Where the Republics Stand : DECLARED INDEPENDENCE MONDAY

* Tadzhikistan

Capital: Dushanbe

Size: 55,250 square miles

Population: 5,112,000 (1989 census)

Ethnic groups: Tadzhiks (58.8%), an Iranian people with mixture of Mongol and Turkish blood. Also Uzbeks (22.9%), Russians (10.4%), Tatars (2.1%). (1979 census)

Religion: Mostly Sunni Muslim

Economy: Mainly agricultural. Top crop is seed cotton, followed by grains, potatoes and other vegetables, grapes and other fruit. Industries include food processing, textiles, coal mining.

text block TK profiling this republic

DECLARED INDEPENDENCE EARLIER

* Moldavia

* Byelorussia

* Ukraine

* Estonia

* Latvia

* Lithuania

* Georgia

* Azerbaijan

* Uzbekistan

* Kirgizia

DECLARED SOVEREIGNTY

These republics say their laws take precedence over those of the central Soviet government on their territory.

* Kazakhstan

* Russia

* Turkmenistan

VOTING ON INDEPENDENCE

* Armenia

Declared sovereignty Aug. 23, 1990, and said it would remain part of the Soviet Union during a transitional period. It plans a referendum on full independence Sept. 21.

Source: Encyclopedia Americana, 1990. Times Wire Services.