National Guard Day in Tajikistan Date in the current year: September 3, 2024

The National Guard of Tajikistan is a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan that reports directly to the President of Tajikistan. It is a special operations unit tasked with protecting the president and senior government officials, as well as with ensuring public safety and security, guarding important state facilities, and protecting the country’s independence.

The predecessor of the National Guard of Tajikistan was the Special Missions Brigade of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan, created in 1992 to participate in the civil war on the side of the Tajik government. The brigade was responsible for guarding the top leadership of the country and took part in the reconquest of Dushanbe and its suburbs from the United Tajik Opposition with the support of GRU (Russian foreign military intelligence agency).

In 1995, President Emomali Rahmon changed the name of the Special Missions Brigade to the Presidential Guard and removed it from the auspices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stating that the president guard was to report directly to the head of state. Four additional units of the Presidential Guard were formed within the next two years. After the end of the civil war, the Presidential Guard played an important role in the formation of the defense system of Tajikistan.

In 2004, the commander of the Presidential Guard and one of the most influential Tajik field commanders during the civil war, Ghaffor Mirzoyev, was arrested on multiple charges including corruption, privatization of government property, abuse of power, drug trafficking, and more. Due to this, the Presidential Guard underwent significant transformation and was renamed the National Guard.

The operating principles of the National Guard of Tajikistan, its symbols, main tasks and rights, and other foundations of its activities are set forth in the Law on the National Guard of the Republic Tajikistan, adopted in 2004 to replace the outdated Law on the President’s Guard of the Republic of Tajikistan.

As we’ve already mentioned above, the National Guard reports directly to the President of Tajikistan as the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, while the commander of the National Guard is the one who exercises command and control on a daily basis. As of 2021, this position was held by Bobojon Jamolzoda. The operational control of the National Guard is carried out by the General Staff.

National Guard Day is marked by a military parade in Dushanbe, featuring thousands of guardsmen and officers, as well as representatives of other special operations forces. The president of Tajikistan congratulates the members of the National Guard on their professional holiday and calls on them to faithfully serve their Motherland and the people of Tajikistan.