Tajikistan - Local government

In the late Soviet era the republic was divided into three oblasts or regions and the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region. The region surrounding the capital, Dushanbe, also was separately administered by the central government. A new region, Khatlon, was formed by Rakhmanov, comprising the former Qurghonteppa and Kulyab regions. Currently, there are two provinces ( viloyat ), Khatlon and Sughd, and one autonomous province, Gorno Badakhshan. Uzbekistan has some influence in the northern Leninabad (Khojenti) region, while Russian troops patrol the borders with Afghanistan and China. Regions, districts ( nohiya , of which there are 52), and cities ( shahr , of which there are 17), are governed by elected assemblies of people's deputies headed by a chairman. The chairman is appointed by the president, and the national legislature can dissolve local assemblies if it decides they are breaking the law. The self-governing authority of settlements ( shahrak , of which there are 46) and villages ( deha , of which there are 358) is the jamoat (local organization).