P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Tursunov, Abdurazzoq

Tajik historian Abdurazzoq Tursunov was born in Khujand on Janu-

ary 31, 1920. He joined the CPSU in 1940.

Tursunov graduated (in absentia) from the Leninabad State Peda-

gogical Institute with a degree in history in 1948. Between 1939 and

1946, he was First Secretary of the Komsomol Committee of Lenina-

bad. From 1948 to 1963, he served in various positions for the Propa-

ganda and Agitation Committee in Leninabad. In 1963, he became a

---

Prominent Tajik Figures of the Twentieth Century

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

327

teacher. He received his doctorate degree in history in 1973, and be-

came a professor in the same year.

Tursunov's research deals with the history of the Tajikistan Komso-

mol, the activities of the Communist Party of Tajikistan, as well the

other republics of Central Asia. Tursunov's contributions include

Torzhestva leninskikh idei elektrifikatsii v respublikakh Srednei Azii

(The Victory of Leninesque Electrification in the Republics of Central

Asia, Dushanbe, 1974).

Tursunov was decorated with medals, and the Honorary Order of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan.

Tursunov, Akbar

Tajik philosopher and intellectual Akbar Tursunov, also referred to

as Akbar Tursunzod, was born into a family of workers of the Koni-

bodom district in Khujand on October 1, 1939. He was educated at the

Bahauddinov School. He joined the CPSU in 1982.

Tursunov graduated from Tajikistan State University with a degree

in physics and mathematics in 1961. For the next two years he carried

out research at the Physics and Mathematics Institute of the Academy of

Sciences of Tajikistan. Between 1964 and 1992, he was an associate re-

searcher of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (until 1967),

and the Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of

Sciences. He was a candidate of Science in 1968, and he received his

doctorate degree in philosophy in 1982 from the Institute of Philosophy

of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. From 1986 to 1992, he

was the Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of

Sciences of Tajikistan. In 1987, he became a member of the same insti-

tution. In 1989, Tursunov participated in the formation of the Rastokhez

movement. In 1992, he became Deputy Director of the Institute of

World Economy and International Relations, and was instrumental in

the creation of the Government of National Reconciliation. In the fol-

lowing year, he was elected the President of the National Association of

Political Scientists of Tajikistan, an association that he established.

Tursunov has produced an extensive amount of literature on phi-

losophy, literature, history of science, and on the history and culture of

the Tajiks. His 1984 Osori Ajam (Persian Relics) contains a wealth of

information on subjects as diverse as the east-west relations in politics,

---

Iraj Bashiri

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

328

on the one hand, and the place of philosophy in society, on the other

hand.

Tursunov's other contributions include Inson, Atum va Kaihon (Man,

Atom, and the Universe, 1967), Mardi Nik Farjom (A Man with a

Blessed End, 1967), Az Astura to Donish (From Myth to Gnosis, 1973),

Andishai Ruzgor (Temporal Ruminations, 1975), Kaihon Shinosi va

I'tiqodoti Dini (Space Discovery and Religious Beliefs, 1975), and

Bandi Falak (The Cord of the Universe, 1976).

Tursunov was awarded the Order of the Presidium of the Supreme

Soviet of Tajikistan.

He left Tajikistan in 1994, and since 1996, has been a Visiting

Curator for Central Asian Ethnology at the University of Pennsylvania.