resignation of Akbar Turajonzoda (Wahhabi) from Kofarnihon. The struggle parallels the political struggle between the Constitutionalists and the Opposition.
1991	3 May	Police detains 800 women for appearing in public in "bad hijab"; fcloses 50 shops for "neglecting Islamic codes."
1991	21 May	In Tajikistan, the government begins a plan to privatize small enterprises in retail trade, social catering, and everyday services. Repair and construction enterprises will also be privatized. As many as 3,000 enterprises in the Ministry of Retail Trade alone will be sold off. Furthermore, the government is creating a fund to support entrepreneurial activities and to encourage private citizens to start their own businesses.
1991	21 May	The UN Secretary General prepares the way for a settlement in Afghanistan by issuing a five-point proposal.
1991	15 Jul.	According to Tajik law, public criticism of the president's actions and policies is not subject to prosecution. But, following the 1990 USSR law, Tajikistan's Supreme Soviet passes a law calling for up to six years imprisonment for individuals who defame the president by disseminating "slanderous materials."
1991	27 Jul.	Following the model of other Central Asian republics that have set up their own agricultural academies to gain control over agricultural policy and to end submission to Moscow-imposed cotton monoculture, Mahkamov signs a decree to create a republican academy of agricultural sciences in Tajikistan. The academy will be headed by Akbar Maksumov, a vocal opponent of centrally controlled agriculture.
1991	6 Aug.	in Paris, Bakhtiar and his aide are knifed to death by 3 Iranians.
1991	20 Aug.	Niyazov supports the aborted coup in Moscow; Karimov of Uzbekistan supports the coup attempt in Moscow. The CP of Kazakhstan is renamed the Socialist Party.
1991	20 Aug.	Askar Akaev supports Yeltsin.
1991	20 Aug.	Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan supports the coup attempt in Moscow.
1991	31 Aug.	Uzbekistan becomes an independent republic.
1991	31 Aug.	Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
1991	00 Sept.	The Great Aryana Party is founded. The party intends to unite all Persian-speaking peoples of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan; safeguard the Persian language against Uzbek and Russian assaults; develop Islamic culture; and raise consciousness about greater Iran.
1991	7 Sept.	President Mahkamov, due to his open support for the Aug. coup attempt, resigns (Aug. 29). Qadriddin Aslonov becomes Acting President. Aslonov suspends the Communist Party and freezes its assets.
1991	9 Sept.	Tajikistan declares its independence.
1991	14 Sept.	The CPU of Uzbekistan becomes the People’s Democratic Party.
1991	14 Sept.	The CPU is transformed into the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
1991	21 Sept.	Between September 21 and 23, Lenin's statue is toppled; Aslonov is replaced by Rahmon Nabiev who reinstates the CP.
1991	26 Sept.	The Union of Democratic Forces, composed of the three main opposition forces, appeals to the republic's population to engage in civil disobedience and oust Rahmon Nabiev, the newly-elected chairman of the Tajik Supreme Soviet and acting president of the Republic. Turajonzoda and his associates try to convince Russian residents that anti-Communist slogans are not directed at Russians. The question of secession from Tajikistan is discussed at the Supreme Soviet of Leninabad.
1991	4 Oct.	From October 4 to 18, in Tajikistan, in the south, Ishon Saidashraf, Ishon Qiyamuddin, and Mullah Muhammadjon Qufronov speak against teachers, call teachers kafir (infidel), refuse to perform prayers for deceased teachers and decree it lawful for the faithful to assault the honor of teachers.
1991	4 Oct.	Government establishes obligatory Islamic bridal dress.
1991	7 Oct.	The Tajik Supreme Soviet and the three Opposition groups (the IRP, DPT, and Rastokhez) reach an agreement to reimpose a ban on the Communist Party, hold a referendum on the Supreme Soviet, and an election schedule for Nov. 24. Representatives of the Opposition are to be added to election commissions, and given equal access to TV and radio time.
1991	13 Oct.	Askar Akaev is elected president of Kyrgyzstan for a second term.
1991	18 Oct.	Thirty walls are built along the Caspian shoreline to ensure segregation of bathers.
1991	22 Oct.	The Tajik Supreme Soviet votes to lift the ban on religious parties.
1991	26 Oct.	The IRP, clandestine since 1975 as part of the Islamic Resurgence Party of the Soviet Union, is founded. The objectives of the Party include creation of a socio-political system based on towhid (i.e., belief in Allah, the Qur'an, and the Prophet); creation of a parliament based on required Islamic consensus; promotion of Islamic education; familiarization of the public with Islamic tenets and spiritual revival; economic and political independence; creation of a market economy; and instruction of Islamic principles. The largest party in Tajikistan, with support in villages, IRP becomes the backbone of the Opposition against the government.
1991	24 Nov.	In Tajikistan, Rahmon Nabiev is elected president by a popular vote (58%). Not receiving Moscow's assistance in time, Davlat Khudonazarov garners only 30% of the vote. The results delight the Leninabadis but enrage the Gharmis and the Pamiris. Safarali Kenjayev, a Yaghnabi, becomes the leader of the Supreme Soviet.
1991	1 Dec.	Nazarbaev is elected president of Kazakhstan (99.8%).
1991	00 Dec.	The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is formed.
1991	00 Dec.	The Council of the Peoples' Deputies in Badakhshan declares the formation of the Autonomous Republic of Badakhshan.
1991	6 Dec.	US pays $278 million to settle Iran's claim regarding military equipment left in the US for repair.
1991	16 Dec.	Kazakhstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
1991	21 Dec.	The CIS is formed in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan.
1991	25 Dec.	Mikhail Gorbachev’s resignation, leads to the dissolution of the USSR.
1991	25 Dec.	The Opposition having suffered a setback with the Nov. election, former Communist Party chief and current President Rahmon Nabiev revokes the ban on the CPT. In the past, the ban on the CPT has served as the measure of the weakness of the government vis-a-vis the Opposition.
1991	26 Dec.	Kazakhstan becomes independent officially.
1991	27 Dec.	Government permits private sector investment in petro-chemical industry; Rafsanjani urges against "anti-western sentiments."
1991	29 Dec.	Karimov wins election for president (58.9%). His apponent, Mohammad Salib of Erk wins 12.3% of the popular vote.
1991	29 Dec.	Islam Karimov becomes Uzbekistan’s first popularly elected president (85.9%).
1992		Between 1992 and 1993, large numbers of non-native Soviets leave the republics.
1992		Kazakhstan joins the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
1992	00 Jan.	US becomes the first country to open an embassy in Kazakhstan.
1992	4 Jan.	In Tajikistan,Prime Minister I. Hayaev resigns. During his six years as PM, the economic and educational situation in Tajikistan has deteriorated. Unfortunately for the Tajiks, the situation continues to deteriorate, bringing Tajik economy to the verge of collapse.
1992	10 Jan.	UN assesses Iran's wartime damage at $97.2 billion. Iran claims $1,000 billion.
1992	00 Mar.	Turkmenistan adopts a new constitution.
1992	1 Mar.	In Tajikistan, between 1 March and 21 March, Attorney General Nurolla Huvaidullaev imprisons pro-democratic Mayor of Dushanbe and Peoples Representative Maqsud Ikromov on corruption charges. Furthermore, he refuses to release Ikromov even at the request of the City Fathers; 51 days of demonstrations begin.
1992	2 Mar.	Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan join the United Nations (UN).
1992	2 Mar.	In Tajikistan, the Supreme Soviet approves most of Prime Minister Abdulmalik Abdullojonov's nominees for a new Cabinet of Ministers, but rejects the appointment of former Supreme Soviet Chairman and Acting President Akbarsho Iskandarov to head the State Committee for Foreign Economic Relations. Only four of the ministerial appointees had held posts in the Coalition Government. Iskandarov is later on named Tajikistan's first ambassador to Turkmenistan.
1992	17 Mar.	Crackdown on Islamic fundamentalists in Namangan, Uzbekistan.
1992	17 Mar.	Seventy are arrested after a fundamentalist uprising in Namangan.
1992	25 Mar.	Proceedings of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet are televised. Kenjayev accuses Mamadayoz Novjavonov (a Pamiri and the Minister of Internal Affairs) of embezzlement and of overstepping his authority. Novjavonov resigns.
1992	26 Mar.	In Tajikistan, 300 Pamiri youths, gathering in front of the Central Committee headquarters, protest the humiliation of their compatriot; the IRP and DPT join in the next day, creating an Opposition core which demand Kenjaev's resignation. They also ask that Maqsud Ikromov be released, a new constitution and parliament be established, and undemocratic legislation limiting the activities of newspapers be reversed. # Safarali Kenjaev is born in 1942 in the village of Choryakkoron, Lenin District. He becomes the Leader of the Supreme Soviet in 1992 and serves as the head of Tajikistan's Security Committee (KGB) during the Apr.-May 1992 riots. Ousted from office, he forms the Peoples Front and, on Oct. 25, 1992, invades Dushanbe to overthrow the Islamic Coalition government.
1992	27 Mar.	In Tajikistan, Maqsud Ikromov is moved to a prison in Khujand; US embassy opens in Dushanbe.
1992	00 Apr.	Timur is declared Uzbek national hero.
1992	15 Apr.	Afghan Mujahedin take Kabul and liberate Afghanistan. President Najibullah seeks the protection of the United Nations. The Mujahideen form an Islamic State and elect an Islamic Jihad Council. Professor Burhannudin Rabbani is elected President.
1992	16 April	Najibullah is forced out of office. Uzbek and Tajik regions of northern Afghanistan are occupied by Rashid Dostum and Ahmad Shah Mas’ud respectively.
1992	22 Apr.	Imomali Rahmonov speaks out against the Opposition; Kenjaev's resignation is accepted; former head of Badakhshan Executive Committee, Akbarsho Iskandarov, a Pamiri, becomes the Head of the Supreme Soviet. In addition, Turajonzoda and several other Opposition members are elected to the presidium of the Supreme Soviet; Turajonzoda appears on television. His gesture indicating "victory" and his remarks about Communist leaders and institutions riles the people of Kulab, a traditional Communist stronghold.
1992	25 Apr.	In support of the Tajik constitution, Sharifzoda and Sangak Safarov bring busloads of Kulabis to Dushanbe to protest against the newly reconfigured government. They also demand that Kenjayev be reinstated; Nabiev appoints Kenjaev the Chief of National Security (KGB).
1992	25 Apr.	Kabul falls to the Mujahidin.
1992	29 Apr.	The 14th Supreme Soviet reinstates Kenjayev; the Opposition occupies the television studio and takes control of all the "city gates." The National Security Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs sympathize with the Opposition.
1992	30 Apr.	In Tajikistan, between April 30 and May 2, the Constitutionalists' demands include: calling a meeting of the Supreme Soviet, annulment of the Supreme Soviet that had accepted Kenjaev's resignation, annulment of the decrees forced on the Supreme Soviet by the Opposition, dismissal of those appointed to the Supreme Soviet at its last meeting, replacement of Turajonzoda with Sharifzoda, and a constitution whereby the head of the Supreme Soviet is elected by the people. # Nabiev issues an order to form a National Front for Tajikistan; freedom of conscience and religion in Tajikistan passes.
1992	00 May	Uzbek soldiers serving in the CIS are recalled.
1992	00 May	Nazarbaev fails in his attempt to obtain US guarantees of security in return for Kazakhstan’s giving up its strategic nuclear weapons.
1992	7 May	Between May 7 and 10, after they sign an agreement to form a coalition government, Kenjayev and Vice-President Dustev are dismissed by the in-coming Supreme Soviet; Iskandarov replaces Kenjayev; a committee of 14 is formed to investigate the causes of the national plight; prominent communists, Kenjayev, Huvaidullaev, Dustev, Abdullojonov, and Achilov, leave Dushanbe. # In the course of the punishment meted out by the victorious Opposition to the Constitutionalists, in Dushanbe, 108 are killed, 233 are wounded, and 104 are unaccounted for.
1992	14 May	In Tajikistan, the war moves from Dushanbe to Qurqanteppe; Safarov and Rustam Abdurrahim form the Popular Front for the defense of Kulab.
1992	15 May	Kyrgyzstan signs the Commonwealth of Independent State’s Security Treaty.
1992	25 May	Constitution Committee recognizes the legality of the coalition government.
1992	00 Jun.	Kazakh becomes Kazakhstan’s official state language. Russian is reduced to language of inter-republic and international communication.
1992	1 Jun.	Opposition defeats the Communists in the south and devastates the Vakhsh and Kirov sovkhozes. The people of the Turkmenistan kolkhoz, Kuybishev, Jilikul, and Kumsangir spearhead the invasion. Hundreds are killed.
1992	22 Jun.	Niyazov is reelected president (99.5%).
1992	28 Jun.	Dr. Burhanuddin Rabbani becomes the president of Afghanistan amid factional strife and Sunni/Shi’i conflict.
1992	10 Jul.	Iranian American Andre Kirk Agassi wins at Wimbledon.
1992	31 Jul.	Iran buys 110 combat aircraft from Russia.
1992	8 Aug.	Ayatollah Sayyid Abolqassem Khoi (92) passes away; Golpayegani becomes the Shi'ite world's only marja'.
1992	12 Aug.	President Nabiev's report on the state of the country raises questions about his leadership. Several deputies, including Turajonzoda, call on him to resign voluntarily.
1992	14 Aug.	From Aug. 14 through 18, the Khorog Agreement fails because opposing groups refuse to give up their weapons, rather, more arms arrive from Afghanistan, and more weapons are brought from other CIS states. Other factors include the Opposition's reluctance to disarm its own members.
1992	24 Aug.	Tajikistan's State Prosecutor Nurollo Huvaidullaev and his chauffeur are killed by unidentified gunmen in Dushanbe. The attackers, who escape in Huvaidullaev's car, had broken into Huvaidullaev's office in Jun. demanding that the prosecutor should drop a bribery case against the former mayor of Dushanbe, Maqsud Ikromov. This connection suggests Opposition involvement, especially in relation to Nabiev's attempt at removing opposition sympathizers from the National Security State and Defense Committees. More importantly, it suggests that the third and last pillar of Nabiev's support--Dustev and Kenjaev being the other two--is destroyed.
1992	2 Sept.	In Qurqanteppe, between 2 Sept. and 27 Sept., a town which is cut off from the rest of Tajikistan and which already faced with bread, water, and gas shortages, a reign of terror begins. Those who try to leave the city are invariably beheaded. # Opposition forces are kept at bay at Urgut Mahallah for three days. Thereafter, the Opposition loots Urgut Mahallah of all its savings of the past seventy years. # When Lomontosov Mahallah is captured, 200 of its youth are killed during the same night. # From hiding in the headquarters of the Russian 102 division, Nabiev directs Safarov and Langariev to enter Qurqanteppe and Dushanbe.
1992	7 Sept.	At the Dushanbe airport, the Opposition forces Nabiev at gunpoint to resign. As president, Nabiev fails to meet the needs of the parties that elected him. Iskandarov becomes Acting President; Khudonazarov becomes his advisor. The 201st division of the Russian army, stationed in Dushanbe for many years, controls the city and the former Soviet industrial complexes as Russian property.
1992	9 Sept.	First year of independence is celebrated.
1992	12 Sept.	Former Prime Minister Ali Amini (87) passes away in Paris.
1992	19 Sept.	UN representatives meet with the heads of the DP, the IRP, the Rastokhiz, and minority representatives in Dushanbe and travel to Kulab. At the same time, Government representatives, including Otokhon Latifi (journalist) and Khudonazarov (peace mediator) travel to Narak and Qurqanteppe to study the situation.
1992	22 Sept.	Imom Shohkarim Al-Husaini (Aga Khan IV) appoints Khudonazarov the spiritual murid (leader) of the Isma'ilis of Tajikistan; Abdullojonov meets with the heads of the Opposition parties and national fronts.
1992	26 Sept.	Between September 26 and 28, Russian troops rescue Iskandarov and Abdullojonov held hostage in Kulab. Safarov and Sai'dov enter Qurqanteppe. Opposition moves into Kolkhozabad and Jilikul where it joins Mullah Umar. # Seven tons of flour and 500 tons of sugar are sent to 12,000 refugees in Kulab.
1992	30 Sept.	In Tajikistan, women of Qurqanteppe, Kofarnihon, and Dushanbe protest the killing of their men and the growing Russian presence. # Pro-Nabiev forces in Kulab demand the removal of prominent opposition figures: Deputy Prime Minister Davlat Usmon, Tajik Radio and TV Chairman Mirbobo Mirrahimov, and the deputy National Security Committee Chairman Davlat Aminov. They also ask for the removal of Turajonzoda from his post as the highest-ranking Muslim clergyman in Tajikistan.
1992	8 Oct.	Between October 8 and 24, in Tajikistan, as the Opposition weakens and its constituent parties are disestablished, the chaotic situation in Dushanbe worsens. Kenjaev raids the Internal Affairs Office of Regar and carries away all its guns and ammunition. # The Dushanbe-Kulab highway is placed under Russian protection. Fighting intensifies in Qurqanteppe; centers are set up in Kulab and Dushanbe to receive refugees. # High-ranking officials leave Dushanbe.
1992	23 Oct.	Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati warns against the return of Iranian exiles who, along with their power, would bring corrupt Western values detrimental to Muslim artists trying to express themselves.
1992	24 Oct.	On October 24 and 25, in Tajikistan, Kenjayev and Abdurrahim shoot their way into Dushanbe, capture the President's Palace, and try to capture the radio and television stations. Their plans fail because, for various reasons, Safarov, Sa'idov, and Langariev do not participate in the attack to carry out their assigned tasks. # Abdurrahim, a Professor of English and a master guitar player, enters politics with Safarov from Kulab and Kenjayev from Hissar. In the assault on Dushanbe, he sides with Kenjayev. When the pro-Iskandarov forces retake the President's Palace, Abdurrahim is mysteriously abducted and killed. 800 armed Badakhshanis surround Dushanbe and tighten the circle around Kenjaev's forces. # Discussion among Iskandarov, Kenjayev, and representatives of Russia results in a compromise. Kenjayev promises to pull his forces back in exchange for Iskandarov's setting a date for the Supreme Soviet to meet in Khujand.
1992	26 Oct.	Between October 26 and 27, departure from the city continues; Safarov pushes the Opposition out of Kolkhozabad; in Kulab, Safarov kills Jonkhon Rizoev, who had been putting a peace plan together. # After losing Qubadiyan and Shahrtuz, the Opposition moves to Kumsangir and Panj. A group occupies the "Bishe-yi Palangon" restricted zone in Jilikul. # Blockade of the railway from Uzbekistan creates a critical shortage of food in Dushanbe.
1992	4 Nov.	In a summit meeting in Moscow, all Central Asian leaders discuss the situation in Tajikistan.
1992	9 Nov.	Iskandarov announces Nov. the 16th as the date for the Khujand meeting of the Supreme Soviet; Representatives of Tursunzoda, Hissar, and Shahr-i Nav denounce the Supreme Soviet as illegal, ask the commander of the 201st Russian division to take control until Nov. 16th.
1992	10 Nov.	Dushanbe is under the protection of the Russian army which is not to interfere with the internal affairs of Tajikistan; Iskandarov and members of coalition government resign; May-Nov. Coalition government ends.
1992	16 Nov.	Between November 16 and 21, the16th session of the Supreme Soviet in Khujand accepts Nabiev's official resignation; it also accepts Iskandarov's resignation. Imomali Rahmonov is elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet; Abdulmalik Abdullojonov is elected Prime Minister. # Rahmonov (b. 1952, Danghara, Kulab) is a graduate of Tajikistan State University (1982) in economics. He serves as the director of the Workers Union of the Lenin kolkhoz and works for Kulab CP. In Jul. 1988, he becomes the director of the Lenin sovkhoz in Danghara. He is elected Chair of the Executive Committee of the Kulab Soviet on Nov. 2, 1992, Chair of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan in Nov. 19, 1992, and President of the Republic in Nov. 6, 1994.
1992	20 Nov.	Iran threatens to sink its only submarine in the middle of the Hormuz Straits.
1992	22 Nov.	Rahmonov meets the leaders of Shahrtuz, Kumsangir, and Panj regions in Shahrtuz; # refugees return, bringing arms with them; the newly opened railway carries large amounts of food and fuel south. # City districts and various regions of the country organize their own local guards without regard for either the internal affairs officials or government troops. Some even invade the government troops and the 201st Russian division.
1992	24 Nov.	In Tajikistan, Abdullojonov expresses concern for the 10,000-12,000 who gather in front of the bread factory daily; lack of fuel stops all transportation; schools are cold. # Abdullojonov (b. 1949, Khujand, Leninabad) is a graduate of Technological College of Odessa (1971) in engineering. He becomes the Minister of Agriculture in 1978 and Prime Minister in the coalition government in 1992; he is reelected to the position and is authorized to organize ministries, choose ministers, and suggest names to the Supreme Soviet. He is dismissed in Dec. 1993.
1992	25 Nov.	Field commanders of factions involved in the Tajik civil war sign a ceasefire agreement. Accusing the Opposition as being responsible for the fighting, Sangak Safarov, leader of the pro-Communist Kulab Popular Movement, refuses to join in the agreement. The anti-Communist commanders differ.
1992	27 Nov.	In Iran, VCR ban is lifted.
1992	1 Dec.	From December 1-6, the 201st Russian division takes over Dushanbe, closes all entrance points; 16th session of the Supreme Soviet ends; forces from Hissar, backed by Uzbekistan, attack the Opposition in Dushanbe. Opposition, defeated, moves to Faizabad, Kofarnihon, and the Romit Gorge.
1992	4 Dec.	Iran buys three submarines from Russia at $4.5 million.
1992	4 Dec.	The new government, approved by the Communist-dominated Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan, consists mostly of pro-Communist Kulabis. # The Supreme Soviet votes to merge Kulab and Qurqanteppe into a Khatlon region. The two regions had been united under this name from 1988 to 1990, when they were separated due to friction between the Kulabis and the people of Qurqanteppe. Khatlon has been the scene of much of the fighting because Kulab supports the Constitutionalists while Qurqanteppe supports the Opposition.
1992	5 Dec.	The Communist militia in Tajikistan tries to capture the capital of Dushanbe from the Islamic rebels but fails; 60 people are killed.
1992	7 Dec.	Russia calls on Islamic militants to leave Dushanbe.
1992	7 Dec.	On December 7-8, fighting continues between the pro-Communist forces from Hissar and the Islamic-democratic forces defending Dushanbe on behalf of the Opposition sympathizers. An appeal is made by the Military Council of the defenders of Dushanbe to the new Chairman of Tajikistan's Supreme Soviet and the new government to start working in the capital. # Around 80,000 refugees from the fighting in Tajikistan gather near the Afghan border in a series of camps along the Amu Darya. The camps lack food and medical supplies; Red Cross efforts to bring supplies, apparently from Afghanistan, are complicated by the continued fighting in Tajikistan.
1992	8 Dec.	In Uzbekistan, a new constitution is passed; parliament is to be reduced from 500 to 150 members.
1992	9 Dec.	Opposition sympathizers in Dushanbe hand out arms to the city's population in anticipation of an attack by the Constitutionalist forces in the Hissar Valley, west of the Tajik capital.
1992	11 Dec.	Pro-communist forces capture Dushanbe from Islamic forces. New president and prime minister arrive in Dushanbe from Khujand.
1992:	11 Dec.	Constitutionalist forces loyal to the new government of Tajikistan move into the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, from December 11 through 13, formerly under the control of Opposition sympathizers. The forces are led by the newly appointed Minister of Internal Affairs Yaqub Salimov from Hissar, a staging area west of Dushanbe. # Wagons full of fuel, motor oil, wheat, and flour arrive in Dushanbe; the 39-day economic siege ends.
1992	11 Dec.	President Bush pardons the leaders of Iran-Contra.
1992	14 Dec.	Between December 14 and 16, Rahmonov arrives in Dushanbe, bans Opposition publications, and initiates criminal proceedings against Opposition leaders. # Negotiations between Tajikistan's new government and Opposition military commanders continue. The goal of the negotiations is to persuade the "Popular Democratic Army," supported by the Opposition, to surrender its weapons before use of force becomes necessary. The negotiations are not successful. The Opposition leaves Dushanbe for Kofarnihon. # Some 75,000 refugees wait on the Tajik-Afghan border to cross into Afghanistan in order to escape the fighting in Tajikistan. Lacking food, shelter, and fuel, the refugees rob border installations and occupy them. Indications are that the refugees from Tajikistan are not likely to find conditions much better in Afghanistan.
1992	18 Dec.	The Kafirnihon region becomes the center of conflict between the Tajik government and Islamic rebels.
1992	18 Dec.	Minister of Internal Affairs Yaqub Salimov announces the beginning of a large-scale government offensive against the resistance in Kofarnihon. Blaming Supreme Judge Akbar Turajonzoda for the conflict, Salimov charges the Opposition with the use of 500 Afghan mercenaries. # The government announces its intention to restore centralized control of the economy. A state monopoly on the export of cotton, along with required government permission for export of aluminum, one of Tajikistan's major export items, are initial steps in that direction.
1992	18 Dec.	In Iran, between the 18th and 25th of December, men lose the right to unilateral divorce. Expert woman lawyer assures women's rights; marriages with secular Azeris are banned.
1992	19 Dec.	An Uzbek helicopter gunship is shot down by rebels fighting the government of Tajikistan.
1992	22 Dec.	As Kafirnihon falls to the government, rebels flee to the Pamirs and to Afghanistan.
1992	23 Dec.	The Supreme Soviet Chairman Imomali Rahmonov appeals on Tajik TV to Gorno-Badakhshan, which had, unilaterally, declared itself an autonomous republic in Dec. 1991, not to destroy the territorial integrity of Tajikistan. Many of the Opposition fighters are either from Badakhshan or are of Badakhshani descent. The presence of a Constitutionalist government in Dushanbe might reinforce Badakhshani demands for autonomy.
1992	27 Dec.	Pro-government military leader Sangak Safarov reminds the Opposition on Tajik TV to turn in their weapons to the Internal Affairs Offices. Thus far, out of 18,000 weapons, only 3,000 small arms are confiscated; Rahmonov extends the deadline for anti-government forces to surrender their weapons to Jan. 4.
1992	30 Dec.	Tajik government captures Panj; thousands of Tajiks flee to Afghanistan.
1992	30 Dec.	There are some 800,000 refugees and homeless people in Tajikistan as well as 100,000 Tajik refugees who have fled to Afghanistan. Many of the latter refugees are in regions controlled by the Hezbi Islami of Afghan fundamentalist leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, over whom the Kabul government has no control. Talks begin between Tajik government representatives and Afghan officials but there is probably little Kabul can do to help the latter group to return to Tajikistan.
1993	7 Jan.	Emergency and curfew are declared in Dushanbe.
1993	21 Jan.	Russia demands control of all nuclear weapons from the CIS.
1993	22 Jan.	Turkmenistan refuses to sign the treaty for closer integration in the CIS.
1993	22 Jan.	Iran condemns US attack on Iraq; Citing the wars in Bosnia, Palestine, Somalia, India, Tajikistan, and the Caucasus, Jannati accuses the West of anti-Islamism.
1993	28 Jan.	The Kazakh language becomes the official state language.
1993	12 Feb.	Majles investigative committee report indicts Iran TV for showing too many American westerns and for allowing its female staff to appear on the air improperly dressed.
1993	12 Feb.	The Muftiyyot of Tajikistan is inaugurated. Mufti Fathullo Sharifzoda of Hissar Valley--a stronghold of pro-government forces--pledges to stay clear of politics. Meanwhile, Turajonzoda, charged with criminal behavior in support of the anti-Communist opposition coalition during 1992 war, is sought by the authorities.
1993	6 Mar.	In Tajikistan, government troops finally retake the Romit Gorge east of Dushanbe from Opposition forces . Government is also in control of many settlements in the Gharm region, one of the most important strongholds of the Opposition. Negotiations with the Opposition forces in Badakhshan to persuade armed groups in that region to surrender their weapons continues.
1993	7 Mar.	Rabbani and Hikmatyar try to run Afghanistan as president and premier as the civil war in the country continues.
1993	18 Mar.	Niyazov refuses formation of political parties and vows to stop Islamic fundamentalism.
1993	30 Mar.	In Tajikistan, Sangak Safarov and Faizali Saidov are killed in Qurqanteppe. # Sangak Safarov (b. 1928) comes into prominence after his appointment as National Front Commander. Between 1950 and 1978, he spends 23 years in prison on a variety of charges including murder. He works closely with Nabiev to neutralize Turajonzoda and the Opposition forces in the south and to install a constitutional government in Tajikistan. Sa'idov is Safarov's restive deputy commander.
1993	00 Apr.	In Tajikistan, Jalol Ikromi (b. 1909), the most important Tajik novelist after Aini, passes away. Ikromi came to prominence after the publication of his Dukhtar-i Otash (The Daughter of Fire), a vivid portrayal of the situation of women in pre-revolutionary Bukhara (1969) as well as his Davozdah Darvoza-yi Bokhara (The Twelve Gates of Bukhara), which deals with the important social, political, and historical events during the first days of the Revolution.
1993	6 Apr.	U.S. oil company Chevron finalizes agreement with Kazakhistan to develop the Tengiz oilfield.
1993	10 Apr.	Mohammad Salih, chairman of Erk, is arrested in Uzbekistan.
1993	1 May	Diplomat Ismat Kattani is appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy to Tajikistan.
1993	5 May	The Supreme Soviet of Kirghizia adopts a new constitution.
1993	10 May	The Kirghiz government adopts the som as the republic’s new currency.
1993	10 May	The national Kyrgyz currency, the som, is introduced.
1993	14 May	Niyazov refuses to support an economic union among the CIS members.
1993	14 May	A $60 million credit is approved for Kirghizia by the World Bank.
1993	22 May	The U.S., Japan, and Switzerland approved a combined loan of $220 million for Kirghizia.
1993	00 Jun.	Seven western oil companies and Kazakhstan resolve to explore 1,000 km of the Caspian Sea.
1993	00 Jun.	US Peace Corps volunteers arrive in Kazakhstan to teach English and to help the Kazakhs develop small businesses.
1993	10 Jun.	Rafsanjani is reelected president.
1993	15 Jun.	The CIS abandons its plans regarding the setting up of a joint armed force.
1993	20 Jun.	Between Jun e20 and 26, Badakhshan gives up its claim to independence; first food convoy reaches Kharog since winter; Supreme Court of Tajikistan bans four opposition parties, confiscates their assets, and issues criminal charges against their leaders; Rahmonov annuls all decrees issued by Iskandarov, pledges to build democracy.
1993	28 Jun.	Kazakhstan’s new constitution provides for the election of a president for a five-year term.
1993	9 Jul.	Iranians protest lifestyle disparity between the clergy and the rest of society.
1993	20 Jul.	Rahmonov stresses the importance of reopening the strategic Dushanbe-Khorog road, currently blocked by rebels. The road, which becomes blocked by snow in Sept., is the only means to bring relief supplies and food to the Gorno-Badakhshon Autonomous Oblast, where there have been reports of malnutrition and disease.
1993	23 Jul.	Vice Squads reward women who abide by the strict Islamic dress code; fine transgressors. 178 shops are closed for selling alcohol, pornography, and disapproved music.
1993	27 Jul.	Tajikistan allows four-way talks with Russia, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan but not with the Opposition.
1993	6 Aug.	In Moscow, Nazarbaev distinguishes Islamic fundamentalism as a threat to Central Asia and Russia.
1993	9 Aug.	Russian president Yeltsin urges the Tajiks to start talks with the Opposition.
1993	24 Aug.	The UN Security Council urges Tajik government to open talks with the Opposition.
1993	25 Aug.	The CIS Defense Ministers set up a coalition force to control Tajik insurgents.
1993	26 Aug.	Tajik court sentences IRP Presidium member Ajit Aliev to death on charges of treason.
1993	2 Sept.	Uzbek parliament passes law in favor of Latin script.
1993	9 Sept.	Daewoo sets up a car plant worth $500 million in Andijan, Uzbekistan.
1993	9 Sept.	Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev urges the Tajik government to talk to the Opposition.
1993	16 Sept.	Karimov warns the US against interfering in Uzbekistan’s affairs, esp. with regard to human rights.
1993	8 Oct.	Majles (261 male, 9 female) defeats a proposal to create a committee on women's issues.
1993	25 Oct.	U.S. promises $85 million for the dismantling of Kazakh nuclear weapons.
1993	29 Oct.	The new currency Manat replaces the rouble in Turkmenistan.
1993	3 Nov.	Uzbekistan threatens Russia that it would create its own currency independent of the rouble. Uzbekistan needs solvency, Uzbekistan needs $840 million.
1993	14 Nov.	The new Uzbek currency, the som, is introduced.
1993	15 Nov.	Kazakhstan introduces its own currency, the Tenge.
1993	19 Nov.	Three Iranians working in the US file lawsuits charging ethnic discrimination.
1993	26 Nov.	US Senate reaffirms its 1982, 84, 88, 90, and 92 resolutions condemning Iran's treatment of Baha'is.
1993	3 Dec.	Restrictions on what women can study, i.e., half of math and a quarter of humanities and experimental courses, are lifted.
1993	10 Dec.	Kirghizia’s Vice-President Felix Kulov resigns after being accused of illegal gold trading.
1993	17 Dec.	Golpayegani (96), world-Shi'ite marja', passes away.
1993	24 Dec.	Khamenei and Araki are nominated marja's. Khamenei's nomination creates a conflict between the religious and political strands of the republic and opposes the Shi'ite principle of unencumbered decision making.
1993	29 Dec.	Bozor Sobir (b. Oct. 20, 1938), outstanding Tajik poet, is found not guilty by Tajikistan's Supreme Court and immediately freed. Sobir, a member of the outlawed Opposition, was arrested in March for "crimes against the state" including inciting inter-ethnic tension. The government case against Bozor Sobir has drawn severe criticism from foreign human rights organizations.
1994	7 Jan.	Khamenei names Araki as marja'. Efforts are expended on the creation of a single marja' for all Shi'ites.
1994	18 Feb.	Authorities are disappointed at exiled Iranians' returning without their assets.
1994	22 Feb.	Mustafa Mirsalim becomes culture minister; calls for a purge of Western influences.
1994	25 Feb.	Iran purchases five oil tankers from South Korea; six of the 14 units of the Arak petrochemical complex become operational.
1994	7 Mar.	Nazarbaev, running unopposed, is elected for a second term as presdient of Kazakhstan.
1994	8 Mar.	Turajonzoda confirms earlier reports that the Tajik Opposition in exile is willing to negotiate with representatives of the Tajik government in order to end the fighting between government troops and Opposition forces based in Afghanistan and inside Tajikistan itself. According to Turajonzoda, the UN, Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan have accepted to serve as observers of the peace process.
1994	21 Mar.	Iran disagrees with Russia on the integrity of the electronic systems of the two submarines delivered.
1994	27 Apr.	Bishkek and Colorado Springs, Colorado, become sister cities.
1994	6 Jul.	Kazak parliament and nazarbaev decide that the Kazakh capital should be moved from Almaty to Akmola (white grave), later on this name is changed to Astana.
1994	20 Jul.	The Supreme Soviet restores the office of president and sets Sept. 25 as the date for a presidential election. Rahmonov calls on the legislature to combine the offices of parliament chairman and president of the country. The presidency was abolished by the Supreme Soviet in 1992 to prevent Nabiev, ousted by gun-wielding Oppositionists, from becoming president again.
1994	00 Sept.	Taliban, a group of Afghan theological school students trained in the refugee camps in Pakistan, take over a 30-truck convoy traveling between Pakistan and Central Asia. The event sets off a series of skirmishes between the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan. During this year, the Taliban militia advances rapidly against the Islamic government formed by the Mujahedin. Rashid Dostum in the northest and Hekmatyar in the south continue to clash against Rabbani's government, clashes that, in the long run, benefit the Taliban. Kabul is reduced to rubble.
1994	19 Oct.	Summit in Turkey discusses the construction of oil land gas pipelines between Central Asia and Europe through Turkey.
1994	6 Nov.	Rahmonov is elected president (60% of the vote). While Rahmonov describes the poll as "the most democratic of elections," a spokesman for Abdullodjonov complains that they have stopped logging rules that have been violated; new Tajik constitution reconciling the former laws with new constitutional standards is adopted.
1995	00 Jan.	Taliban capture the traditional heartland of Afghanistan, the province of Ghazni.
1995	10 Mar.	Taliban capture the leader of the Wahdat (unity) party, Abdul Ali Mazari. They also seize Karte Seh in Kabul province.
1995	11 Mar.	Afghan government forces free Karte Seh and set up a security force to prevent vandalism.
1995	13 Mar.	Wahdat Party leader, Abdul Ali Mazari, is killed en route to Qandahar.
1995	15 Mar.	Influential Iranian author, Aliakbar Saidi Sirjani, is arrested on alleged drugs, homosexuality, and treason charges.
1995	17 Mar.	Khomeini's son, Ahmad, passes away; Iran opposes sex-education in schools.
1995	19 Mar.	Afghan government forces free the town of Charasiyab.
1995	23 Mar.	Taliban murder Commander Mohammad Panah, a Mujahid famous for his exploits during the Afghans' war with the Soviets.
1995	29 Mar.	A mass grave containing 22 bodies belonging to the Wahdat Party members eliminated by the Taliban is uncovered in Charasiyab.
1995	6 Apr.	New Tajik parliament elects the chairman of the Popular Party of Tajikistan, lawyer Safarali Rajabov, as its speaker by an overwhelming majority. Rajabov is the only candidate nominated for the post, following Rahmonov's statement that the head of state and parliament speaker should not come from the same region. The Kulabi candidate Abdulmajid Dostiev (Rahmonov is a native of Kulab) becomes first deputy speaker.
1995	29 Apr.	A national referendum installs Nazarbaev as president of Kazakhstan until the year 2000.
1995	10 May	The provincial capital of Farah is freed by Afghan government forces. Fifty Taliban fighters and seven Pakistani individuals are taken prisoner.
1995	23 May	The spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, Prince Karim Aga Khan, meets with Rahmonov and signs an accord on long-term development programs in Tajikistan. The Aga Khan Foundation, operating in Tajikistan since 1993, sponsors agrarian reform programs, particularly in the Gorno-Badakhshan region populated by 200,000 Ismaili Muslims.
1995	21 Jul.	In Tehran, Tajik President Rahmonov and UTO leader, Nuri, reach agreement to end inter-Tajik hostilities.
1995	00 Aug.	In Kyrgyzstan, the millennium of warrior Manas is celebrated.
1995	10 Aug.	Iranian carpet exporters are given more support, better facilities.
1995	15 Aug.	Saidamir Zuhurov replaces Yaqub Salimov who has been accused of carrying out an independent policy, being a stumbling block to the peace process, and heading a personal army of 20,000 troops. Unlike Salimov, who is associated with the Dushanbe mafia, Zuhurov is a professional in favor of holding talks with the Opposition.
1995	23 Aug.	Clinton signals willingness of US to discuss differences with Iran.
1995	24 Aug.	Iran's balance of trade shows a $6 billion surplus.
1995	25 Aug.	Grishk is retaken from the Taliban and lost to them again.
1995	31 Aug.	Taliban capture Delaram.
1995	4 Sept.	Shindad and its airport fall into the hands of the Taliban.
1995	5 Sept.	Herat falls to the Taliban. Schools are closed and sports are labeled un-Islamic.
1995	6 Sept.	Afghans blame Pakistan for the fall of Herat to the Taliban. Afghan protestors enter the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and beat up the Pakistani ambassador. Five Afghan security forces lose their lives in the struggle.
1995	24 Sept.	Taliban put the government in Kabul on notice.
1995	12 Oct.	Between October 12 and 18, in Iran the annual petrochemical output is up 22%; Ashraf-ol-Sadat Sanei becomes Iran's first woman deputy health minister; Iran-Turkmenistan gas pipeline construction starts.
1995	20 Nov.	Rafsanjani picks ground for the Kurdistan Steel Mill.
1995	17 Dec.	Taliban begin their assault on Kabul by firing 11 rockets into the city. 12 civilians are killed, 15 are wounded. Pul-i Khishti Mosque is hit by rockets killing 5 worhipers.
1995	20 Dec.	Between 20 and 26 December, the Taliban continued their bombardment into Kabul. Many civilians are killed and many homes are destroyed.
1995	30 Dec.	Retaliatory air raids by the Afghan government result in the death of Taliban commander Mullah Meshr and 70 of his men.
1996	1 Jan.	Between January 1 and January 14, Taliban with rockets and government forces by air raids exchange fire for the control of Kabul. A number of fighters on both sides and many civilians are killed and wounded.
1996	11 Jan.	In Iran foreign words used in writing affect the granting of permission to publish; construction of a major art and culture complex comprising an amphitheater, 3 movie houses, an art center, and a library begins in Tehran.
1996	21 Jan.	The state-sanctioned spiritual leader of Tajikistan, Fathullo Sharifzoda, along with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and one other person are found murdered at their house west of Dushanbe. The 53-year-old mufti had occupied his position since Dec. 1992, when President Rahmonov came to power.
1996	26 Jan.	Formerly loyal warlords attack the Tajik cities of Tursunzode, west of Dushanbe, and Qurqanteppe, in the south. Supported by 300 cadres, two tanks, and two armored personnel carriers, former Tursunzode Mayor Ibod Boimatov, captures the aluminum factory in the city. In the south, Mahmud Khudaberdiyev, the commander of the first brigade, takes control of the police station and government buildings in Qurqanteppe. Both men demand that the government step down.
1996	31 Jan.	5 bodies believed to have been killed and buried by Taliban are uncovered in Charasiyab. The reason for the kidnaping of these individuals from south Kabul and the cause for their elimination remains unknown.
1996	2 Feb.	Khudaberdiyev and Baimatov advance to within 15 km of Dushanbe, placing pressure on Rahmonov and the Supreme Soviet to dismiss the government. Rahmonov, supported by pro-government fighters gathered in the Dushanbe stadium, denounces the rebellious commanders as puppets of foreign forces intent on wiping the republic off the map.
1996	4 Feb.	As a result of the uprisings, between February 4 and 19, Rahmonov reshuffles government and appoints Yahyo Azimov Head of Government. He further accepts the resignation of First Deputy Prime Minister Mahmadsaid Ubadollaev.
1996	22 Feb.	In Tajikistan, Nuri claims that the Opposition controls 70% of Tajikistan.
1996	24 Feb.	The first Iranian-made oil platform in the Caspian Sea becomes operational; US agrees to pay compensation for shooting down an Iranian airbus.
1996	00 Mar.	During March and April, Rafsanjani calls expatriates a valuable asset for Iran; America expands its economic sanctions to cover foreign firms trading with Iran.
1996	1 Mar.	Uzbek president lauds Iran's efforts in settling the Tajik-Afghan crisis.
1996	11 Mar.	Parliament opens without Opposition representation. The Opposition explains its decision not to attend by citing the government's inability to guarantee the safety of opposition representatives. Nuri fears that if one of his members is killed while attending the session, his group will have to retaliate, destroying any chance of peace.
1996	13 Mar.	Rebellious commander Khudaberdiyev is appointed deputy head of the presidential guard. Khudaberdiyev had advanced to within 15 km of Dushanbe in Jan. 1996.
1996	25 Mar.	The Sarkhun-2 gas refinery (500 million cubic feet capacity) is inaugurated.
1996	00 Apr.	During April and May, four pages of the Shahtahmasbi Shahname sell for $2.9 million; price of bread rises 30-50 percent; Hizbullah supporters invade movie theaters, break video game machines, and beat up moviegoers.
1996	3 Apr.	Mullah Mohammad Omar is declared the Amir-al-Mu'minn (Commander of all the Faithful).
1996	19 Apr.	Within 10 months, with addition of five 300,000 ton oil tankers, Iran's oil tanker fleet will reach 3.8 million ton capacity.
1996	13 May	In Tajikistan, 6,000 people demonstrate in Urateppe asking for better living conditions; 5 die when troops fire on demonstrators.
1996	15 May	21,000 km optic fiber network along the Silk Road contributes to Iran's participation in international trade; completion of Sarakhs-Tajan railroad makes overland Silk Road operational.
1996	30 May	Government studies reasons for decline in sale of Iranian carpets abroad.
1996	00 Jun.	Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, head of Hezbi-Islami, is appointed prime minister.
1996	1 Jun.	Kabul government confirms the loss of Chaghcharan, capital of the Ghor province, to the Taliban.
1996	2 Jun.	Hardliner Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri is reelected Speaker of the Majles.
1996	19 Jun.	In a Soviet-style election, Khoja Amonullo Negmatzoda becomes mufti.
1996	24 Jun.	Clinton states his willingness regarding talks with Iran to Arab reporters.
1996	4 Jul.	Yeltsin's international affairs adviser calls for Iran's greater role in settling the Tajik conflict.
1996	12 Jul.	In a session held in Turkmenistan, the Tajik government and the Opposition agree to a ceasefire around Tavil-Dara. The agreement requires the government to drop its requirement that the Opposition forces in central Tajikistan return to the positions they held prior to Feb. 1996. The control of the regional capital of Tavil-Dara, near the only highway linking Dushanbe with the strategic city of Khorog, remains a question as both sides claim control over it.
1996	22 Jul.	The typhoid epidemic which broke out in late May has worsened. Heavy rains and flood, devastating the sewage and drainage systems, have spread infection as close as 18 kilometers to Dushanbe. Thus far, 3,500 cases have been registered in rural areas, 45 have died.
1996	29 Jul.	In Tajikistan, Academician Muhammad Osimi (b. 1920) is gunned down. Osimi, a prominent member of Tajik society, served the Communist Party and the Tajik government at many levels. His contributions to Tajik culture include research in philosophy, physics, and mathematics. At the end of his life, he founded Payvand and served as its editor. The journal is intended to create Tajik solidarity worldwide.
1996	5 Sept.	In a major offensive in the east, Taliban capture parts of Paktia, the domain of Hezbi-Islami led by Hekmatyar. They also come to a large cache of weapons in an arms depot.
1996	11 Sept.	Namangan and its capital of Jalalabad fall to the Taliban. Pakistan closes its border with Afghanistan to prevent more refugees to enter its territory. Haji Qadir, the governor of Namangan, hoever, manages to reach Pakistan. He claims that he had surrendered Namangan to Taliban to avoid a bloodbath there.
1996	13 Sept.	The province of Laghman and its capital of Mehtar Lam fall to the Taliban.
1996	16 Sept.	Iran leases 10 Antonov-12 cargo planes from the Russian Federation.
1996	22 Sept.	Taliban claim to have captured the province of Kunar.
1996	25 Sept.	The town of Sariabi, 31 miles to the east of the capital of Kabul, falls to the Taliban.
1996	27 Sept.	Taliban enter Kabul. The Rabbani government troops, fearing a massacre, flee. Former President Najibullah and his brother, Shapur Ahmadzai, are hung. Refugees flood Pakistan which recognizes the new government.
1996	27 Sept.	President Rabbani and his government are forced out of Kabul. An alliance is created among Taliban, the Wahadat (unity) Party, and Rashid Dostum.
1996	28 Sept.	The leader of the National Islamic Salvation of Afghanistan, Sebghatullah Mujadedi, confirms his full support of Taliban.
1996	30 Sept.	Taliban order all women to stay home and attend to family matters. They must be fully veiled. They are no longer allowed to go out alone or wear white socks. Men must grow beards. Buzkashi, Afghanistan's national sport, is outlawed.
1996	1 Oct.	In Jalalabad, Mawlawi Mohammad Yunus Khales, the leader of Hezb-i-Islami of Afghanistan announced his support for the Taliban. The only enemies for Taliban are now Ahmad Shah Mansur in the north and Rashid Dostum to the northeast of the country.
1996	2 Oct.	Pakistani recognizes the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate rulers and calls the Taliban leaders "men of piety." In Kabul, the Taliban enforce the required 5-time prayer per day rule. Amnesty International accuses the Taliban of ccreating a reign of terror.
1996	10 Oct.	At the United Nations, Abdul Ghafoorzai, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, denounces the Taliban. Taliban open the door for friendship woth Rashid Dostum by calling him a "Muslim and an Afghan".
1996	24 Oct.	Sar Chesma, a small valliage north of the Kabul is set on fire by the Taliban.
1996	30 Oct.	Taliban delare Jihad on Rashid Dostum who refuses their overtures of cooperation.
1996	2 Nov.	A revolt in Kunar against the Taliban is crushed.
1996	3 Nov.	Taliban threaten the lives of women Red Cross worker. Iran accuses the Taliban of promoting traffic in drugs along its eastern borders.
1996	9 Nov.	Voice of America reports on the severe beating of a foreign-aid worker by the Taliban.
1996	3 Dec.	Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar advises against harsh treatment of Kabul citizens.
1996	5 Dec.	Majles forbids use of foreign words by all sectors of society; empowers the Farhangestan to coin necessary terms. Foreign words for which an equivalent is not necessary are exempt.
1996	30 Dec.	Iran's UN ambassador ties change in Iran-US relations to US attitude.