Tajikistan, a landlocked country in Central Asia, is bordered by Uzbekistan to the west and north, Kyrgyzstan to the north, China to the east, and Afghanistan to the south. With an area of 143,100 square kilometers (55,235 square miles), it is slightly smaller than Wisconsin. Its climate features cold winters and hot summers and varies dramatically with elevation.

As of 2003 Tajikistan's population was estimated at 6.25 million. The prominent ethnicities are Tajik (67%) and Uzbek (23%). The prominent religions are Sunni Muslim (80%) followed by Shia Muslim (5%).

Tajikistan was annexed by Russia in the late nineteenth century. It did achieve independence for a short time beginning in 1920 but quickly was brought under control by the Bolshevik authorities, becoming the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1936 Tajikistan was formally integrated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as a union republic. Tajikistan declared full independence in September 1991.

In the years after independence Tajikistan experienced a...