Tajikistan is home to Ismoil Somoni Peak, the former Soviet Union’s highest mountain.
The peak rises to 7,495 metres in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. It was known as Communism Peak during the Soviet period and was renamed in honour of Ismail Samani, the founder of the Samanid dynasty.
The mountain was first climbed in 1933 by a Soviet expedition led by Yevgeniy Abalakov. Its extreme elevation and glaciated terrain make it a serious mountaineering objective.
Ismoil Somoni Peak is sometimes confused with Jengish Chokusu, or Victory Peak, in nearby Kyrgyzstan. Victory Peak is also higher than 7,000 metres, but it is not the highest mountain of the former Soviet Union; Ismoil Somoni Peak holds that distinction.