It was created on 14 October 1924 by a series of legal acts that partitioned the three existing regional entities in Central Asia – Turkestan ASSR, Bukharan People's Soviet Republic, and Khorezm People's Soviet Republic – into five new entities based on ethnic principles: Uzbek SSR, Turkmen SSR, Tajik ASSR (within Uzbek SSR), Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast (as a province of Russian SFSR), and Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast (as a province of Kazak ASSR).

In October 1929, under the initiative of Shirinsho Shotemur, the Tajik ASSR was transformed into a full-fledged Soviet Socialist Republic and became Tajik SSR, which additionally absorbed the Khujand region (today's Sughd Province in northern Tajikistan) from Uzbek SSR.

Like in other Soviet Socialist Republics, the processes of industrialization and collectivization started in 1927 and continued until the end of the 1930s.

Terror was often used to coerce farmers into forced collectivization, and this led to anti-government resistance in the years spanning from 1930 to 1936.

[1] 1918–24  Turkestan3 1918–41  Volga German4 1919–90  Bashkir 1920–25  Kirghiz2 1920–90  Tatar 1921–91  Adjarian 1921–45  Crimean 1921–91  Dagestan 1921–24  Mountain 1921–90  Nakhichevan 1922–91  Yakut 1923–90  Buryat1 1923–40  Karelian 1924–40  Moldavian 1924–29  Tajik 1925–92  Chuvash5 1925–36  Kazakh2 1926–36  Kirghiz 1931–92  Abkhaz 1932–92  Karakalpak 1934–90  Mordovian 1934–90  Udmurt6 1935–43  Kalmyk 1936–44  Checheno-Ingush 1936–44  Kabardino-Balkarian 1936–90  Komi 1936–90  Mari 1936–90  North Ossetian 1944–57  Kabardin 1956–91  Karelian 1957–92  Checheno-Ingush 1957–91  Kabardino-Balkarian 1958–90  Kalmyk 1961–92  Tuvan 1990–91  Gorno-Altai 1991–92  Crimean