Vahdat () is a city in western Tajikistan, on the bank of the Kofarnihon River, 21 km east of

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

. It was previously called Yangi-Bozor (1927–1936), Orjonikidzeobod (1936–1993, after Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze) and Kofarnihon (1993–2006). Its population is estimated at 43,200 for the city proper and 342,700 for the city with the outlying communities (2020). Vahdat was the focus on international attention in 2019 when a riot occurred in the city's prison, believed to be instigated by members of

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

, which led to the deaths of three guards and 29 inmates.

Geography

The city is located in the upper basin of the river Kofarnihon, and is near the Gissar Range (southern slopes) and the Karategin Range (northern slopes), to the west, the city is on the edge of the

Gissar Valley Hisar (also Gissar, Gisar, Hissar, or Hisor) Valley in Tajikistan runs east–west along the southern slopes of Hisar Range and on the northern border of Khatlon Province. It is about 100 km long and up to 20 km wide in the middle, stretching from ...

Subdivisions

Before ca. 2018, Vahdat was the seat of Vahdat District, which covered the rural part of the present city of Vahdat. The city of Hisor covers Hisor proper, the town Nu'mon Roziq and ten jamoats. These are as follows:Jamoat-level basic indicators
United Nations Development Programme in Tajikistan, accessed 8 October 2020

Demographics

The population is composed primarily of Tajiks and Uzbeks, with small numbers of Russians and Tatars. Numbers of

Afghan refugees Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were forced to flee from their country as a result the continuous wars that the country has suffered since the Afghan-Soviet war, the Afghan civil war, the Afghanistan war (2001–2021) or either p ...

have also made Vahdat home.

Economy

The city's economy is mainly shaped by the surrounding district's agricultural activities: cotton, cattle, grains and vegetable production, and viticulture, with cotton-ginning being the city's dominant industrial activity.

Transportation

There are road and rail connections between Vahdat and Dushanbe. Vahdat's railway station was built in 1930. Highway connections are possible to Jirgatol,

Khorog Khorog ( ), also Khorugh ( ) or Kharagh ( ), is the capital of Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. It is also the capital of the Shughnon District of Gorno-Badakhshan. It has a population of 30,500 (2020 ). Khorog is above sea level in the Pamir Mou ...

, Kulob, Nurak and Yovon.

Education

The Vahdat Statistical College specializes in courses on finance, accounting and economics.

Infrastructure

Vahdat is the location of a prison which included those convicted of terrorist crimes, mainly associated with membership in Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). In 2019, a prison riot saw three guards and 29 inmates killed, 24 of whom were said to be Islamic militants. One of those killed was Behruz Gulmurod, a son of Gulmurod Halimov, previously a commander of Tajik Interior Ministry special forces who joined ISIS/ISIL in 2015.

Climate

References

{{Districts of Republican Subordination Populated places in Districts of Republican Subordination