The Capital City Day is marked in Tajikistan on the third Saturday of April and this year, Dushanbe will mark the Capital City Day on April 20.
A number of sports and cultural activities are expected to be carried out in Dushanbe’s parks on this day.
Besides, an international race dedicated to the Capital City Day will be held in Dushanbe on April 20. This year, the Tajik capital hosts the 14th international half-marathon (21 kilometers and 97.5 meters) dedicated to the Tajik Capital City Day (starting time: 8:00 am).
According to the Dushanbe Administration, representatives of all regions of the country are expected to participate in this race. Besides, athletes from Dushanbe’s sister cities have been invited to participate in the upcoming half-marathon.
The Dushanbe International Half-Marathon is the main event to celebrate the Tajik Capital City Day.
The first Dushanbe International Half-Marathon took place in April 2010 and athletes from 14 Dushanbe’s sister cities participated in that race.
In 2013, the Dushanbe half-marathon has been added to the calendar of games of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS)
The Dushanbe’s sister cities are Lusaka (Zambia); Sana’a (Yemen); Monastir, Tunisia; Klagenfurt, (Austria); Lahore (Pakistan); Boulder (USA); Mazar-e Sahrif (Afghanistan); Reutlingen (Germany); St. Petersburg (Russia); Shiraz, Tehran (Iran); Minsk (Belarus); Urumqi, Xiamen, Qingdao (China); Ankara (Turkiye), Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Astana (Kazakhstan); Baku (Azerbaijan).
It is to be noted that Dushanbe turns 100 years old this year.
Dushanbe is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. As of January 2022, Dushanbe had a population of 1,201,800 and that population was largely Tajik.
Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as Stalinabad, after Joseph Stalin. Dushanbe is located in the Hisor Valley and has an elevation of 750–930 m. The city is divided into four districts: Ismoili Somoni; Sino; Firdavsi; and Shohmnsour.
Dushanbe was the location of a large bazaar that operated on Mondays. This gave rise to the name Dushanbe-Bozor from Dushanbe, which means Monday in the Tajik language.
Dushanbe was proclaimed the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in October 1924, and the government started to function formally on March 15, 1925.
In 1929, the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, previously the Tajik ASSR, separated from the Uzbek SSR and its capital Dyushambe was renamed Stalinabad on October 19, 1929, incorporating the nearby villages of Shohmansour, Mavlono, and Sari Osiyo.
On November 10, 1961, as part of de-Stalinization, Stalinabad was renamed back to Dushanbe, the name it retains to this day.
On September 9, 1919, Dushanbe became the capital of an independent Tajikistan.
