Promotional Information

Describes how, often in the teeth of Uzbek opposition, the Tajiks gained, first an autonomous oblast within Uzbekistan, then an autonomous republic, and finally, in 1929, the status of a full Soviet Union Republic. This work presents documentation of how the idea of a Tajik state came into being and offers a history of the birth of a nation.

About the Author

Paul Bergne teaches and researches the history and politics of Central Asia at St Antony's College, Oxford. In 2001 he was the personal representative of the Prime Minister Tony Blair in Afghanistan. Before that he served for nearly forty years as a British diplomat and his last overseas posting was as ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. He has travelled widely in the South Caucasus and Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, and in Afghanistan.