KURGAN-TYUBE

also spelled Kurgan-tiube, city, southwestern Tajikistan. It lies in the Vakhsh River valley, 62 miles (100 km) south of Dushanbe. Kurgan-Tyube has existed since the 17th century. It is on the railway line between Dushanbe and Kulyab. Kurgan-Tyube has food-processing plants, clothing manufacturers, an electrical-transformer plant, and a cotton-ginning plant. The city also has a medical school and a power-engineering tekhnikum (technical college). In the surrounding area, cotton is the main crop and sheep are the main livestock. Pop. (1991 est.) 58,400.