Tajikistan, the road of history: From Soviet tanks to refugees

DUSHANBE– Newly expanded and resurfaced by the Chinese, Highway 384 is as smooth as a pool table. The cars whiz by, only to have to abruptly brake for the many wild cows crossing the roadway. But some eighty kilometers south of the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, where the work of the Beijing companies has not yet started, the road narrows and holes as deep as tombs open on its mantle.