Shirinsho Shotemur

Shirinsho Shotemur (also spelt: Shirinsho Shotemor, date of birth: 1 December 1899 – 27 October 1937 was a prominent Tajik politician who made a major contributions to the early history of Soviet Tajikistan and was instrumental in the establishment of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic.

Life and political activity
Shotemur was born on December 1, 1899 in Shughnon District, Tajikistan, to a poor farmer family. At the age of 13 Shotemur started assisting his family on the field. From 1914 to 1918 he worked at a factory in Tashkent. In 1921 he began pursuing a political career and was sent back to the Pamirs as a member of the political-military team. From 1923 to 1924 he worked as an instructor of the national minorities department of Tajikistan's Communist Party Central Committee. At the same time he headed the Tajik communist section.

During his lifetime Shirinsho Shotemur held many leading positions in the Tajik government and in the communist party. In 1937 Shotemur was charged with participation in an anti-Soviet nationalistic organization and arrested in Moscow. Later the same year the Military board of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced Shotemur to death. He was executed on October 27, 1937. In 1956 Shotemur was posthumously rehabilitated by Military board of the Supreme Court of the USSR.

Contribution to history
Statue of Shirinsho Shotemur in Khorugh
Shirinsho Shotemur was one of the main initiators of establishing the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. As of 1927 Shotemur was the Tajik ASSR's representative in the Uzbek SSR. In 1929, Shirinsho Shotemur successfully insisted on joining Sughd Province to the Tajik ASSR. The same year he initiated the exit of Tajikistan from the Uzbek SSR and the establishment of the new Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. Many Soviet historians believe that his initiatives to separate Tajikistan from the Uzbek SSR caused his rivals to falsify charges against Shotemur, which led to his death sentence. Shirinsho Shotemur was awarded with prestigious state awards during his lifetime, as well as posthumously, including awards from the Republic of Tajikistan in 1999 and 2006.

For political reasons Shirinsho Shotemur Jr. faced problems entering a university after school. Soon a friend helped the family to change his younger brother's name to Rustam Arturovich Avotyn to avoid further problems. Shotemur Sr.'s other family members in Tajik SSR were also subject to repression. Thus, Shirinsho Jr. and Rustam had no contact with their Tajik relatives until their father's name was officially rehabilitated.