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
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