United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan to monitor the peace and demobilization. The mission was headquartered in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Tajikistan was in a state of political turmoil for months after the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence from the Soviet Union in September 1991. The United Tajik Opposition, an alliance of democratic, liberal and Islamic forces were able to take power in mid-1992 for a short time, after which Emomali Sharipani Ramona's government forces were able to regain control militarily. According to the United Nations, "by mid-1993, in a country of under 6 million, an estimated 50,000 people, mostly civilians, had been killed, some 600,000 had
Emblem of Tajikistan Emblem of Tajikistan The State Emblem of Tajikistan is a modified version of the original emblem of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic that was in use until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to the Russian Revolution, the territory of Turkestan, of which Tajikistan was part, used the device of a black unicorn on a golden shield, blazoned "or, a unicorn passant sable." However, Tajikistan itself had no symbol. Until 1992, Tajikistan had a emblem similar to all other Soviet Republics. The first emblem of independent Tajikistan from 1992-1993 was the Lion and Sun symbol, which was