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nThenSoviet Union was a huge world power when I was growing up. Wensometimes called it by its full name (the Union of the SovietnSocialist Republics) or USSR, but we commonly called it Russia.nGranted, of all the “republics” in the nation, Russia was thenlargest. But when the USSR broke up, in1991, all of us began to hearnall the names of the other “republics” that had been there allnalong.
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nIncludingnthe “-stans.”
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nTajikistan,nUzbekistan, Kazakhstan,nKyrgyzstan,nand Turkmenistan were all once part ofnthe Soviet Union, and they are all primarily Muslim. The suffixn“-stan” means “place” in Iranian (also known as Persian).nThese Central Asian nations are often landlocked and feature eithernlarge deserts or mountainous land. Yet they each have their ownndistinct language, history, customs, and natural beauties. n
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nTajikistannis one of those landlocked mountainous nations, with rugged mountainsncovering more than 90% of the nation. The nation suffered from anterrible civil war after declaring independence from the USSR, fromn1992 to 1997—and fighting just broke out again this July! Thatnisn’t good for tourism!
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And that’sntoo bad, because who wouldn’t want to see these gorgeous scenes!
And that’sntoo bad, because who wouldn’t want to see these gorgeous scenes! n
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This video is from the wrong time of year—the springtime—but Inlove the glimpses of the colorful Tajik culture!
This video is from the wrong time of year—the springtime—but Inlove the glimpses of the colorful Tajik culture!n
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nBynthe way…
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- Afghanistannis near these other “-stans,” and of course is primarily Muslim,nbut it was never a part of the USSR, although the Soviet Union didnsupport a Marxist Afghani government in a 9-year war that the USSRnbasically lost. Another Muslim “-stan” that was never part of thenSoviet Union is Pakistan.
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- Armenia,nwhich was once part of the USSR, has the native name of Hayastan. Itnhas been long associated with Christianity, rather than Islam.
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- Azerbaijannis a Muslim nation that was once part of the Soviet Union, but itsnname doesn’t end with “-stan.”
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- Therenare many, many more “-stan”s inside the borders of Russia, Iran,nthe various “-stan” nations, and nearby nations. For example:nNurestan Province, Afghanistan; Dagestan, Russia; Hindustan, India;nSeistan, Iran. Authors have made up fictional “-stans” for books,nmovies, and video games, including Tyrgyzstan in ThenState Withinnand Istan in GuildnWars Nightfall.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nCelebrate New Words Day
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nAnniversary of the patenting of an ice cream maker
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