Bokhtar
Bokhtar (Template:Langx),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> previously known as Qurghonteppa, Kurganteppa and Kurgan-Tyube, is a city in southwestern Tajikistan, which serves as the capital of the Khatlon region. Bokhtar is the largest city in southern Tajikistan, and is located Template:Convert south of Dushanbe and Template:Convert north of Kunduz, Afghanistan.
Population
In 2019, the city's population was estimated at 110,800, making it the third-largest city in the country. The population fluctuates depending on the season, due to the many Tajik migrant workers in Russia.
Along with the capital Dushanbe, Bokhtar is more demographically diverse than the other major Tajik cities such as Khujand, Kulob or Istaravshan.<ref>Borjian, Habib, “Kurgan Tepe”, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Online edition 2005. [1]</ref> Major ethnicities include Tajiks, Uzbeks, Russians, Pashtuns, Tatars, Ukrainians, Kazakhs and other Turkic peoples.Template:Citation needed The city had a large number of ethnic Russians who worked in the industrial and agricultural complexes in and around the city, during the existence of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic.
Bokhtar is a stronghold of Emomali Rahmon's political opponents.<ref name=OVERVIEW>Ethnic groups at risk: The status of Tajiks Heritage Society</ref>
Overview
During the civil war in Tajikistan, Bokhtar (then Qurghonteppa) became the epicenter of conflict by the summer of 1992, and was seriously damaged.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many of the local Kulobi and Uzbeks were forced to flee in 1992, following attacks by the pro-opposition Gharmi forces.
The city was officially renamed from Qurghonteppa to Bokhtar on 22 January 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The name change was one of many in Tajikistan targeting places whose names derive from the Uzbek and Kyrgyz languages.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Near Bokhtar are the ruins of a Buddhist monastery complex called Ajina Tepe, believed to be built in the 7th or 8th centuries CE. It features a 12-meter-long image of Buddha in Nirvana.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bokhtar International Airport provides flights to a handful of cities in Tajikistan, Russia and Kazakhstan.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon with personnel of the India-Tajik Friendship Hospital in Bokhtar, 13 July 2015. -
Bokhtar Bazaar -
Taxi station in Bokhtar -
Bokhtar library
Climate
Bokhtar has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), with cool winters and very hot summers. Precipitation is quite low. It is highest in the spring, while summers are very dry.
Notable people
- Sergei Mandreko (1971-2022) - football coach
- Nurudin N. Mukhitdinov (1959-) - politician
Trivia
Finnish electronic duo Pan Sonic have a track entitled "Radio Qurghonteppa" on their 2010 farewell album Gravitoni.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Kurgan Tepe in Encyclopaedia Iranica Online
Template:Largest cities of Tajikistan Template:Khatlon Template:Authority control