Душанбе – Тәжікстан астанасы және ірі қаласы

Capital and largest city of Tajikistan

| area code = 372

Dushanbe is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. as of 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 Gissar Valley, bounded by the Gissar Range in the north and east and the Babatag, Aktau, Rangontau and Karatau mountains in the south, and has an elevation of 750–930 m. The city is divided into four districts, all named after Persian historical figures: Ismail Samani, Avicenna, Ferdowsi, and Shah Mansur. In ancient times, what is now or is close to modern Dushanbe was settled by various empires and peoples, including Mousterian tool users, various neolithic cultures, the Achaemenid Empire, Greco Bactria, the Kushan Empire, Hephthalites. In the Middle Ages, more settlements began near modern day Dushanbe such as Hulbuk and its famous palace. From the 17th to early 20th century, Dushanbe grew into a market village controlled at times by the Beg of Hisor, Balkh, and finally Bukhara, before being conquered by the Russian Empire. Dushanbe was captured by the Bolsheviks in 1922, and the town was made the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924, which commenced Dushanbe's development and rapid population growth that continued until the Tajik Civil War. After the war, the city became capital of an independent Tajikistan and continued its growth and development into a modern city, today home to many international conferences. Much of Dushanbe's education system dates from Soviet times and has a legacy of state control; today the largest university in Dushanbe, the Tajik National University, is funded by the government. Dushanbe International Airport is the primary airport serving the city. Other forms of transport include the trolleybus system dating from 1955, the small rail system, and the roads that traverse the city. Dushanbe's electricity is primarily hydroelectric, produced by the Nurek Dam, and the aging water system dates from 1932. Tajikistan's healthcare system is concentrated in Dushanbe, meaning that the major hospitals of the country are in the city. The city makes up 20% of Tajikistan's GDP and has large industrial, financial, retail, and tourism sectors. Parks and main sights of the city include Victory Park, Rudaki Park, the Tajikistan National Museum, the Dushanbe Flagpole, and the Tajikistan National Museum of Antiquities.

Dushanbe was the location of a large bazaar that operated on Mondays. from Dushanbe, which means Monday in the Persian language – literally, the second day (du) following Saturday (shanbe). The Gissar culture, whose stone tools were discovered within modern day Dushanbe at the confluence of the Varzob and Luchob, Bishkent culture, and Vakhsh culture all were thought to have inhabited the valley in the second millennium BC, during the Neolithic period, and were primarily involved in cattle breeding, agriculture, and weaving. Achaemenid dishes and ceramics were found east of Dushanbe in Qiblai, as the city was controlled by the Achaemenids from the sixth century BC. and wedge shaped copper axes have been discovered from the second century BC. The Seleucids conquered the region in 312 BC. A small Greco Bactrian settlement of about was dated to the end of the third century BC. The oldest coin found in the city is a Greco Bactrian coin depicting Eucratides (r. 171–145 BC) and another was found depicting Dionysus. There was also a Kushan city on the left bank of the Varzob river from the 2nd century BC to 3rd century AD containing burial sites from the time period. The Kushans created other settlements such as Garavkala, Tepai Shah, Shakhrinau, and Uzbekontepa. The Sasanian Empire invaded Sogdiana in the fifth century, possibly giving coins as tribute to the Kidarites which ended up on the site of today's city. The ruins of a Buddhist monastery of the Hephalite period of the late fifth to sixth century, now referred to as Ajina Tepe, lie in the Vaksh valley near Dushanbe. Other settlements from the Tokharistan period have also been discovered, like the town of Shishikona that was destroyed during the Soviet era and depopulated during the Mongol invasion. International trade picked up during this period in the region. A castle was also discovered dating from the time period. In 582, the Western Turkic Khaganate gained control over the region. After the Arab conquest, the Samanids controlled the region, which was involved in crafts and trade, The Kharakhanids minted coins from 1018 to 1019 found in the city. The city came under the influence of the Ghurids from the 12th to 13th centuries. At first, the town was called "Kasabai Dushanbe", when it was under the control of Balkh. This name reflected both Dushanbe's status as a town, with Kasabai meaning town, and the influence of trade, as the name Dushanbe, which means Monday in Persian, was due to the large bazaar in the village that operated on Mondays. Dushanbe's location between the caravan routes heading east–west from the Gissar Valley through Karategin to the Alay Valley, and north–south to the Kafirnigan River and then to Vaksh Valley and Afghanistan through the Anzob Pass from the Fergana and Zeravshan valleys that ultimately led traders to Bukhara, Samarkand, the Pamirs, and Afghanistan incentivized the development of its market. At the time, the town had a population of around 7,000–8,000 with around 500–600 households. It was a center for weaving, tanning, and iron smelting production in the region. Various states, including Hisor, exercised control over the city during the 18th and early 19th century despite Bukharan claims of sovereignty. In 1868, the Tsarist government established suzerainty over Bukhara. In the unstable environment of Russian intervention and local revolts, Bukhara took over the Dushanbe region, control over which the Emirate was able to sustain through the gradual establishment of a Russian influenced centralized state. The first hospital in the village was constructed in 1915 by Russian investment and an early railroad was proposed to connect the market town with the Russian railway system in 1909, but was abandoned after a review determined the venture would not be profitable, although the town did have a functioning railroad to Kagan. In 1920, the last Emir of Bukhara briefly took refuge in Dushanbe after being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolution. After the Red Army conquered the area the next year, he fled to Afghanistan on 4 March 1921. In February 1922, the town was taken by Basmachi troops led by Enver Pasha after a siege, soon before the death of Enver Pasha on 4 August 1922 outside of Dushanbe.

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 15 March 1925. Dushanbe was chosen instead of larger populated villages in Tajikistan because of its role as a crossroads of Tajikistan for its large market served as a meeting place for much of Tajikistan's population. Along with its market, there was a lively livestock trade as well as trade in fabrics, leather, tin products, and weapons. The population during Soviet conquest and Basmachi revolts declined from an already meager 3,140 in 1920 to only 283 in 1924 with only 40 houses still standing. To aid in the recovery, the Soviet authorities temporarily exempted much of the population from having to pay taxes. In 1923, the Soviets created Dushanbe's first telegraph link to Bukhara, initiated its first railroad to Termez, On 12 August 1924, the first newspaper of the town, Voice of the East (Russian: Овози Шарк), was published in Arabic and soon after a Russian language paper, Red Tajikistan (Russian: Красный Таджикистан), began publication. Power plants and electricity were introduced to Dushanbe during this time. By the end of 1924, the first regular plane routes from Dushanbe came into operation, with one connection to Bukhara and later one to Tashkent. The post office was also set up that year. Industry during the time period was limited, focused on local production, although it had expanded by nine times since 1913 by 1940. Many of these projects occurred under the 1925–1932 mayoralty of Abdukarim Rozykov, one of the first mayors of Dushanbe, who sought to transform it into a "model communist city" through modernization and urban planning. Mikhail Kalitin continued the industrial development of Dushanbe, building the Komsomolskoye Lake and promoting industry in the city. Towards the end of this period, in the late 1930s, there were 4,295 buildings in Dushanbe. During World War 2, the population of Dushanbe and Tajikistan swelled with 100,000 evacuees from the Eastern Front that led to the deployment of 17 hospitals in the city. and the Stalinabad Pedagogical Institute for Woman, established on 1 September 1953. In 1960, gas supply reached the capital through a gas pipeline opened from Kyzyl to Tumxuk to Dushanbe. On 10 November 1961, as part of de Stalinization, Stalinabad was renamed back to Dushanbe, the name it retains to this day. In 1960, under the leadership of Mahmudbek Narzibekov, the first zoo was built in the city. Later in the decade the mayor developed a plan to end the housing shortage and provide free apartments. On 2 August 1979, the population of Dushanbe reached 500,000,

In the 1980s, environmental problems and crime began to increase. Mass violence, hooliganism, binge drinking, and violent assaults became more common. There was an attack on foreign students at the Agricultural Institute in 1987 and a riot in the Pedagogical Institute two years later. Increasing regionalism also destabilized the SSR. On 10–11 February 1990, 300 demonstrators gathered at the Communist Party Central Committee building after it was rumored that the Soviet government planned to relocate tens of thousands of Armenian refugees to Tajikistan. In reality, only 29 Armenians went to Dushanbe and were housed by their family members. However, the crowd kept growing in size to 3 5 thousand people; soon after, violence broke out. Martial law was quickly declared and troops were sent in to protect ethnic minorities and defend against vandalism and looting. The number of people protesting increased significantly, however, and they attacked the Central Committee building. The 29 Armenians were quickly evacuated on an emergency flight after shots were fired. The riots were largely fueled by concerns about housing shortages for the Tajik population, but they coincided with a wave of nationalist unrest that swept Transcaucasia and other Central Asian states during the twilight of Mikhail Gorbachev's rule. After the increase of organized opposition from the Democratic Party of Tajikistan and Rastokhez, glasnost by Gorbachev, economic contraction, and increased opposition by regional elites, Qahhor Mahkamov disbanded the Communist Party of Tajikistan on 27 August 1991 and quit the party the next day. On 9 September 1991, Tajikistan's government declared independence from the Soviet Union.

Dushanbe became the capital of an independent Tajikistan on 9 September 1991. Most of the Russian population fled the capital during the violence of this time period while large amounts of rural Tajiks moved in; by 1993, more than half of the Russian population had fled. The factions during the civil war were organized primarily upon regional lines. In 2000, Dushanbe received internet access for the first time. Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev was declared mayor of Dushanbe in 1996, after during the civil war era many said he was in real control of the government. He was the mayor of the capital for the longest term of any mayor, 21 years, until 2017. In January 2017, Rustam Emomali, current President Emomali Rahmon's son, was appointed Mayor of Dushanbe, a move which is seen by some analysts as a step to reaching the top of the government.

Dushanbe is situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Varzob (flowing from north to south) and the Kofarnihon. It is – above sea level; in the south and west, the elevation is closer to –, while in the north and northeast it reaches –. The north and east of the city is bounded by the Gissar range, which can reach up to above sea level, and is bounded on the south by the Babatag, Aktau, Rangontau and Karatau mountains which reach a height from – above sea level; Dushanbe, therefore, is an intermontane basin located in the Gissar Valley. Before the 1960s, most of Dushanbe was located on the left bank of the Varzob river, but increased construction led to the city expanding across it. Dushanbe is located in an area with high seismicity. The magnitude of potential earthquakes is thought to reach a maximum of 7.5 8. Over the past 100 years, many earthquakes from a 5 6 magnitude have been felt in the city, such as the 1949 Khait earthquake.

Islam was introduced to Dushanbe in the eighth century There is a small Catholic community of 120 in the city at St Joseph Church. There are around 350 Jews in Tajikistan, whose synagogue was destroyed in 2006 but was replaced in 2008. On September 9, 2009, Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev endorsed the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's plan to recognize Dushanbe as the 2010 capital of Islamic culture. In October 2009, President Emomali Rahmon launched the construction of a new central mosque in Dushanbe built at the expense of Qatari investors. It will replace the existing Haji Yakub Mosque and should become the largest in Central Asia. Construction began in 2011 with an original opening date in 2014; however in February 2021, its revised opening date was delayed. The Russian Orthodox Church is another religious group in the city. St. Nicholas Cathedral in Dushanbe is a center of worship for the Orthodox community.

Before the Soviet invasion, education was limited in Dushanbe, mainly consisting of madrasas that taught the Quran and Persian and Arabic along with geography, geometry, algebra, and other sciences. After the invasion, the Soviet Union closed the madrasas down. The Soviet education system was considered a success for its time, achieving close to 100% literacy through a large scale literacy program and compulsory education along with the inclusion of girls in education. Higher education began to be established in the 1930s with the creation of a pedagogical institute in Dushanbe in 1931. In 1939, the Tajik State Medical University was founded in Dushanbe and soon after in 1944 the Tajik Agrarian Institute moved to Dushanbe. Before the outbreak of World War Two, there were 32 secondary schools and two institutes in the city. The civil war after independence devastated the education system of the city, with state budgets falling from 11% to 2% during the time period. While state spending declined, private institutions temporarily developed in the market economy, accounting for growth in the number of universities in Dushanbe after independence. Specialized and technical schools also expanded significantly. The University of International Relations, which was founded by a Tajik American, was founded in opposition to the government and produced opposition leaders until it was shut down. In 2009, due to the efforts of Emomali Rahmon, a Dushanbe branch of the Moscow State University was opened. 70% of the instructors are Russian, while only 30% are Tajik. Other branches of Russian universities in Dushanbe include a branch of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloy and a branch of the Moscow Energy Institute. Dushanbe's education system is still heavily managed by the national government, a relic of Soviet times. Other schools include the Tajikistan Humanitarian International University, the Dushanbe International School, and the Tax Law Institute, now the Tajik State University of Finance and Economics. In 1927, the second air route in the Soviet Union opened from Tashkent to Samarkand to Termez to Dushanbe on the Junkers F 13, two years before the introduction of automobiles and five before the railway. A small Stalinabad airport was created, and in 1930 a first class airport was constructed in the city. The first scheduled flight from the city began in 1945 on the Li 2. The city is served by Dushanbe International Airport which, as of April 2015, had regularly scheduled flights to Ürümqi, Kabul, Delhi, Dubai, Istanbul, Frankfurt, and major cities in Russia and Central Asia, amongst others. Tajik Air had its head office on the grounds of Dushanbe Airport in Dushanbe. Somon Air, which opened in 2008, has its head office in Dushanbe. The government planned to devote .18% of Tajikistan's GDP to the development of aviation in a large part in Dushanbe.

The first road in the country, from the early 19th century, was to Guzor, traversed by camels, and made into a modern road by the Soviets. The first bus line was started in 1930 and taxi service began in 1937. A second major road goes east from Dushanbe to Khorog in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Province, then to Murghab, and then splits into roads towards China and Kyrgyzstan. Many highway and tunnel construction projects are underway or have recently been completed (as of 2014). Major projects include rehabilitation of the Dushanbe – Chanak (Uzbek border), Dushanbe – Kulma (Chinese border), Bokhtar – Nizhny Pyanj (Afghan border) highways and construction of tunnels under the mountain passes of Anzob, Shakhristan, Shar Shar and Chormazak.

The construction of an above ground metro system is due to begin in 2025. The first aerial metro line is expected to be completed in 2040 and connect the Southern Gate and Gulliston (circus area).

Before the Soviet invasion, Dushanbe consisted of narrow streets with adobe buildings. None of the buildings from that time survived. The development of the 1920s, soon after the Soviet invasion, laid the groundwork for future development and established the beginning of the city. In the 1930s, constructivist architecture gained prominence along with the building of larger structures, often made out of concrete. Several architects played a major role in the city's construction in a group headed by Peter Vaulin. He drew up a piece of legislation called "On the construction of the city of Dushanbe" which the city adopted on 27 April 1927. He implemented a constructivist design in the city, possibly inspired by his meeting with Le Corbusier in Moscow in 1929. In 1934 and 1935, the Griprogor Institute, based in Leningrad, created a master plan for the construction of Dushanbe. It was approved on 3 March 1938. The city center during the reconstruction shifted to Red Square and Frunze Park, the location of many workers demonstrations and military parades into the forties. In the later half of the decade, much of the modern infrastructure and utilities for the city were created. In the 1940s, architecture was focused more on decoration and the neoclassical style. while suburban areas are comparatively underdeveloped. In Dushanbe, 990 million kWh were generated in 1980 which reached 1161 million kWh in 1985 but decreased significantly in 2001. Since 2007, there have been energy shortages during the winter in Dushanbe. In 2009, Tajikistan's energy trade with other countries was suspended, and in 2012, natural gas imports from Uzbekistan were cut off, which further exacerbated the crisis, although the natural gas imports were restored in 2018. The Nurek hydroelectric dam, as of 2016, provides around 3/4 of the country's power. New hydroelectric plants are being planned and in 2017, the government proclaimed an end to the rolling blackouts; Barqi Tojik is the major energy producer for the city and produces 75% of the electricity in the country. To alleviate the energy crisis, a second coal plant for the city is planned with extensive Chinese involvement, but has been criticized for pollution and negative environmental effects.

Tajikistan has the highest average annual precipitation in its region, along with numerous rivers, natural lakes (such as Lake Karakul), and glaciers. Most of the outdated Dushanbe water system was built during the Soviet era in 1932 and not significantly expanded afterwards even with a rising population. The Big Gissar Canal was constructed in 1942 and irrigates much of southern Tajikistan and goes from the Kofarnihon river to the Surxondaryo. As of 2004, the length of the city's water supply network was and mainly got its water from the Varzob, Kofarnikhon and the South West. Water is supplied through two ground and two surface water treatment plants. As of 2018, 40% of the city's population did not have access to sewage systems.

As of 2020, there are 15 parks in Dushanbe. One of the most well known is Rudaki Park, created in the mid 1930s along with a bronze statue of Lenin. The park was renovated in 2007. Another park is Victory Park, which was created in 1975 to commemorate the Great Patriotic War. The Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan was founded in 1933, and trees planted then are still prominent in the park. In 2007 a collection of folk architecture was added the park.

There are 5 main and 14 unrecognized cemeteries in Dushanbe. One of the 5 mains ones is Mekhrobod, founded in 2013, that consists of 74 acres of primarily tombstones. For a period of 9 months in 2019, 78 people were buried there. Luchob cemetery, also one of the five, uses commemorative steles to remember the dead and houses more well known figures. As of October 2019, 54 people were buried there such as Jabbor Rasulov, Bobojon Ghafurov, Muhammad Osimi, Mirzo Tursunzade, Loik Sherali, Muhammadjon Shakuri, Malika Sabirova, Tufa Fozylova, and Mukaddima Ashrafi. It was founded in 1977 and uses the smallest amount of land of the five. Sari Osiyo, founded in 1933, is another one of the five cemeteries. It is one of the oldest in the city and has graves from the late 19th century. For the 9 month period in 2019, 225 were buried here. The Christian cemetery is another one of the five, the least visited although frequented by the 201st Russian division. It uses 84.3 hectares of land and saw 197 new graves over the same nine month period. Shokhmansur is the last of the five main cemeteries and saw 65 burials over the 9 month period.

In 1925, Dushanbe city hospital and the ambulance system was created, and numerous medical facilities sprung up during the decade. In 1939, an infectious disease hospital was created and in the same year the Stalinabad Medical Institute was founded. During World War 2 up to the Tajik Civil War, the healthcare system significantly expanded through hospitals and specialized clinics. Tajikistan's health care system is concentrated in Dushanbe. There is a well developed network of city clinics, hospitals, medical centers, maternity hospitals, orphanages, sanitary and epidemiological centers a total of 62 medical institutions in the city as of spring 2010. These 62 treatment and prevention facilities include 17 hospitals, 2 orphanages, 14 city health centers, 5 dental clinics, 8 centers of sanitary and epidemiological surveillance and disincentives, 12 city branch centers and 4 support centers. In 2019, the number of hospitals grew to 43. Among the main medical institutions of Dushanbe are specialized republican hospitals and centers, city polyclinics No. 1 5, the city infectious diseases hospital, the children's infectious diseases hospital, and the departmental hospitals of the country's power ministries. Citizens receive care through their assigned clinics in the city. Khoja Obi Garm, a Soviet era sanatorium, still is in operation today and uses radon treatments, among others. Temporary hospitals were established during the COVID 19 pandemic.

In 2018, the gross regional product (GRP) of Dushanbe was 13,808,000,000 somoni, equaling approximately $1,508,900,000, with a growth rate of 7.3%. That comprised 20.1% of the overall GDP of Tajikistan. The average salary of the city as of 2014 is 1402.67 somoni, or $. and overall foreign trade turnover was $398,080,900 in 2018. The primary countries Dushanbe exports to are Turkey (42.8% of the total), Iran (28.0%), Russia (10.8%), Afghanistan (7.3%), China (1.2%), Poland (1.2%), and others. For imports, Russia makes up 54.5% of the total, Kazakhstan 13.5%, China 6.8%, Italy 3.4%, Turkey 2.6%, Turkmenistan 2.5%, Ukraine 2.1%, Iran 1.4%, the United Arab Emirates 1.2%, and others make up the rest. During and during the decade after the Soviet invasion, most industries were focused on meeting local demand with local materials. Meat packing, soap production, bricks, lumber, silk thread, leather, clothing, and generation of electric power were all local industries during the time period. Exports from the industrial sector consisted of $1,535,500 during the time period. the wood industry; and the printing industry, which consists of 80% of the republic's capacity and began in 1926. In 2018 and 2019, numerous initiatives, such as Dushanbe becoming a member of the World Tourism Cities Federation, different festivals, legislation promoting the city, an art gallery, and the establishment of the Year of Tourism and Folk Crafts in 2018 all served to promote the tourism industry. The Dushanbe Summer Fest, another promoted festival, is notable for its internet connectivity. Compared with the rest of the country, however, Dushanbe is a less popular tourist destination, partially due to its relatively recent founding and lack of historical significance. Museums in the city include the Tajikistan National Museum, founded in 1934, and the Gurminj Museum of Musical Instruments, which contains Pamiri and Badakshani musical instruments.

Culture in Dushanbe, first developed during the period of Bukharan rule, grew under the Soviet Union, which established many of the first cultural institutions of the city. After independence, Dushanbe's culture went in a more nationalist direction.

During the 19th century, shashmaqam was the most prevalent musical genre in Tajikistan. While Soviet authorities labeled it as "music composed for the Emir" and repressed it, in modern times it has gained greater popularity. The Tajik Philharmonic Society was founded in 1938; today, it is named after Akasharif Juraev. Sergei Artemevich Balasanyan, an Armenian, was one composer who originally went to Dushanbe from 1936–1943 to prepare the SSR for an upcoming Tajik cultural festival to be held in Moscow. While we was there, he described himself as a "composer, social musical worker, folklorist, and pedagogue." He also became the head of the Tajik Composer's Union and the artistic lead of the opera house. Large numbers of Russian and Ukrainian symphonies moved to Dushanbe during World War 2. The Tajik Opera and Ballet Theater, whose building was named after Sadriddin Ayni and was the first opera house in Dushanbe, was founded in 1936. The first opera performed, the first in history of Tajikistan, was The Vose Uprising and detailed a peasants' revolt in eastern Bukhara in the late 19th century. One notable singer of the opera was Hanifa Mavlianova. Another musician to come to Dushanbe during the Soviet period was Aleksandr Lensky, a Moldovan who came to Tajikistan in 1937. He was the artistic director of the Lahuti Theatre, director of the Tajik Philharmonic, and first secretary of the Tajik Union of Composers. He also composed the first Tajik opera and many orchestral pieces. The State Symphony Orchestra of Tajikistan was founded in 2016, and its first concert took place on 9 September 2016. The Tajik Opera and Ballet Theater continues operating to this day and has won the Order of Lenin. The troupe was improved with graduates from the Leningrad Choreographic School with ballet dancers such as Malika Sabirova. The 1920s saw the birth of drama in the city. The first, Lahouti theater, was built in 1929. In the 1930s, Soviet themes like class struggle, fighting against the past, and gender equality were prominent in plays. In 1935, the Tajik Musical Theater, now the Ayni theater, was built.

Cinema in Dushanbe started in the 1930s with the creation of film studios and cinemas by the Soviet government, although the first cinema was created in 1927 where residents watched Nibelung by Frits Lang. Komil Yarmatov was the first prominent Tajik film director. Documentaries were also popular in this period, and the first feature film appeared in 1938. In World War 2, feature film production in Dushanbe was suspended due to lack of supplies. After the war, more feature films were developed, with many movies attempting to create a portrait of the city. In the 1980s a new generation of filmmakers brought new values such a pluralism into the theater, which led to some films focusing on the truth of Soviet history. During the civil war, the landscape changed dramatically. Tajikfilm, which formerly had a monopoly on filmmaking, had to shut down, while independent filmmakers chronicled the horrors of the civil war.

Gymnastics, equestrian sports and athletics were practiced in 1923 at the Dushanbe sports club and in 1929 tennis was introduced. The All Tajik Spartakiad was first held in 1934, and in 1939 Dynamo Dushanbe won the quarterfinals of the Cup of the USSR. In 1950 the country's soccer team took first place in the Central Asian Games. Four soccer teams of the Tajikistan Higher League play in Dushanbe: CSKA Pamir, Dushanbe 83, Istiklol, and Lokomotiv Pamir. The Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe was constructed in 1939 where CSKA Pamir Dushanbe played. Dushanbe Stadium is currently being constructed and will seat 30,000 when completed.

The first newspaper published in Tajik was Bukhara Sharif in Kagan on 11 March 1912 and published by leaders of the Jadid movement like Mirzo Jalol Yusufzoda. The purpose of the newspaper was to "be a scientific, literary, directional, subject, and economic publication that will strive for the spread of civilization and the idea." Soon after, however, Ivan Petrov requested that the Emir of Bukhara close the paper, which he did on 2 January 1913. Oina and Mullo Nasreddin were two of the earliest Tajik language magazines. The Zvezda Vostok magazine was published in Tajik in the early 1920s in support of the October Revolution. The first Soviet newspaper distributed in Tajikistan was Shulai Inkilob (Flame of the Revolution) as propaganda for the Soviet government in 1919. It was distributed throughout Tajikistan and was the main Tajik language newspaper that opposed the previous Emirate and was clearly in support of communism, the October Revolution, and the Bukharan Communist Party. In August 1999 there were officially 199 newspapers, although only 17 of those appeared regularly. Some of the most widely circulated national government publications are Dzhumhuriet and Narodna Gazeta. In addition to the state news agency Khovar (News), there are several private newspapers, including Asia Plus, which regularly publishes in Russian and English and reports on political, social and economic issues, Jumhuriyat, and Khalk ovozi. In 2019 there were 37 regular newspapers and 37 magazines published in the city.

Many international conferences have been held in Dushanbe, such as the International Conference on Integrated TB Control in Central Asia and the hosting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference in 2000, 2008, and 2014. In 2003, Dushanbe hosted the International Forum on Fresh Water which was attended by 50 states and organizations. From 20 to 23 June 2018 the High Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action 'Water for Sustainable Development' was held in Dushanbe, which discussed the upcoming decade for action with regards to water. A second conference on the same subject was planned to be held in June 2020. On 16–17 May 2019 a high level conference entitled "Countering Terrorism and its Financing Through Illicit Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime" was held in Dushanbe and attended by more than 50 countries. It passed the Dushanbe declaration, which put the primary responsibility for fighting terrorism onto national governments. Other topics, such as drug smuggling, were also discussed. On 15 June 2019 the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia was held in Dushanbe. The Asian members of the organization discussed common interests on topics such as peace and security, terrorism, arms control, the Iran nuclear deal, poverty, economic development, and globalization.