1990 Dushanbe riots

1990 Dushanbe riots
Part of Revolutions of 1989, Dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Cold War
BMPs in the Lenin prospect in Dushanbe, 14 February 1990.
Location	Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Soviet Union
Date	February 12–14, 1990
Target	Armenian, Russian & Tajik civilians
Attack type	anti-Armenian riots
Deaths	26
Non-fatal injuries	565
Perpetrators	Tajik nationalist & islamist activists

The 1990 Dushanbe riots were an anti-government unrest in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, from February 12–14, 1990.

In 1988, in the aftermath of the Sumgait pogrom and anti-Armenian riots in Azerbaijan, 39 Armenian refugees were temporarily resettled from Azerbaijan to Dushanbe. In 1990, the Armenian influx became a subject of the rumour that triggered riots in Dushanbe. The rumour inflated the number of refugees to 2,500–5,000. According to rumour Armenians allegedly were being resettled in new housing in Dushanbe, which was experiencing an acute housing shortage at that time. Despite the fact that Armenian refugees resettled not in public housing but with their relatives, and by 1990 already left Tajikistan for Armenia, official denouncement of the rumours was not able to stop the protests. Assurances by Communist Party First Secretary Ghagar Makhkamov that no resettlement of Armenians was taking place were rejected by the demonstrators.

Soon, demonstrations sponsored by the nationalist Rastokhez movement turned violent. Radical economical and political reforms were demanded by the protesters. Government buildings, shops and other businesses were attacked and looted. Armenians, Russians, and other ethnic minorities were targeted. Abuse of Tajik women wearing European clothes in public also took place. The riots were put down by Soviet troops that were called into Dushanbe by Ghagar Makhkamov. However Makhamov's over reliance on military force was criticized by Buri Karimov, a deputy chair of Council of Ministers, who called for the resignation of the leadership of the Tajik Communist Party. On February 14, 1990 Makhamov and Prime Minister of Tajikistan Ezatolloh Khayeyev submitted their resignations, but they were not accepted by the Central Committee of the Tajik Communist Party.