Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan, Second Edition.

Kamoludin Abdullaev and Shahram Akbarzaheh
Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan. Second Edition.
Lanham-Toronto-Plymouth, UK: The Scarecrow Press Inc., 2010. ISBN-13:
978-0-8108-6061-2
Series: Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East #73

The emergence of the independent Republic of Tajikistan (Jumhurii
Tojikiston) was one of the most painful state building attempts in
post-Soviet history. Since 1990, this country has experienced a rise
in political activism, freedom of speech, sharp political debates,
collapse of state institutions, civic disorder, civil war, an
internationally led peace process, return of exiled opposition and
their militias, and redistribution of power. As of 2010, Tajikistan
continues its gradual shift from the fragile, postwar recovery period
towards a more stable, peaceful, conventional and transparent
political order and an era of steady economic development.

The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan is
extensively updated and substantially expanded. It examines this
country through a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology, a
40 pages-long introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 600
cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places,
events, and institutions, as well as significant political, economic,
social, and cultural aspects. The authors also expanded the component
related to foreign policy and finance. It is an extremely useful aid
in understanding the current situation in Tajikistan.

About the Authors

Kamoludin Abdullaev is an independent historian from Dushanbe,
Tajikistan. From 2001 to 2010, as a visiting professor, Dr. Abdullaev
regularly taught modern Central Asian subjects from multidisciplinary
perspectives at Yale University, Allegheny College, and the Ohio
State University. He has written and edited ten books in English and
Russian. Among his recent publications is "Ot Sintsiana do Khorasana.
Iz istorii sredneaziatskoy emigratsii 20 veka ("From Xinjiang to
Khorasan, From the History of the 20th Century Central Asian
Emigration"). Dushanbe: Irfon, 2009. In addition, he published over 50
articles in English, Russian, Tajik, and translated into French, and Japanese.

Shahram Akbarzadeh is deputy director of the National Centre of
Excellence for Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne,
Australia. His research interests include the politics of Islam in the
Middle East and Australia, U.S. policy towards the Middle East , and
Central Asian politics. Akbarzadeh has an active publishing record (10
books and 22 refereed journal papers). Among his latest publications
are a co-edited book on Muslim Communities in Australia, and a
co-authored book on US Foreign Policy in the Middle East.

Kamoludin Abdullaev
Ohio State University, visiting professor (until June 2010)
Personal page: kamolkhon.com