Tajikistan, landlocked country lying in the heart of Central Asia.
It is bordered by Kyrgyzstan on the north, China on the east, Afghanistan
on the south, and Uzbekistan on the west and northwest. Tajikistan
includes the Gorno-Badakhshan (“Mountain Badakhshan”) autonomous region,
with its capital at Khorugh (Khorog). Tajikistan encompasses the smallest
amount of land among the five Central Asian states, but in terms of elevation
it surpasses them all, enclosing more and higher mountains than any other country
in the region. Tajikistan was a constituent (union) republic of the Soviet Union
from 1929 until its independence in 1991. The capital is Dushanbe.