Tajikistan attracts hundreds of travelers from all over the world because here you can completely plunge into the realm of natural purity and splendor. The Pamir and Tien Shan mountains, whirling with their height, the purest waters of numerous high-mountain lakes, the highest dam in the world, a carpet of millions of irises, poppies and edelweiss blooming on the mountain slopes, crystal waterfalls and an amazing wildlife – this is not a complete list something that can make the strings of the soul ring in a gentle tonality even in the most inveterate inhabitant of a large city.

Local residents have the ability to exist in harmony with the beauty that Nature has generously endowed them with. Being in the Hissar Historical and Cultural Reserve, it is difficult to get rid of the feeling that the strict lines of the Hissar fortress arose here in a natural way, and are not the work of man. The same can be said about ancient Penjikent, a monument of the pre-Muslim era, whose palaces and temples are unique and have no analogues in terms of architectural composition.

However, Tajikistan has been attractive at all times not only due to the Marguzor lakes surrounded by many legends and amazing views of the Sari Khosor valley, but also as an important section of the Great Silk Road – the cultural and economic artery of the past. It was thanks to the merchants who followed it that the world learned about another feature of this wonderful land – numerous healing mineral springs.

Today, lovers of mountain hiking (to the fabulous land of the Fann Mountains) and climbers (Ismail Somoni Peak / former Communism Peak), travelers in four-wheel drive jeeps (along the famous high-altitude Pamir Highway) go to Tajikistan. Researchers of historical events and ancient buildings, of which there are thousands in Tajikistan, as well as seekers of ancient legends in secluded high-mountain settlements and those who want to climb where no man has gone before.

The name “Tajikistan” (taj. Tojikiston; Persian تاجیکستان‎ – Tojikiston – “country of Tajiks”) comes from the self-name of the Tajiks and the suffix -istan / -stan. The name appeared in 1924 as a result of the national-territorial demarcation of Central Asia and the creation of the Tajik ASSR as part of the Uzbek SSR (in 1929-1991 – the Tajik SSR).

The ancestors of the Tajiks called their country “Aryānam Vaeja”. This name comes from the ancient Iranian “aryanam” and Avesta. “airyanam” (in Middle Persian – Erān, in Tajik – Eron) and means “Country of the Aryans”. It is assumed that in the era of the Achaemenids (550-327 BC), the concept of “Aryānam Vaeja” was transformed into “Aryānam Xšaθram” – “The State of the Aryans”. Aryan tribes (from the Avestan word aria and Iranian ariya – “noble”, “pure”) – the name of the ancient Indo-Iranian tribes, which at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. separated from the Indo-European tribes and moved to Central Asia (Ayiryana Vaeja (Avest.) – “Aryan expanse, country”). At the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. part of the Indo-Iranian tribes moved to the lands of modern Iran and North India. In historical sources, the Aryans are mentioned as the ancestors of the peoples of the states of Ariana, Turan, Ancient Bactria, Sogd, Khorezm, Persia, Media and Khorasan.

Since the time of the Achaemenids, the name “Iran” (in Tajik – Eron) has been attached to the states of the Western Iranian peoples, who created powerful centralized empires. Erānšahr (Eronshahr) comes from the Avestan Airyānam Xšaθram. The Avestan diphthong -ai was transformed into the Middle Persian vowel -e. The East Iranian peoples, the immediate ancestors of the Tajiks, called their land “Turan” (in Tajik – Turon). The country of the Eastern Iranian peoples – Turan – was politically fragmented into 4 separate states: Sogd, Bactria, Khorezm, Margiana. The ancestors of the Tajiks were also nomadic Saks.

The conditional border between Iran and Turan in ancient times was first the Syr Darya, and in later times the Amu Darya.

The state system of Tajikistan is determined by the constitution adopted on November 6, 1994. Tajikistan is a presidential republic.

Since 1994, the presidency has been held by Emomali Rahmon, who was re-elected to this post in 1999, 2006 and 2013. Before being elected president in 1994, Emomali Rahmon was a member of the Communist Party and, accordingly, paid membership dues. In connection with his election as president, by agreement with the party leadership, his membership in the party was temporarily suspended.

Majlisi Oli – the Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan – is the highest representative and legislative body of the Republic. Majlisi Oli consists of two chambers – Majlisi Milli and Majlisi Namoyandagon.

The decision to introduce a bicameral parliament was taken by referendum in September 1999.

The country’s climate is subtropical with significant daily and seasonal fluctuations in air temperature, low rainfall, dry air and little cloudiness. The average January temperature ranges from +2…−2 °C to -20 °C in the valleys and foothills of the southwest and north of the republic and drops lower in the Pamirs. The absolute minimum temperature reaches -63 °C in the Pamirs (Bulunkul). The average temperature in July is from +30 °C in the low valleys of the southwest to 0 °C and lower in the Pamirs. The absolute maximum temperature is +48 °C

Culture and social relations in Tajikistan have a long history. The artistic culture of the Tajik people since ancient times was formed on the territory of Central Asia and modern Afghanistan and developed in the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, Merv, Herat, Nishapur, Balkh, Khujand, Istaravshan, Khulbuk and other cities of Central Asia; it is closely connected with the culture of other peoples (especially the Iranians). On the territory of modern Tajikistan, cultural monuments have been preserved, which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Education and science developed in a peculiar way, which over the past millennia absorbed the Aryan, Hellenic, Persian, Islamic, Turkic-Mongolian and European cultures.

In the second half of the XIX-XX centuries, after the conquest of Central Asia by Russia and the subsequent cohabitation of the Tajik people with the peoples of the former USSR, the penetration of European culture and its transformation into the cultural life of the Tajik society begins. Fundamental changes took place in the social and cultural life of the traditional medieval society, including material, spiritual and artistic culture. Gradually, during the 20th century, the traditional way of life and cultural needs of the Tajik society changed. European clothes, everyday life, some traditions, consumption of the achievements of the global community, including in the field of culture, have become the daily cultural image of the inhabitants. After acquiring state independence, the Republic of Tajikistan (1991) revived some national holidays forbidden in Soviet times – Navruz, Ramadan, Kurban and others. The names of cities and villages were restored, the national status of the Tajik language was revived in state, public and educational institutions, etc. In 1991-2011, the number of museums (including branches) increased from 27 to 44, but their annual number of visits decreased from 450,000 to 252,000 (although there is considerable confusion when taking into account the number of visits).

The preservation of national cultural traditions and identity, the use of the achievements of global culture in society is the main criterion of modern Tajikistan.