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Tajikistan
The Purges
Like the CPSU branches elsewhere in the Soviet Union, the Communist
Party of Tajikistan suffered waves of purges directed by the central
government in Moscow between 1927 and 1934. Conditions particular
to Tajikistan were used to provide additional justification for
the crackdown. Many Tajik communists were highly critical of the
ferocity with which the collectivization of agriculture was implemented,
and central party authorities were dissatisfied with the local
communists' advocacy of the republic's interests, including attempts
to gain more autonomy and shield local intellectuals. About 70
percent of the party membership in Tajikistan--nearly 10,000 people
at all levels of the organization--was expelled between 1933 and
1935. Between 1932 and 1937, the proportion of Tajiks in the republic's
party membership dropped from 53 to 45 percent as the purges escalated.
Many of those expelled from party and state offices were replaced
by Russians sent in by the central government. Another round of
purges took place in 1937 and 1938, during the Great Terror orchestrated
by Joseph V. Stalin. Subsequently Russians dominated party positions
at all levels, including the top position of first secretary.
Whatever their nationality, party officials representing Tajikistan,
unlike those from some other Soviet republics, had little influence
in nationwide politics throughout the existence of the Soviet
Union.
Data as of March 1996
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