Rasht district
Encyclopedia
Rasht District or Nohiyai Rasht (:Ноҳияи Рашт/ناحیهٔ راشت), formerly called Gharm District, is an eastern district in the Region of Republican Subordination
in Tajikistan
. It lies between Vahdat district
on the west and Jirgatol district
on the east; its southern neighbors are Nurobod
, Tavildara
, and Tojikobod
districts; its northern border runs along the eastern finger of Sughd Province and along the international border with Kyrgyzstan
. In July 2007 Rasht district suffered a devastating earthquake (5.5 on the Richter scale). Its capital is Gharm. The population of Rasht district are known as Gharmis.
resistance in Central Asia. In 1929 Basmachi commander Faizal Maksum
crossed from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and briefly captured the city Gharm, only to later be expelled by Soviet forces. In the 1920s, during the reorganization of borders in Central Asia, a Gharm Oblast
was created out of the old Qarategin and Darvaz
, districts of Bukhara
. The Garm Oblast consisted of much of the Qarategin Valley, as well as the district of Kalai-Khumb. During the 1950s much of the population of Gharm was forcibly relocated by the government to western Tajikistan. This population of people was known as the Gharmis.
In 1955 the Garm oblast was abolished and the land was redistributed to the Gorno-Badakshan Autonomous Oblast and the Regions under Republican Subordination Oblast
. The Gharmis continued to have a distinct clan identity in Tajikistan and when the Civil War in Tajikistan broke out in the newly independent country in 1992 many Gharmis sided with the Islamic opposition. During the war many Gharmis were targeted for massacres. The town of Gharm was controlled by the opposition during the later part of the civil war in Tajikistan. In 1998 four members of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan
were murdered by armed men allied with the United Tajik Opposition
. These victims were Yutaka Akino, a noted Japan
scholar of Central Asian history, Major Ryszard Szewczyk from Poland
; Major Adolfo Scharpegge from Uruguay
; and Jourajon Mahramov from Tajikistan.
Region of Republican Subordination
Districts of Republican Subordination is a region in Tajikistan, consisting of 13 districts which are directly under central rule.-History:...
in Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
. It lies between Vahdat district
Vahdat district
Vahdat District is one of the larger districts of the Districts of Republican Subordination in Tajikistan, called Kofarnihon District until the introduction of a new administrative division in the end of 2003. During the Soviet period it was named Ordzhonikidzeabad district in honor of Georgian...
on the west and Jirgatol district
Jirgatol district
Jirgatol district or Nohiyai Jirgatol lies in the extreme north-east corner of the Region of Republican Subordination in Tajikistan. Its northern boundary is the international boundary with Kyrgyzstan; on the south it borders with Tavildara and Tojikobod districts, and its western border is with...
on the east; its southern neighbors are Nurobod
Nurobod district
Nurobod District is one of the 13 districts in Tajikistan's Region of Republican Subordination. Formerly known as Darband District, Nurobod District lies east of Roghun District, south of Vahdat and Rasht districts, and west of Tavildara District. Its southern border is with the Khatlon Province...
, Tavildara
Tavildara district
Tavildara District or Nohiyai Tavildara is a large eastern district in the Region of Republican Subordination in Tajikistan, extending north of the Darvaz Range that forms the boundary of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province . Its northern boundary stretches along Rasht, Tojikobod, and...
, and Tojikobod
Tojikobod district
Tojikobod District or Nohiyai Tojikobod is a small district in the eastern part of Region of Republican Subordination in Tajikistan. It is encircled by Tavildara District from the south, Jirgatol District from the north-east, and Rasht District from the north-west. Its capital is Tojikobod ....
districts; its northern border runs along the eastern finger of Sughd Province and along the international border with Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
. In July 2007 Rasht district suffered a devastating earthquake (5.5 on the Richter scale). Its capital is Gharm. The population of Rasht district are known as Gharmis.
History
During the 1920s Rasht was a hotbed for the Basmachi, the anti-SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
resistance in Central Asia. In 1929 Basmachi commander Faizal Maksum
Faizal Maksum
Faizal Maksum was one of the leaders of an anti-Soviet group known as the Basmachi and led an organized resistance against the Soviet military occupation of Central Asia in the 1920s. Maksum was loyal to the ousted Emir of Bukhara and operated primarily on the border of the Soviet republic of...
crossed from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and briefly captured the city Gharm, only to later be expelled by Soviet forces. In the 1920s, during the reorganization of borders in Central Asia, a Gharm Oblast
Gharm Oblast
The Gharm Oblast was an oblast in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union from the 1920s to 1955. Its capital was Gharm. The population of Gharm were known as Gharmis, a term still used in Tajikistan today.-History:...
was created out of the old Qarategin and Darvaz
Darvaz
Darvaz , alternatively spelt Darwaz, Darvoz, or Darwoz, was an independent principality until the 19th century, ruled by a mir and its capital was at Kalai-Khumb. The kingdom controlled territory on the left and right banks of the Oxus River. In 1878 Darvaz was invaded by neighboring Bukhara and...
, districts of Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
. The Garm Oblast consisted of much of the Qarategin Valley, as well as the district of Kalai-Khumb. During the 1950s much of the population of Gharm was forcibly relocated by the government to western Tajikistan. This population of people was known as the Gharmis.
In 1955 the Garm oblast was abolished and the land was redistributed to the Gorno-Badakshan Autonomous Oblast and the Regions under Republican Subordination Oblast
Region of Republican Subordination
Districts of Republican Subordination is a region in Tajikistan, consisting of 13 districts which are directly under central rule.-History:...
. The Gharmis continued to have a distinct clan identity in Tajikistan and when the Civil War in Tajikistan broke out in the newly independent country in 1992 many Gharmis sided with the Islamic opposition. During the war many Gharmis were targeted for massacres. The town of Gharm was controlled by the opposition during the later part of the civil war in Tajikistan. In 1998 four members of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan
United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan
The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan was a peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council in December 1994 and extended on several occasions until its mandate expired in May 2000. Its purpose was to monitor peace agreements during and after the Tajikistan...
were murdered by armed men allied with the United Tajik Opposition
United Tajik Opposition
The United Tajik Opposition was an alliance of democratic, liberal and Islamist forces that fought in the Tajik Civil War from 1992 to 1997 against administration of President Emomali Rahmonov....
. These victims were Yutaka Akino, a noted Japan
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
scholar of Central Asian history, Major Ryszard Szewczyk from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
; Major Adolfo Scharpegge from Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
; and Jourajon Mahramov from Tajikistan.