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
Tajikistan–Uzbekistan relations the Axis powers during World War II resulted in a reaction from Soviet authorities which included population transfers that brought Caucasians to Central Asia. Both republics participated in the referendum in March 1991 in an attempt to preserve the Soviet Union in a different form, but was soon hampered by the attempted coup in August of that year. As a consequence, both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan declared their independence in the months of 1991 and became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, in which officially gave way for the dismemberment of the Soviet Union at the end of the year.