Dushanbe

Dushanbe (Душанбе), population 582,400 (1991), is the capital of Tajikistan. Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby. A leading cotton textile center, Dushanbe also produces silk, machinery, electrical appliances, clothing, leather goods, tractor parts, and foodstuffs.

The city served as the headquarters for Ibrahim Bek, a Tajik leader who fought the Bolsheviks. From 1929, when the city became the capital of the Tadzhik Soviet Socilaist Republic, to 1961, it was known as Stalinabad. A university and the Tajik Academy of Sciences are in the city.