The modern Sughd region of Tajikistan, the administrative center of which is the city of Khujand, until 1991 was called the Leninabad region of Tajikistan, its regional center was called Leninabad.
Geographic location
Position, from the point of view of political geography, which occupies the Leninabad region (Tajikistan), is estimated as favorable, despite the fact that the region has no access to the sea. Nevertheless, it was precisely its geographical location that contributed to the development and prosperity of Khujand. It is the only city that is located on the banks of the largest river in Central Asia - the Syrdarya - and was located at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road. This contributed to the development of trade relations with the developed countries of the East and West in the old days.
Leninabad region (Sogd) is surrounded by the Tien Shan and Gissar-Altai mountains. From the north are the Kuraminsky Range and the Mogoltau Mountains, from the south - the Turkestan Range and the Zeravshan Mountains. It borders with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Between the Kuraminsky and Turkestan ranges is the westerndistrict of the Ferghana Valley, on which the region is located.
Two rivers flow through its territory. The largest in Central Asia is the Syr Darya and Zeravshan, which originates from a mountain glacier of the same name. Both the Zeravshan and its tributaries are well nourished by melting glaciers and have large reserves of hydropower. Used to irrigate flat lands.
History of Khujand
Khujand has been the center of civilization in Central Asia for thousands of years. The location of the city contributed to its rapid development and prosperity. The same age as the most ancient cities such as Samarkand, Khiva, Bukhara, he made his important contribution to the development of this region of Central Asia.
The Great Silk Road passed through it. Khujand merchants, returning from distant countries, brought not only overseas goods, but also knowledge. The city prospered, the main occupation of the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements was agriculture and cattle breeding. It developed crafts. Trade occupied a special place.
A rich eastern city, it was repeatedly invaded by invaders who dreamed of conquering and plundering it. But history has preserved evidence of the conquest of the region by the troops of Alexander the Great, who preserved the city and contributed to its development. It received a new name Alexandria Eskhata (Extreme).
The invasion of the Mongol-Tatars completely wiped it off the face of the Earth. But the city was restored again. Its favorable location contributed to this.
Within the Russian Empire
Centuries passed, the city gradually stopped indevelopment and began to play an insignificant, provincial role in the life of Central Asia. The leading position was occupied by Samarkand, Bukhara, Kokand. The population worked in agriculture, and only a small part worked in crafts, in particular, weaving silk fabrics.
In 1866, the city of Khujand was conquered by the Russian army and included in the Russian Empire. The construction of the railway breathed new life into it. It became the center of the intersection of roads connecting the Fergana, Zeravshan valleys and the Tashkent oasis.
Railway workers and engineers were sent to the city to build and maintain railway stations. Doctors and teachers came with them. A school and a hospital were opened. Small handicraft industrial enterprises appeared. This was facilitated by natural resources, in particular oil, non-ferrous metals.
As part of the USSR
Despite the significant development of the city, it remained a backward outskirts of the Russian Empire with small handicraft enterprises, mainly weaving. The Leninabad region reached its greatest prosperity as part of the USSR. New enterprises began to be built, old ones were reconstructed. Qualified personnel came to the region: engineers, workers, doctors, teachers, scientists who studied natural resources. Schools, hospitals, vocational schools were opened to train new personnel, including those from the local population.
The city of Khujand was renamed Leninabad. It became the administrative center, part of the districtincluded 8 cities with developed infrastructure and industry. Coal, oil, zinc, lead, tungsten, molybdenum, antimony and mercury began to be mined on the territory of the region. The largest mining and processing enterprises were built. A large silk fabric factory was built in Leninabad.
More than a third of the total industrial output of the republic was given by the Leninabad region. The Tajik SSR, in her person, received an industrial and economic flagship.
Cities of Leninabad (Sughd) region
Thanks to the settlements located on its territory, the Leninabad region occupied a leading position in the economy of Tajikistan. The cities included in it had large industrial enterprises, some of them were unique.
In total, the region included 8 cities, including Leninabad. Many of them have an ancient history and played a significant role in previous years. Most of the cities were the industrial backbone of the Leninabad region:
- Istaravshan (Ura-Tube). It is located in the foothills of the Turkestan Range, 78 kilometers from the regional center. 63 thousand people live in it.
- The city of Isfara is located in the foothills of the Turkestan Range on the Isfara River. 43 thousand people live.
- Kairakum (Khujand). Located on the territory of the Karakum reservoir. 43 thousand people live.
- The city of Penjikent is located on the Zaravshan River, at an altitude of 900 meters above sea level. Population 36.5 thousand people.
City of Khujand
Leninabad, modern Khujand, one of the most beautiful cities in the Ferghana Valley. Framed by mountain spurs, flooded with sun, immersed in gardens and flowers, it is a real oasis. The Syr Darya and the Karakum reservoir make its climate mild, and the southern heat is easily tolerated. Mountains protect it from hot desert winds in summer and cold in winter.
The city of Leninabad and the Leninabad region occupied one of the leading positions in the economy of the Tajik SSR, which contributed to their prosperity. The infrastructure of the city developed. New residential areas, schools, hospitals, kindergartens, palaces of culture, sports facilities were built. A pedagogical institute, many technical schools and colleges were opened in the city. Trolleybus lines were laid to improve the transport supply.
Much attention was paid to architectural monuments, restoration work was carried out. Archaeological excavations were carried out in the vicinity of the city. A local history museum and a musical comedy theater were opened. The Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Tajik SSR was founded.
Leninabad became the industrial center of Central Asia. A large number of large enterprises worked: a silk fabric factory, a grenage, a cotton ginnery, a glass container, an electrical engineering plant, a dairy and canning factories, and much more.
Taboshar City
On the territory of the region there is a small cozy town of Taboshar. Leninabad region (Tajikistan) has several such towns and settlements, which had an important strategicvalue for the USSR. Near Taboshar there are rich deposits of polymetallic ores containing mainly zinc and lead, silver, gold, copper, bismuth and a number of other metals were extracted from them along the way.
Nearby is a "tailing dump" - a waste disposal site for ore processing. For more than 20 years, uranium has been mined here, which was processed in neighboring Chkalovsk. Since 1968, the Star of the East plant has operated in the city, where parts and engines for strategic missiles were produced. Now they are mothballed, since with the collapse of the USSR, most of the inhabitants moved to Russia and other countries. The city was inhabited by deported citizens from Western Ukraine, the B altic states and Volga Germans.
The town today has only 13.5 thousand inhabitants, most of whom are unemployed. Once it was a crowded, cozy and beautiful town with blackberry bushes, flowers in the front gardens, and in spring the city was buried in a haze of blossoming apricots, over which butterflies and dragonflies circled.
City of Chkalovsk
The Leninabad Mining and Chemical Plant, built in 1946, gave birth to a city called Chkalovsk. Leninabad region received one more city in its composition. Today, about 21 thousand people live here. After the collapse of the USSR, about 80% of its former inhabitants left the settlement.
The plant gave rise not only to the city, but also to the first nuclear reactor and the first Soviet atomic bomb, the filling of which was enriched uranium obtained at the plant. Raw material came from alldeposits of Central Asia and the Ferghana Valley, which were many.
A cozy village was built on the site of the city, in which the builders and workers of the plant lived. With its development, the settlement also grew, which was given the status of a city in 1956. Chkalovsk had the best schools, kindergartens, clinics, cinemas and even two theaters.
Immersed in greenery and flowers, with a developed infrastructure - this is how the city was remembered by its inhabitants who left it. The state of present-day Buston, as it is now called, leaves much to be desired. Once powerful enterprises do not work, water is not always available in houses, electricity is often cut off, which forces the remaining residents to leave their place of residence.
Districts of the Leninabad region
The geographical location of the Leninabad region, the Syrdarya and Zarafshan rivers, the Karakum reservoir created favorable conditions for agriculture. Throughout the region there are gardens and fields where a large number of vegetables are grown. Even in Soviet times, fruit and vegetable processing plants were built here. There are 14 agricultural regions on the territory of the region. Below is a list of districts and the number of residents (thousand people):
- Aininsky - 76, 9;
- Asht – 151, 6;
- Bobo-Gafurovsky - 347, 4;
- Devashtich – 154, 3;
- Gorno-Matchinsky– 22, 8;
- Jabbar-Rasulovsky - 125, 0;
- Zafarabad - 67, 4;
- Istaravshan – 185, 6;
- Isfarinsky - 204, 5;
- Kanibadam - 146, 3;
- Matchinsky - 113, 4;
- Panjakent - 231, 2;
- Spitamensky - 128, 7;
- Shahristan – 38, 5.
The leading position in the processing of animal products in the republic was occupied by the Leninabad region, the areas of which were engaged in the production of milk, meat - this is the main orientation of animal husbandry. In the foothills they breed goats and sheep. Much attention is paid to the cultivation of cotton.
Khojent region
Renaming did not bypass the largest, Khujand district. The Leninabad region became the Sughd region, the city of Leninabad was named Khujand, the Khojent region was named Bobo-Gafurov. Its administrative center is the village of Gafurov.
The region is located in the Ferghana Valley and is the most developed and largest agricultural region in the Leninabad (Sughd region). In the north, its border passes with the Tashkent region, in the south - with Kyrgyzstan. There is a large cotton gin and small food enterprises on the territory.
The area is adjacent to the regional center, so it is focused on agricultural production. It supplies the residents of Khujand with vegetables and fruits, which are abundant in the region, as well as milk and meat.
