The construction of the Palace began in 2000. In early 2006, the
Dushanbe Synagogue, the local
mikveh (ritual bath), a
kosher butcher shop, and several Jewish schools were demolished by the government without compensation to make room for the new palace. After an international outcry, the government announced a reversal and said that would allow the synagogue to be rebuilt at its current site. However, in the final stages of the palace's construction, the government destroyed the entire synagogue, leaving Tajikistan without a synagogue as it was the only one in the country. This resulted in the majority of Tajik
Bukharan Jews having negative views of the Tajik government. On the eve of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in
Dushanbe in August 2008, the palace was completed, with the summit events being partially held under the golden dome with 20-meter columns. An image of the palace is imprinted on the back of a 500
Somoni banknote, which is the national currency of Tajikistan. In September 2018, Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko became the first foreign leader to visit the new wooden halls and rooms in the palace. The Old Presidential Palace, the former seat of the Council of Ministers of the
Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic), which was located on
Rudaki Avenue, was demolished in 2023. In its stead,
China helped build a new building for the republic's government and parliament. == Gallery ==