1990 Dushanbe riots

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1990 Dushanbe riots
Part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union
BMPs blocking off protesters in the city's main thoroughfare following the imposition of martial law, 14 February 1990
Date	12–14 February 1990
Location	Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union 38°32′12″N 68°46′48″E / 38.53667°N 68.78000°E / 38.53667; 68.78000
Caused by	Local anti-Armenian sentiment and Tajik anti-communist nationalism
Resulted in	Outbreak of the Tajikistani Civil War in 1992
Parties
Tajik nationalists Rastokhez Tajik Islamists  Soviet Union Communist Party of the Soviet Union KGB MVD Internal Troops OMON Communist Party of Tajikistan SCNS
Lead figures
Tohir Abdujabbor Izatullo Khayoyev Qahhor Mahkamov Yaqub Salimov
Casualties
Death(s)	26
Injuries	565
Dushanbe Location within Tajikistan Show map of Tajikistan Dushanbe Location within the Soviet Union Show map of the Soviet Union

The 1990 Dushanbe riots marked a period of heightened civil disobedience and inter-ethnic violence in the capital city of the Tajik SSR of the Soviet Union. Existing tensions over lacking economic and political reforms were exacerbated by the arrival of Armenian refugees from the Azerbaijan SSR due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The mass movement of Tajik nationalists (e.g., the Rastokhez), anti-communists, and Islamists targeted ethnic minorities, such as Armenians and Russians, as well as unaffiliated Tajiks—namely women who did not conform to Islamic clothing standards. By late 1991, the dissolution of the Soviet Union gave way to the Republic of Tajikistan declaring independence, though this was followed by the Tajikistani Civil War less than a year later.