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

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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,

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