Khujand, formerly Leninabad, city in northern Tajikistan, about 340 km (about 205 mi) north of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and about 150 km (about 90 mi) southeast of Toshkent, Uzbekistan. Khujand lies in the southwestern part of the fertile Fergana Valley and is partly isolated from the rest of Tajikistan by high mountain ranges. Khujand lies along the banks of the Syr Darya River as it flows westward into Uzbekistan and then northwest through Kazakhstan toward the Aral Sea. Cotton growing, cotton processing, and textile manufacturing are the main industries. Rare earth minerals are found throughout the surrounding region. One of the earliest uranium mines in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is approximately 50 km (30 mi) northeast of Khujand. Just east of Khujand lies the large Kayrakkumskoye Reservoir. Khujand had been settled since at least 329 BC, when Alexander the Great captured the city. Russian forces took Khujand in 1866 when it was a part of the khanate of Kokand (present-day Quqon). It was called Leninabad from 1936 until 1991, when it changed back to Khujand. Population (1991 estimate) 164,500.
