Moscow / Russian Federation : Monitoring Desk – Russia has handed over the soil from the burial site of Heroes of Tajikistan that was recieved by the leader of the nation , President Emomali Rahmon at Dushanbe airport. The heroes include Nusratullo Maksum, Shirinscho Shokhtemur, and Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai of Swabi KP Pakistan who played significant role in creation of the Republic of Tajikistan in USSR.
On 18 May 2026, a solemn ceremony took place at the Donskoye Cemetery in the city of Moscow for the acceptance of capsules with soil from the burial site of the heroes of Tajikistan Nusratullo Makhsum and Shirinsjo Shokhtemur, as well as the outstanding son of the Tajik people Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai.
The delegation of the Republic of Tajikistan was headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sirojiddin Muhriddin.
On the Russian side, the event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mikhail Galuzin and the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi.
The solemn ceremony took place with the participation of honor guard units of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Russian Federation.
This initiative, implemented at the direct instruction of the Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, esteemed Emomali Rahmon, is regarded as a significant event in the implementation of state policy for restoring historical justice and preserving national memory.
This step also symbolizes the spiritual reunification with the Motherland of historical figures who devoted their lives to serving the people.
Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, in his address at this occasion, noted that Nusratullo Makhsum and Shirinsho Shohtemur, in the 1920s–1930s, demonstrating outstanding political will, defended the right of the Tajik people to self-determination and development.
Their ideas and legacy have stood the test of time. In recognition of their outstanding merits, by Decrees of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, esteemed Emomali Rahmon, Nusratullo Makhsum and Shirinsho Shohtemur were posthumously awarded the highest state title of “Hero of Tajikistan”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, expressed sincere gratitude to the Government of Russia, the Moscow city administration, and all those who assisted in organizing this noble mission.
In their speeches, Mikhail Galuzin and Mikhail Shvydkoy noted the importance of restoring historical justice in connection with the return of the land of heroes to the Motherland.
The speakers highlighted their enormous contribution to the formation of the Tajik Republic within the USSR and noted that the transfer of land strengthens fraternal ties between the peoples of Tajikistan and Russia, promoting the further deepening of friendly and allied relations.
Capsules with soil from the burial site of the heroes of Tajikistan was delivered to the city of Dushanbe on May 19, 2026, and will become part of the national memorial complex, symbolizing the continuity of generations and the inseparable connection of the country’s historical past with its present and future.
Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai (1897 – 8 October 1937) was a Pakistani Afghan communist revolutionary, educationist, soldier and Soviet politician who played a significant role in the creation of Tajikistan.
A decorated soldier of the Third Anglo-Afghan War, Nisar would take part in a Soviet expedition in Gilan and later be one of the main proponents advocating for the creation of a Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. He was Tajikistan’s first minister of education from 1926 until his murder in 1937. He was also the first ever Afghan communist.
Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai was born to a Esapzai Pashtun family in the village of Zaida, Swabi District of the North-West Frontier Province in 1897. He was the son of Awal Khan and his grandfather was Mohammad Ali.
In 1919 Afghanistan under King Amanullah Khan started the Third Anglo-Afghan War in an attempt to retake the Pashtun regions west of the Indus river. Nisar Muhammad being an ethnic Pashtun enlisted in the Afghan Army to fight the British and reunite his homeland with Afghanistan, he received the Afghan Order of Courage medal for his bravery.
Following the war, Swabi remained under British occupation and Nisar found himself sentenced to death. However, he managed to escape captivity and sought refuge in Tashkent, where he assumed the name Nisor Avalovich Magomedov.
In Tashkent, Nisar Muhammad became an active member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He became an advocate for a separate Tajik state outside of the Turkestan SSR.
Muhammad along with others, published newspapers and campaigned for Tajik autonomy.
In 1924, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed as part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic and would later become the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic.
In 1920, Muhammad joined a Soviet team tasked with reporting on the events unfolding in Persia (now Iran). During this mission, Muhammad provided support to Mirza Kuchik Khan, leader of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic.
In 1926, Nisar Muhammad was appointed as the People’s Commissar of Education of Tajikistan. He also served as a Pashto language instructor at Moscow University, Nisar was fluent in multiple languages including his native Pashto, Persian, Russian, and Uzbek.
On 8 October 1937, Nisar Muhammad was arrested on false charges by the NKVD (People’s Commissionerate for Internal Affairs) during the Great Purge. During his interrogation, a guard struck Muhammad, triggering an altercation in which the interrogator sustained severe head injuries. The guards stormed the room and shot Nisar Muhammad.
The story of Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai was featured by Kabul Magazine in the 1960s by chief researcher of the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences at Kabul University, Dost Shinwari under the name Nisar Muhammad Afghan.
The street that is home to the Ministry of Education and Science, bears Nisar’s name. In 2021, the acclaimed Tajik director Safarbek Solekh released a documentary titled “Nisar,” which featured interviews with Muhammad’s descendants and Tajik historians. He is described as “The son of Afghans who dedicated his life for Tajiks”.
