Parviz Mullojonov’s The History of the Tajik Civil War, 1992–1997 is an impressive scholarly account of a largely forgotten civil conflict in the wake of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Embedded in a rich theoretical reflection, Mullojonov narrates the final years of Soviet Tajikistan, the increasing political and societal polarization and eventually the outbreak of violence in May 1992. In a balanced analysis, Mullojonov discusses an impressive amount of empirical material including hitherto neglected first-hand accounts of the conflict and its aftermath. This remarkable study advances our conceptual thinking about conflict in the post-Soviet space.

Tim Epkenhans, University of Freiburg

Parviz Mullojonov’s long-awaited study of the little-researched civil war in Tajikistan is an invaluable addition to the literatures on armed conflict and on Central Asia. From first-hand experience and decades of research, the author details the warlordism that characterized the conflict and the ‘peace’ which emerged out of it. Mullojonov’s book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Tajikistan.

John Heathershaw, University of Exeter

A comprehensive story of the Tajik civil war is told by means of virtuoso threading of local details, historical narratives, and national and geopolitical contextualization. The author applies various conflict and peace analysis frameworks to elicit the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the conflict to recalibrate success of the inter-Tajik peace formula. A great resource for scholars and practitioners who aspire to combine the retrospective and prospective conflict analysis.

Natalia Mirimanova, senior political adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

Parviz Mullojonov’s book, The History of the Tajik Civil War, 1992–1997, is a comprehensive history of the critical events that preceded civil war in the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan. Mullojonov’s study is based on his personal experiences and observation of the events initiated by Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika. Mullojonov has combined his intimate personal knowledge on the Tajik civil war with an impressive array of primary and secondary sources in multiple languages. This history is one of the finest scholarly efforts at providing a fresh understanding of Tajikistan’s civil war.

Dagikhudo Dagiev, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

On the revolution and civil war of Tajikistan, which divided and tore apart this former Soviet republic from the late 1980s to the turn of the 21st century, the political scientist Parviz Mullojonov offers an original testimony. His narrative is made valuable by his knowledge of the many local protagonists of this period and his subtle analysis of the respective agendas of the global and regional actors—of Russia in particular, whose role proved decisive, several decades before the war of Ukraine, in the undermining and repression of a national movement seen as a direct threat to Moscow's influence in Central Asia.

Stéphane A. Dudoignon, CNRS, Paris