Regions of Tajikistan

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Updates: 

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 9, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2004-10-01. It shows the change of the name of Leninobod oblast to Sughd.

I have decided that local usage supports treating Dushanbe as a separate division from the Regions of Republican Subordination. Dushanbe is administratively separate from R.R.S., but geographically surrounded by it, so I assume that ISO and FIPS intend it to be treated as part of R.R.S. When R.R.S. included Dushanbe, its HASC code was TJ.KR.

Viloiati is the Tajik designation for a division usually called region in English, or oblast' in Russian.

ISO/DIS 3166-2 (draft international standard) was published in late 1996, and didn't list any subdivisions of Tajikistan. After comments, the actual standard ISO 3166-2 was published (1998-12-15). It now showed three regions (Karategin, Khatlon, and Leninabad) and one autonomous region (Gorno-Badakhshan). Its fourth update, ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-4 (2002-12-10), changed the name of Leninabad region to Sughd. It also deleted Karategin region, without providing a replacement. It confessed that the "Regions of Republican Subordination" is now bereft of a code. The Tajik authorities have been contacted for better information. The ISO code for Sughd was changed from TJ-LN to TJ-SU.

Country overview: 

In 1900, the territory that now constitutes Tajikistan was partly in the Khanate of Bukhara, and partly in the Ferghana, Pamir, and Zarafshan regions of the Turkestan general government of the Russian Empire. During the Russian Revolution, the status of the Central Asian lands was unresolved for a time. The Turkestan A.S.S.R. was formed in 1921. In 1924, the Central Asian part of the Soviet Union was reorganized to correspond to the distribution of nationalities. The Tadzhikskaya Associated Soviet Socialist Republic was created then. It became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1929. As the Soviet Union broke up, it became Tajikistan, an independent country, on 1991-09-09.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Tadsjikistan
2. Dutch: Tadzjikistan, Republiek Tadzjikistan (formal)
3. English: Republic of Tajikistan (formal)
4. Finnish: Tadžikistan
5. French: Tadjikistan m
6. German: Tadschikistan n
7. Icelandic: Tadsjikistan
8. Italian: Tagikistan m
9. Norwegian: Tadsjikistan, Republikken Tadsjikistan (formal)
10. Portuguese: Tajiquistão, Tadjiquistão, República f do Tajiquistão m (formal)
11. Spanish: Tayikistán m
12. Swedish: Tadzjikistan
13. Tajik: Jumhurii Tojikiston (formal), Respublika i Tojikiston (formal)
14. Turkish: Tacikistan, Tacikistan Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Land of the Tajiks

Primary subdivisions: 

Tajikistan is divided into three viloyatho (sing. viloyat: regions), one viloiati mukhtori (or viloyati avtonomii: autonomous region), and one independent city.

Postal codes: 

Tajikistan uses six-digit postal codes. The first two digits indicate the region, and the middle two indicate the raion. These codes are left over from the Soviet regime, and all begin with '7'.

Further subdivisions:

See the Raions of Tajikistan page.

Tajikistan is subdivided into 62 raions, 14 cities, and two hukumats (city councils).

Territorial extent: 

Sogd includes an exclave around the town of Vorukh, surrounded by Kyrgyzstan; and another exclave northwest of Kokand, in Uzbekistan. There is also a very small portion of Tajikistan enclaved within Kyrgyzstan north of Isfana.

Origins of names: 

1. Dushanbe: = Monday (from market day)

Change history: 

1. 1920-10-05: Khanate of Bukhara became a Soviet Republic.
2. 1921-04-11: Turkestan A.S.S.R. formed from Amu-Darya, Ferghana, Pamir, Samarkand, Semirechensk, and Syr Darya regions, and the southern part of Transcaspian.
3. 1924-10: Turkestan A.S.S.R. and Bukhara reorganized into several units, one of which was the Uzbekskaya S.S.R. The Tadzhikskaya A.S.S.R., in turn, was part of the Uzbekskaya S.S.R.
4. 1927: Gorno-Badakhshanskaya A.Obl. formed.
5. 1929-10-15: Tadzhikskaya A.S.S.R. split from Uzbekskaya S.S.R., and its status changed to S.S.R. Name of country's capital changed from Dyushambe to Stalinabad.
6. 1936: Name of Khodjent and its capital changed to Leninabad.
7. 1950: Divisions were Gorno-Badakhshan A.Obl., Gharm Oblast, Kulyab Oblast, Leninabad Oblast, and the rest of Tadzhikskaya S.S.R. around Dushanbe. Gharm is now eastern Regions of Republican Subordination.
8. 1961: Name of capital changed back to Dushanbe.
9. 1991-02: Name of capital of Leninobod changed from Leninabad to Khujand.
10. 1993: Kulob and Qurghonteppa regions merged to form Khatlon. Before the change, the capitals had the same names as the regions. The old Russian names were Kulyab and Kurgan-Tyube.
11. 2000-08: Leninobod oblast renamed Sogd. The name evidently comes from that of an ancient region of central Asia, called Sogdiana by English-speaking scholars. Its capital in the Middle Ages was Samarkand, which is now in Uzbekistan.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Badakhshoni Kuni: Autonomes Gebiet der Berg-Badachschanen (German, obsolete); Gorno-Badakhshan, Gorno-Badahshanskaya avtonomnaya oblast', Gornyy Badakhshan (Russian); Haut-Badakhchan (French); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon (Tajik)
2. Dushanbe: Douchanbé (French); Duşanbe (Turkish)
3. Khatlon: Hationskaya oblast', Hatlonskaja oblast' (variant)
4. Kulob: Koulab (French); Kulab (variant); Kulyab (Russian)
5. Qurghonteppa: Kourgan-Tioubé (French); Kurgan-Tyube (Russian); Qurghan Teppa (variant)
6. Regions of Republican Subordination: Districts of the republican subordination, Rayons and towns of republic subordination (variant); Karategin (obsolete); Karateguin (French, obsolete); Karotegin, Markazi (variant, obsolete); Rayony i goroda respublikanskogo podchineniya (Russian)
7. Sogd: Hodžent, Khodzhent, Khujand (variant, obsolete); Leninabadskaya oblast' (Russian, obsolete); Leninobod (obsolete); Sogdiyskaya oblast', Sogdskaja oblast' (Russian); Sughd (variant)