Today, with the participation of Fayzali Idizoda, Chairman of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan, a ceremony was held at the Luchob Cemetery to lay to rest a handful of soil from the burial sites of the Heroes of Tajikistan — Nusratullo Makhsum and Shirinsho Shotemur, as well as the prominent national cultural and historical figure Nisor Muhammad. The ceremony was conducted in accordance with the traditions of the holy religion of Islam and with special honors.
Fayzali Idizoda noted that today a new and glorious page opens in the history of our nation's modern statehood. We are laying to rest in our Homeland a handful of soil from the burial sites of three founders of the Tajik state — Nusratullo Makhsum, Shirinsho Shotemur, and Nisor Muhammad — who fell victim to the injustices of the Soviet era in 1937.
Nusratullo Makhsum was born on July 1, 1881, and is considered one of the very first founders of the Tajik national state in the 1920s. This great man served in roles ranging from Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Gharm District to Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), and Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).
In 1929, thanks to the initiative and courageous efforts of Nusratullo Makhsum and other patriots, Tajikistan’s status was elevated from an Autonomous Republic to a full Union Republic.
On July 8, 1937, Nusratullo Makhsum was arrested in the city of Moscow, charged with fabricated allegations of anti-Soviet activity, and executed on November 1 of that same year. The body of Nusratullo Makhsum was buried in a communal grave at the New Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow.
On December 28, 1957, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union reviewed the petition of the Prosecutor General of the Soviet Union, overturned the conviction against Nusratullo Makhsum, and posthumously rehabilitated him.
By decree of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon, on June 27, 2006, Nusratullo Makhsum was honored with the highest title of Hero of Tajikistan.
Shirinsho Shotemur was born on December 1, 1899. He had been a member of the Communist Party since January 1921. Following the national-territorial delimitation of Central Asia in 1924, Shirinsho Shotemur was appointed a member of the Bureau of the Communist Party of Tajikistan and was reassigned from Tashkent to Dushanbe for work. Concurrently, he also led operations against the Basmachi movement.
After extensive struggles by the nation's self-sacrificing sons, on October 16, 1929, the Third Extraordinary Congress of Soviets of the USSR adopted the Declaration on elevating the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic into a full Union Republic.
In June 1930, at the First Constituent Congress of the Communist Party of the Tajik SSR, Shirinsho Shotemur was elected Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the republic's Communist Party. In 1933, he was elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Tajik SSR, holding this position until July 1937.
Shirinsho Shotemur was one of the very first statesmen who played a key role in the establishment of the Tajik state and statehood.
On July 9, 1937, while Shirinsho Shotemur was in Moscow, he was arrested by officers of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD). Charged with fabricated allegations of participating in an anti-Soviet nationalist organization, he was executed on October 27 of that same year. He was buried in a communal grave at the New Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow.
On August 11, 1956, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union overturned the conviction against Shirinsho Shotemur and posthumously rehabilitated him.
By decree of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan dated June 27, 2006, Shirinsho Shotemur was awarded the highest title of Hero of Tajikistan for his immense contributions to the foundation of the Tajik state.
It was precisely during the period of State Independence, thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Founder of Peace and National Unity - Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon, that the names of the nation's self-sacrificing sons, Nusratullo Makhsum and Shirinsho Shotemur, were revived and they were recognized as national heroes.
The prominent historical figure Nisor Muhammad was born in 1897 in Peshawar, Pakistan. In 1919, he became a political emigre and took refuge in Central Asia.
In 1928, he was admitted to membership in the Communist Party of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan. Nisor Muhammad served as the People's Commissar for Education of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
He laid the foundations of education and science in Tajikistan. Through his efforts, the first textbooks and schools were established, and the first Tajik students were sent to higher education institutions in Tashkent, Moscow, and Leningrad.
Nisor Muhammad played an important role in elevating the Autonomous Republic of Tajikistan into a union republic in 1929.
On October 22, 1937, he was executed based on fabricated charges of anti-Soviet activity.
“May the fond memory of the nation's self-sacrificing sons — Nusratullo Makhsum, Shirinsho Shotemur, and Nisor Muhammad — live on and be honored forever,” Fayzali Idizoda stated with profound solemnity.
