Geography of Tajikistan has headwaters in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The other neighbors are the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan (to the west and the north) and Kyrgyzstan (to the north). The lower elevations of Tajikistan are divided into northern and southern regions by a complex of three mountain chains that constitute the westernmost extension of the massive Tian Shan system. Running essentially parallel from east to west, the chains are the Turkestan, Zeravshan (Zarafshan), and Hisor (Gissar) mountains. The last of these lies just north of the capital, Dushanbe, which is situated in west-central Tajikistan. More than half of Tajikistan lies above an
Postage stamps and postal history of Tajikistan Postage stamps and postal history of Tajikistan This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tajikistan. Tajikistan, officially the "Republic of Tajikistan", is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Once part of the Samanid Empire, Tajikistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR). It became independent in 1991. The first stamps of Tajikistan were issued on 20 May 1992. Before then, Tajikistan used stamps of the Soviet Union. In 1992 and 1993 the Tajikistan Post Office resorted to overprinting stamps of