On September 23, 1991 the communist-dominated Supreme Soviet of newly independent Tajikistan forced the acting president Kadriddin Aslonov out of office and reversed his ban on the Communist Party, installing the veteran communist Rahmon Nabiyev as interim president, an old-guard reassertion of power. Days earlier, on September 22, Aslonov had banned the Communist Party and seized its property amid anti-communist demonstrations in Dushanbe, during which crowds tore down the city's Lenin statue. The overwhelmingly communist Supreme Soviet struck back on September 23, forcing Aslonov to resign in an emergency session, reinstating the Communist Party, re-banning the Islamic Revival Party, and declaring a state of emergency.
It elected Rahmon Nabiyev, a former first secretary, as chairman and interim president. Aslonov was not physically harmed. The move deepened the tensions that led to the Tajik civil war in 1992.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Acting President Kadriddin Aslonov, forced to resign on September 23, 1991 by the communist-majority Supreme Soviet, which reversed his party ban and installed Nabiyev; Aslonov was not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Kadriddin Aslonov (acting president forced out)
Rahmon Nabiyev (veteran communist installed as interim president)
Sources
Acting president Kadriddin Aslonov banned the Communist Party of Tajikistan on September 22, 1991, but parliament overturned the ban on September 23, 1991, and Rahmon Nabiyev of the Communist Party was chosen as provisional president on September 23, 1991, with Nabiyev declaring a state of emergency the same day.
SOURCE REVIEWEDUniversity of Central Arkansas, Tajikistan 1991-presentopen source ↗
The Communist majority of the Tajik Supreme Soviet struck back, forcing Aslonov to resign, ordering the Dushanbe mayor arrested and declaring the emergency, after Aslonov had ordered the Communist Party banned and its property seized and demonstrators had cut down a huge statue of Lenin in the central square, and the legislature elected the conservative Communist Party leader and former first secretary Rakhman Nabiyev as interim president.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWashington Post, Communists Take Back Power in Soviet Republic of Tajikistanopen source ↗
The response of the overwhelming communist majority in the Supreme Soviet to Aslonov's decrees was to force Aslonov out of office on 23 September during an emergency session and to appoint Rahmon Nabiyev to the chairmanship and to the position of interim president, after which the Supreme Soviet immediately moved to reverse Aslonov's decrees, re-banning the IRP while reinstating the Communist Party and reintroducing a state of emergency and martial law in Dushanbe.
SOURCE REVIEWEDFacts and Details / Nourzhanov and Bleuer, Tajikistan Political and Social Historyopen source ↗
Nabiyev's 1991 installation as president of independent Tajikistan, by means of an old-guard coup and a rigged election, exacerbated the political tensions in the republic and was an important step toward the civil war that broke out in 1992.
SOURCE REVIEWEDFacts and Details, Tajikistan Becomes Independentopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Coding note: the dataset labels this a palace coup with a not-physically-harmed fate, which fits; the sitting communist-dominated legislature moved against the acting head of state from within the state apparatus, forcing his resignation and reversing his decrees, an internal old-guard reassertion rather than an armed seizure or a popular overthrow. Who is coded deposed: acting president Kadriddin Aslonov, whom the Supreme Soviet forced to resign on September 23, 1991 after he had banned the Communist Party the day before. Fate coding: Aslonov was not physically harmed in the ouster, matching the dataset (sources note he died in 1992 amid the ensuing civil war, a separate later matter). Context recorded and handled neutrally: the trigger was Aslonov's ban on the Communist Party and the toppling of the Lenin statue during anti-communist demonstrations; the communist majority reinstated the party, re-banned the Islamic Revival Party, and installed the veteran communist Rahmon Nabiyev, described by sources as an old-guard coup that deepened the tensions leading to the 1992 Tajik civil war. This is part of the wider post-Soviet turmoil across the former USSR in this period. Neutrality maintained on a contested subject.
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Acting President Kadriddin Aslonov, forced to resign on September 23, 1991 by the communist-majority Supreme Soviet, which reversed his party ban and installed Nabiyev; Aslonov was not physically harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
“Tadzhik Republic Ousts President,” by Francis X. Clines, September 24, 1991
“Pro-Communist Tadzhikistan Leader Quits,” October 7, 1991
“After week of turmoil, Tajik President is Forced Out,” by Steven Erlanger, September 8, 1992
Agence France Presse
“Protestors Demand Resignation of hardline Tadzhik Leader,” September 25, 1991
“Tadzhikistan opposition threatens general strike,” September 26, 1991
Associated Press
“Longtime Communist Elected President of Tadzhikistan,” November 25, 1991
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →