Russian and CIS interventions

Russian and CIS peace enforcement in Tajikistan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iver B. Neumann Sergey V. Solodovnik -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forthcoming in Lena Jonson and Clive Archer (eds.): Russian and CIS Peacekeeping (Westview, 1995). Publication no. 1 - 1995, Centre of Russians Studies. Summary Tajikistan is situated between the five historic empires of Asia: Russia to the north, Turkey to the west, Iran and India to the south, China to the south-east. The civil war in the country may have cost as many …

…iping activity withdrawing to the intractable interior of Gorno-Badakhshan and other regional strongholds. The question arose as to the necessity of perpetuating the CIS peacekeeping campaign. At this crucial period, on 13 July 1993, a border troop post manned by 47 Russian soldiers was overrun. 24 guards were killed and another 18 wounded. About 200 villagers and some 60 attackers were also killed. This has been seen as a decisive moment for the further military involvement of Russia in Tajikistan (Sherr 1993).