In Tajikistan, the military's primary concerns are terrorism, border security, territorial defense, and instability in neighboring countries; Russia is Tajikistan’s most important security partner and thousands of Russian troops are stationed in the country, primarily at the 201st military base, which is leased until at least 2042; Russia and Tajikistan have a joint air defense system and they conduct periodic joint exercises; Tajikistan has been a member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) since 1994 and contributes troops to CSTO's rapid reaction force

Tajikistan is the only former Soviet republic that did not form its armed forces from old Soviet Army units following the collapse of the USSR in 1991; rather, Russia retained command of the Soviet units there while the Tajik government raised a military from scratch; the first ground forces were officially created in 1993 from groups that fought for the government during the Tajik Civil War (2025)