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
Anthem of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic went under the pseudonym Sarmen, wrote the lyrics. Upon independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia adopted the anthem "Mer Hayrenik" ("Our Fatherland") in its place. Russian was the state official language of the Armenian SSR, alongside Armenian. Anthem of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The State Anthem of the Armenian SSR () was the national anthem of Armenia when it was a republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The anthem was used from 1944 to 1991. It was composed by Aram Khachaturian, a world-famous Armenian composer, who was known for his concertos