Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic along a waterway. After Stalin's death in March 1953, Stalinabad, was renamed to "Dushanbe" on 10 November 1961 as part of the De-Stalinization program. In February 1990, tensions between the Tajiks and Armenians squared off in the republic's capital Dushanbe. 26 people died and 565 more were injured and the Soviet troops put down the riots. Both Yaqub Salimov, the Interior Minister and the youth activists were convicted for the participation in the riots. Later on 24 August 1990, Tajik SSR declared its sovereignty over Soviet laws. By 1991, Tajikistan participated in a referendum in March as part of the
Independence Day (Uzbekistan) Independence Day (Uzbekistan) Independence Day () is an official national holiday in Uzbekistan, celebrated on the first of September. fireworks, concerts, competitions, military parades, and wreath laying ceremonies are held in Tashkent during the independence day celebrations. In 1991, the August Coup in the Soviet capital of Moscow caused many Soviet republics to declare their independence from the Soviet Union. President of the Uzbek SSR Islam Karimov declared Uzbekistan independent from the USSR on August 31, 1991. That same day, the Supreme Soviet of Uzbekistan adopted a resolution on the declaration of independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan and a