Kyiv vs Dushanbe

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Kyiv or Kiev (Ukrainian: Київ) is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. Its population in July 2015 has been 2,887,974 (though greater estimated numbers have been cited in the media ), making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural center of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech businesses, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The town has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro. The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary creators. During its history, Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several phases of prominence and obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the wonderful trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kyiv was a tributary of the Khazars, until its capture by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the town became a capital of the Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal value in the outskirts of the lands controlled by its powerful neighbours, first Lithuania, then Poland and Russia.

The city prospered again during the Russian Empire's Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. In 1918, following the Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from Soviet Russia, Kyiv became its capital. From 1921 onwards Kyiv was a town of Soviet Ukraine, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, and, from 1934, Kyiv was its capital. The town was almost completely ruined during World War II but quickly recovered from the postwar years, remaining Soviet Union's third-largest city. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991, Kyiv remained Ukraine's capital and experienced a steady influx of cultural migrants from different regions of the country. During the country's transformation into a market economy and electoral democracy, Kyiv has continued to be Ukraine's biggest and wealthiest city. Its armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science and technology, but new sectors of the economy such as services and finance facilitated Kyiv's increase in salaries and investment, as well as providing continuous funding for the development of housing and urban infrastructure. Kyiv emerged as the most pro-Western area of Ukraine; parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections.

Source: Wikipedia

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Dushanbe (Tajik: Душанбе, IPA: [duʃæmˈbe]; significance Monday in Persian) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. As of January 2020, Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and as of 2010 that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the town was known in Russian as Dyushambe (Russian: Дюшамбе, Dyushambe), and from 1929 to 1961 as Stalinabad (Tajik: Сталинобод, Stalinobod), after Joseph Stalin. Dushanbe is located in the Gissar valley, bounded by the Gissar Range in the north and east and the Babatag, Aktau, Rangontau and Karatau mountains in the south, and has an altitude of 750--900 m. The town is divided into four districts, all named after historical figures: Ismail Samani, Avicenna, Ferdowsi, and Shah Mansur. In ancient times, what is currently or is near modern Dushanbe was settled by different empires and individuals, including Mousterian tool-users, various neolithic cultures, the Achaemenid Empire, Greco-Bactria, the Kushan Empire, and the Hephalites. In the Middle Ages, more settlements started near modern-day Dushanbe such as Hulbuk and its famous palace. In the 17th century to the early 20th, Dushanbe started to grow into a market village controlled at times by the Beg of Hisor, Balkh, and eventually Bukhara. Soon after the Russian invasion in 1922, the city was made the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924, which initiated Dushanbe's development and rapid population growth that lasted until the Tajik Civil War. Following the war, the city became capital of an independent Tajikistan and continued its growth and development into a modern city which now is home to many international conventions. Dushanbe's modern culture had its beginnings in the 1920s, where Soviet music, cinema, theatre, sculpture, film, and sports all started.

Music, primarily shashmaqam before the Soviet invasion, took off in the city as a result of Russian influence and local opera houses and symphonies. Tajik figures like Sadriddin Ayni contributed greatly to the development of Dushanbe's literature, which went through many changes during and after the Soviet period. Theater and movie both saw their infancy in the 1930s and were heavily influenced by Soviet tendencies. The design of Dushanbe, once neoclassical, transitioned to a minimalist and eventually modern style. The town is a centre for newspapers, radio stations, and television of the nation, with almost 200 newspapers and over a dozen television studios working in 1999. A lot of Dushanbe's education system dates from Soviet times and has a legacy of state control; even now, the greatest university in Dushanbe, the Tajik National University, is funded by the government. Dushanbe International Airport is the principal airport serving the city. Other forms of transport include the trolleybus system dating from 1955, the small rail system, and the streets that traverse the city. Dushanbe's electricity is primarily hydroelectric, produced from the Nurek Dam, and the aging water system dates from 1932. Tajikistan's health care system is concentrated in Dushanbe, meaning that the major hospitals of the country are in the city. The city constitutes 20 percent of Tajikistan's GDP and has large industrial, financial, retail, and tourism businesses. Parks and main areas of the city include Victory Park, Rudaki Park, the Tajikistan National Museum, the Dushanbe Flagpole, and the Tajikistan National Museum of Antiquities.

Source: Wikipedia