With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1998 and bringing independence to Tajikistan, Communism Peak was renamed Ismail Samani. However, names are hard to change in the climbing community and Communism Peak is still used today.
Rising to 7495 m (24,590 ft) above sea level, the mountain is the highest peak in the Pamirs, and the highest in the former Soviet Union. It is located at the junction of Academia Nauk and Pyotr Pyervy ridges and so remote it took explorers 20 years to find a way to it.
Communism Peak is a huge craggy mountain and heavily glaciated despite it rising above a dry, barren region. The rock is poor and the approach difficult, but because it is the highest of all the peaks in the region, climbers have been attracted to the mountain for decades. There are a variety of routes to the summit.
Even with its remote location and being the highest of the five 7000 meter peaks in Central Asia, it has been a goal of serious mountaineers. Successful climbers of all five peaks gain the title of “Snow Leopard”.