Rushon (, , , Pamiri: Ręxon) is a town and the seat of

Rushon District Rushon District; , is a district in east Tajikistan, in the west-central part of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). It stretches along the river Bartang between the Yazgulem Range to the north and the Rushon Range to the south.''R ...

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region Gorno-Badakhshan, officially the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in eastern Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains. It makes up nearly forty-five percent of the country's land area but only two percent of its popul ...

in southeastern

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. The town with aglomeration has a total population of 6,577 (2015).Jamoat-level basic indicators
United Nations Development Programme in Tajikistan, accessed 5 October 2020

Geography

Locally known as Vamar (, Pamiri: Vamár) it is a town located in the

on the border with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

north of Khorugh. It was known as Kala-i Vamar (the fortress of Vamar) until 1932. The town is located on the river Panj just downstream from the mouth of the Bartang at the point where the Panj briefly turns west before resuming its northerly course. It is at this point that the Vamardaya creek cascades from a steep V shaped gorge in the mountains behind the town, into Panj River. There is a small museum and the ruins of a Kala-i Vamar ( Vamardiž) a mediaeval era fort.

Services

Rushan has a small commercial precinct that runs down the main road, centred on the

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

. Fuel can be obtained from two outlets on the edge of the town and there is a school housed in a purpose built three storey structure on the south side of the AH66 highway and like many towns in the district streets tend to be lined with poplar trees. Soccer fields lie at the eastern end of the town. There are multiple guesthouses in the town. The Aghan border lies at the southern edge of the town. The nearby village of Bomak, located at the mouth of the Bartangi rive has fuel, a school and retail services as well. This village is known for the lonely boulder and the white bridge over the bartangi.

History

It is believed that the fort Kalai-Vamar was built by local people in defence of the Chinese advancement to Pamirs. Many times Kalai-Vamar fell to Shahs of Darwaz and Shughnan remaining under control of Shughnan until Afghans of

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...

took it on the last quarter of 19th century. In 1885 Russians liberated Pamiri kingdoms of Panj right bank but soon gave them to Manghit Emirate of Bukhara where they resided until the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. During Soviet Era the Castle of Vamar was destroyed and its territory mainly demolished giving way to military base facilities. On the morning of May 18, 2022, Rushon was the scene of a violent crackdown on protesters by security forces with several casualties. Local residents had been blocking the road to Khorugh, where protests against human rights violations were ongoing, in order to prevent a military convoy from passing.

Notes

References

Populated places in Gorno-Badakhshan {{Tajikistan-geo-stub