Early Life

I, Kamoludin (Kamol) Abdullaev, was born in 1950 in the village of Shulmak, Gharm, a mountainous region in central Tajikistan. I spent my early years in Khorugh (Badakhshan, also known as the Pamirs in eastern Tajikistan), and lived briefly in Khujand, northern Tajikistan. Since 1962, I have been a resident of Dushanbe. My parents, Najmiddin Abdullaev (1917–1982) and Fatimakhon Mannonova (1921–1986), hailed from Konibodom—my “small homeland.”

Historical Background

Konibodom is an ancient Silk Road city on the left bank of the Syr Darya River in the fertile Tajik section of the Ferghana Valley. Renowned for its apricots and almonds, the city’s name means “City of Almonds.” Once a prominent Sogdian settlement (under the ancient name Kand), it dates back at least to the 7th century CE. Sogdia or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya that flourished since 6th century BCE to 10th century CE. Kand-Konibodom was part of the (Islamic) Samanid Empire in the 9th and 10th centuries. In 1842, Konibodom witnessed a brutal conflict between the Bukharan Emir Nasrullah and Kokand Khan Madali, leading to the massacre and plunder of the city’s population. Russian imperial forces captured Konibodom in 1875 after defeating a coalition of local forces at theMahram – a large village between Khujand and Konibidom – thereby ending the Kokand Khanate’s independence. On 19 February 1876 the Kokand Khanate was abolished and replaced by the province of Ferghana, ruled by the Russian military governor.

In the late 19th century, Konibodom was a cultural hub with eight madrasahs and 105 maktabs, renowned for its calligraphers and translators. In the early 20th century, Konibodom experienced economic growth with the establishment of Russian infrastructure, including a school in 1905, a railway station, and the Central Asian Oil Company (SANTO). Soviet power came to Ferghana valley in November 1917. Konibodom joined the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic in 1929 after navigating complex political transitions, including the anti-Soviet Basmachi movement (1918–1923) and Central Asia’s national delimitation in 1924-1929.

Family Heritage

I come from a family with deep roots in both the religious and Soviet elite circles. My father, Najmiddin Pashaevich Abdullaev, born in Konibodom in 1917, graduated in chemistry from the Stalinabad Pedagogical Institute in 1940. A Soviet Army lieutenant during World War II, he was wounded in Donbas (Eastern Ukraine) and returned to Tajikistan in 1944, later rising rapidly within the Communist Party. From 1949 to 1962, he held leadership positions in the Gharm, Mountainous Badakhshan, and Leninabad provinces. He received numerous honors, including the Order of Lenin.

His career was abruptly interrupted in 1963 under political allegations. From 1964 to 1978, he worked for the Tajik Oil Company. While loyal to the Soviet regime, he encouraged me to remain an independent scholar and never pressed me to join the Communist Party.

My mother, Fatimakhon, studied at a typist college in Stalinabad in 1940 but dedicated her life to raising her six children. I am proud of my siblings: my brother Bahodur is a Major General and diplomat who played a key role in the Inter-Tajik peace talks (1994-1997) and served as ambassador to China. My sisters—Mavluda, Mahbuba, Saodat, and Matluba—have been successful in academia, medicine, ecology, and law.

My wife, Lola Makhmudova, is an onco-ophthalmologist. Our son Mannon (b. 1985), resides in the U.S., and our daughter Kamila (b. 1987) is an optometrist in Saint Petersburg, Russia. We have four grandchildren. I enjoy music (classical, folk, New Age, and rock), tennis (my wife was a tennis champion of Tajikistan), reading, and travel. I’ve visited countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. I speak Russian, Tajik, and English fluently, with good command of Farsi and fair Uzbek.

 

Family-stories based genealogy

Tajik genealogies often trace roots to religious figures, and my family is no exception. My paternal grandfather, Abdullo Khuja Ishan (1868–1940), and great-grandfather, Pasha Khuja Ishan (1840–c.1922), were ishans from Konibodom and neighboring Isfara. “Ishan” denotes a religious leader. On my maternal side, our lineage may connect to the renowned scholar and Sufi leader Maqdumi Azam (1461–1542). My grandfather Mannonkhon tura was born in Mui Muborak vicinity of Kokand where only descendants of Maqdumi Azam had a privilege to reside. In addition, my mother’s ancestors by maternal line included Uzbek Khuja, a religious authority in the city of Turkistan (southern Kazakhstan) and guardian of the Yasavi Shrine, a sacred Sufi site. This ancestor, known as Bobo-i Shaikhul Islom, reputedly had nine wives across Central Asia. My lineage comes through Saidakhon (1857–1942) from Uroteppa (Istravshan), daughter of his sixth wife.

Saidakhon married Burikhon binni Tura Khuja (1855–1916), an educator and mudarris (dean) of the Mirrajab Dodkho madrasa in Konibodom. Their son, Ubaidullo Domullo (1888–1944), continued this educational legacy, later transitioning to a Jadid modernist school. In the 1940s, the madrasa became a mechanization school and today serves as a museum.

My mother’s parents were Mannonkhon Tura (1877–1922) and Adolatkhon (1879–1953). Mannonkhon Tura of Kokand was a landowner who died from typhus in Jizzakh (currently Uzbekistan) while collecting rent during the famine. Despite losing their estate, my mother’sfamily remained respected, in particular adopting orphaned children during the 1920s famine. Their elder son (my uncle) Khuja Khon was arrested during Stalin’s purges and later died in Komi region of Russia probably in 1941.

My wife’s ancestry also includes notable figures, including Muhammad Karim Kurbashi, a Kokand-era military commander of Mahram fortress who led resistance against Russian forces in 1875. His grandson, Kamil Yarmatov (1903–1978) – uncle of my mother-in law, pioneered Tajik and Uzbek cinema. His first film, “The Emigrant” (1934), portrayed a Tajik fleeing to Afghanistan—an area I would later research extensively.

Cultural and Ethnic Self-Identification

Although my ancestors were all Tajiks and Farsi speakers, some were bilingual in Uzbek. Almond Bounty (Konibodom) has traditionally been a Tajik region. I am a secular Sunni Muslim, and mi identity is shaped by Soviet and post-Soviet influences. While I cherish Tajik culture, Russian and English have been central to my professional life. Emotionally tied to Konibodom and the Pamir Mountains, I feel a deep connection to Tajikistan’s people and landscapes, echoing the sentiment: My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Professional Career

I graduated with a degree in history from Tajik State University in 1972, inspired by Professor Mansur Babakhanov. From 1972–74, I served as an infantry lieutenant in the Soviet Army, stationed near the borders of China, Russia, and Mongolia.

My scholarly path began in 1975 at the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, working under historians like Rahim Masov. My research focused on early Soviet propaganda and the Basmachi movement. My candidate thesis (1976–1983), later published as With the Weapon of the Printed Word (1989), analyzed Soviet newspapers from 1918–1924. Though constrained by ideological frameworks, perestroika allowed for a more nuanced and critical approach.

I successfully defended my candidate thesis on “Soviet Turkestan’s Newspapers as a Historical Source on the History of the Elimination of Basmachism” at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (Moscow, 1983)’

From 1992-2014 I served as a research fellow and lecturer at prestigious institutions:

I have authored and edited 13 books and more than 115 articles in multiple languages. Key works include Historical Dictionary of Tajikistan (three editions), From Xinjiang to Khurasan. From the History of the Central Asian Emigration (two editions), and Hidden Pages of Tajik History (2025).