The last Communist leader of Tajikistan in the Soviet era
Resigning in August 1991, he told the deputies "I will go, but you will regret it," later calling politics "the dirtiest thing in the world."
Qahhor Mahkamov was a mining engineer turned Tajik Communist official who spent decades directing economic planning and republican administration. As perestroika widened national self-awareness and political conflict, he pursued reform within the Soviet framework but faced growing public distrust and nationalist pressure. He became Tajikistan’s first president in 1990, then resigned in 1991 after backing the failed August coup in Moscow. His career shows both the institutional continuity of a Soviet republic and the political limits exposed by its dissolution.
Also known as: Kahar Mahkamov · Kakhar Makhkamovich Makhkamov
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1953Began work as an engineer at the Shurab coal mine
- 1963–1982Chairman of the Tajik SSR State Planning Committee and deputy chairman of its Council of Ministers
- 1982–1986Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Tajik SSR
- 1985–1991First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan and member of the CPSU Central Committee
- 1990Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR
- 1990–1991First President of Tajikistan
- 2000–2016Lifetime member of Tajikistan’s National Assembly
The Soviet Politburo
- Full member 1990.07–1991.08
served until the party ban of 1991.11
Related historical events
- 1985–1991Perestroika and GlasnostTajik Communist leader pursuing reform within the Soviet frameworkDuring perestroika, he pursued reform within the Soviet framework.
- 1991The August Coup and the Collapse of the USSRTajik leader and Politburo memberHe participated as a Politburo member during the coup and later accepted the USSR's dissolution.
The August coup and resignation
When the attempted coup against Mikhail Gorbachev began in Moscow on 19 August 1991, leaders in Tajikistan initially responded cautiously. On the day the news arrived by radio, Mahkamov gave an interview to a journalist; a week after the coup failed, he told parliament that he had opposed it from the outset. The journalist challenged that account, saying a tape-recorded interview from 19 August showed Mahkamov had done anything but condemn the coup. Amid pressure from parliamentarians and protesters outside the building, Mahkamov announced his resignation. His departure is therefore best described through the public dispute over his statements and the political pressure surrounding it, rather than reduced to an unqualified claim that he supported the coup.