President of Tajikistan of his support for the August Coup of 1991 in Moscow and the resulting street demonstrations in Dushanbe. From 1991 to 1992 the post of the president changed hands several times due to the political changes and uncertainty following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and ensuing social unrest and violence in the Tajikistan Civil War. Since 1994, Emomali Rahmonov has held the position of the presidency. The presidential elections were last held in 2013. Presidential elections in Tajikistan have consistently been criticized by international observers as unfair and favoring the ruling party. The President of the Republic of Tajikistan
Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan from the former district headquarters in Tashkent, which was in now-independent Uzbekistan, to Moscow. Also present in Tajikistan was a large contingent of Soviet border guards, which transitioned into a Russian-officered force with Tajik conscripts. For a long period a CIS peacekeeping force, built around the 201st MRD, were in place in the country. Due to the presence of Russian forces in the country and the Civil war in Tajikistan, Tajikistan only formally legalised the existence of its armed forces in April 1994. During the 1990s, the armed forces were often suffered from a poor commanded structure and poor discipline