Turkmenistan

Türkmenistan Jumhuriyäti
Republic of Turkmenistan

Flag Coat of arms
Motto:
Anthem: Independent, Neutral, Turkmenistan State Anthem
Capital	Ashgabat 37°58′ N 58°20′ E
Largest city	Ashgabat
Official language(s)	Turkmen
Government President/Chairman1	Single-party state Saparmurat Niyazov
Independence Declared Recognized	From the Soviet Union October 27, 1991 December 8, 1991
Area • Total • Water (%)	488,100 km² ( 52nd) {{{areami²}}} mi² 4.9%%
Population • 2005 est. • [[As of |]] census • Density	4,952,081 ( 112th) 10/km² ( 173rd) {{{population_densitymi²}}}/mi²
GDP ( PPP) • Total • Per capita	2004 estimate $35,931,000,000 ( 86th) $7,266 ( 81st)
HDI ( 2003)	0.738 ( 97th) – medium
Currency	Turkmen Manat ( TMM)
Time zone • Summer ( DST)	( UTC+5) ( UTC+6)
Internet TLD	.tm
Calling code	+993
1Mr. Niyazov serves as both President and Chairman of the Council of Ministers (his cabinet)

Turkmenistan, formerly known as the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, is a country in Central Asia. It has borders with Afghanistan, Iran (Persia), Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and has no coastline but is adjacent to the Caspian Sea.

History

The territory of Turkmenistan has a long and chequered history, as armies from one empire to another decamped on their way to more prosperous territories.

Alexander the Great conquered the territory in the 4th century B.C. on his way to India. One hundred and fifty years later Persia's Parthian Kingdom established its capital in Nisa, an area now located in the suburbs of the modern-day capital of Ashgabat. In the 7th century A.D. Arabs conquered this region, bringing with them Islam and incorporating the Turkmen into Middle Eastern culture. It was around this time that the famous Silk Road was established as a major trading route between Asia and Europe.

The Turkmenistan region soon came to be known as the capital of Greater Khorasan when the caliph Al-Ma'mun moved his capital to Merv.

In the middle of the 11th century, the powerful Turks of the Seljuk Empire concentrated their strength in the territory of Turkmenistan in an attempt to expand into Afghanistan. The empire broke down in the second half of the 12th century, and the Turkmen lost their independence when Genghis Khan took control of the eastern Caspian Sea region on his march west. For the next seven centuries, the Turkmen people lived under various empires and fought constant intertribal wars.

By 1894 imperial Russia had taken control of Turkmenistan. The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia and subsequent political unrest led to the declaration of the Turkmen Republic as one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union in 1924. At this time the modern borders of Turkmenistan were formed.

In 1991, with the breakup of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan became independent. The former Communist leader, Saparmurat Niyazov, remains in power.

Politics

President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov, a former bureaucrat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, has ruled Turkmenistan since 1985, when he became head of the local branch of the Communist Party. He retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. The president's party, the Democratic Party (the former Communists), is the only one legally permitted. Turkmenistan is dominated by an all-pervasive cult of personality extolling President Niyazov as Turkmenbashi ("Leader of all Turkmen"). His face adorns almost everything in Turkmenistan, from banknotes to bottles of vodka. The logo of Turkmen national television is his profile. The two books he has written are mandatory readings in schools, motorclubs, and homes. Institutions that cannot be named after him are named after his mother. All watches and clocks made must bear his portrait printed on the dial-face. A giant 15-meter (50 feet) tall gold-plated statue stands on a rotating pedestal, so it will always face into the sun and shine light onto the capital city. In reality, Niyazov is a very short person, barely taller than 150 centimeters (5 feet).

A slogan popular among Turkmens is "Halk! Watan! Türkmenbashi!" meaning "People! Motherland! Leader!" and remeniscent of Nazi Germany's "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer" (One People, One Realm, One Leader). Niyazov renamed the week days after members of his family and wrote the new Turkmen national anthem/oath himself, including phrases that say people who defame the motherland or the Turkmenbashi should lose their arms. The national anthem/oath has received condemnation from several international human rights groups because it encourages the persecution of homosexuals.

Foreign companies seeking to exploit Turkmenistan's vast natural gas resources have cooperated with Niyazov since he also controls access to the natural resources. His book Ruhnama, revered in Turkmenistan almost like a holy text, has been published by foreign industrialists in all major languages, including Croatian, Polish, Hungarian and Bantu, exactly for this reason.

Human rights

Human rights issues in Turkmenistan, an authoritarian state, include freedom of religion issues. According to Forum 18, despite international pressure, the authorities keep a very close eye on all religious groups and the legal framework is so constrictive that many prefer to exist underground rather than have to pass through all the official processes, which act as barriers. Protestant Christian adherents are affected, in addition to groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Hare Krishna. The Hare Krishna are not allowed to seek donations at the country's main airport, the Turkmenbashi Flying Aeroplane Station.

According to the 2005 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, Turkmenistan had the 3rd worst press freedom conditions in the world. No one is allowed to describe the President or his family negatively. Also, no reporters are permitted to mention that the President is a very short man (barely over 5 feet), or that he wears a toupee.

Provinces

Turkmenistan is divided into 5 provinces or welayatlar (singular - welayat) and one independent city:

Division	ISO 3166-2	Capital City	Area (sq. km)	Pop (1995)	Key
Ashgabat		Ashgabat		604,000
Ahal Province	TM-A	Ashgabat	95,000	722,800	1
Balkan Province	TM-B	Balkanabat	138,000	424,700	2
Dashhowuz Province	TM-D	Daşoguz	74,000	1,059,800	3
Lebap Province	TM-L	Turkmenabat	94,000	1,034,700	4
Mary Province	TM-M	Mary	87,000	1,146,800	5

Geography

The country is approximately 488,100 square kilometers. 90% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. The center of country is dominated by Turan Depression and the Karakum Desert which are mostly flatlands. The Kopet Dag Range, along the southwestern border, reaches 2,912 meters. The Turkmen Balkan Mountains in the far west and the Kugitang Range in the far east are the only other appreciable elevations. Rivers include the Amu Darya, Murgap, and the Hari Rud.

The climate is subtropical desert, with little rainfall. Winters are mild and dry, with most precipitation falling between January and May. Heaviest precipitation is in the Kopetdag Range.

Other cities include: Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) and Dashoguz.

Economy

One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's 10th-largest producer; and it possesses the world's fifth-largest reserves of natural gas as well as substantial oil resources. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former Soviet Union for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit.

Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. Between 1998 and 2002, Turkmenistan has suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, the value of total exports has risen sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Economic prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt.

President Niyazov has squandered much of his country's revenue on self-glorification, with cities, Ashgabat in particular, being given extensive renovations whilst the people living outside the capital struggle in conditions of poverty. President Niyazov has pledged free water, electricity and gas; however, shortages are frequent.

Demographics

The majority of Turkmenistan's citizens are ethnic Turkmen; other ethnic groups include Russians, Armenians, Azeris and Uzbeks. Turkmen is the official language of Turkmenistan, though Russian still is widely spoken as a "language of inter-ethnic communication" (per the 1992 Constitution). The name Turkmen, both for the people and for the nation itself, is said to be self-referential from the period the Russians first encountered the people, parsing as Tūrk-men, or "I am Tūrk".

Education is universal and mandatory through the secondary level, the total duration of which was recently reduced from 11 to 9 years.