Turkmenistan - Central Asia - page 392

blueprints for cotton fields. Turkmeni-
stan's arid climate was hardly conducive
to bumper harvests, and to supply the vast
quantities of water required the authori-
ties began work in the 1950s on a massive
irrigation ditch - the Karakum Canal. The
1100km-long gully runs the length of the
republic, bleeding the Amu-Darya (Oxus
River) to create a fertile band across the
south. Cotton production quadrupled,
though the consequences for the Aral Sea
have been catastrophic.
In 1985 the relatively unknown Sapa-
rmyrat Niyazov was elected General Secre-
tary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan
(CPT) and retained power until the collapse
of the Soviet Union. Although totally unpre-
pared for the event, Niyazov was forced to
declare independence for Turkmenistan on
27 October 1991.

public-works projects. Public dissent was
somewhat placated by large government
subsidies for gas, water and electricity.
The free ride was part of Niyazov's
much touted 'Turkmen Golden Age' (Al-
tyn Asyr), though its less benevolent side
was the Orwellian control of the media
that caused Reporters Without Borders
to rank Turkmenistan second to last in
its press freedom index (just one spot
ahead of North Korea).
Despite avoiding an assassin's bullet
in 2002, Turkmenbashi proved mortal
when he passed away on 21 December
2006, aged 66, the result of a massive
heart attack. Having groomed no heir,
his death left a power vacuum that for
a brief moment opened the door for
democratic reform and the return of ex-
iled dissidents. Instead, a surprisingly
smooth transfer of power occurred when
Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Ber-
dymukhamedov grabbed the reins of
power and won backing from Niyazov's
inner circle.
He was rubber stamped into office
after elections in February 2007 (hav-
ing won 90% of the popular vote in elec-
tions where only the Democratic Party
of Turkmenistan fielded candidates, and
even Berdymukhamedov's 'rivals' openly
supported him). Berdymukhamedov
had been Turkmenistan's health minis-
ter and rumours that he is the former
president's illegitimate son have being
doing the rounds for some time. While
this is unlikely - Niyazov was only 17
years old when Berdymukhamedov was
born - the two men do bear an uncanny
resemblance.

Independence & the Golden Age
Determined to hold on to power, Niyazov
renamed the CPT the Democratic Party
of Turkmenistan, before banning all oth-
er parties. His cult of personality began
to flourish, starting with an order that
everyone call him Turkmenbashi, which
translates as 'leader of the Turkmen'. The
president erected gold statues of himself
and plastered buildings with his image.
His slogan 'Halk, Watan, Turkmenbaşi'
('People, Nation, Me' - an eerie echo of
Hitler's 'Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führ-
er') was ubiquitous.
Tapping Turkmenistan's vast oil
and gas reserves, Niyazov promised a
Kuwait-style economy with enormous
private wealth. Most of the profits, how-
ever, ended up funding ostentatious

RECOMMENDED¨READING

¨ Daily Life in Turkmenbashy's Golden Age (2010) by Sam Tranum. Engaging and
perceptive account of two years' work and travel in Turkmenistan from a then Peace
Corps volunteer. The best of a crop of volunteer memoirs from Central Asia.
¨ Unknown Sands: Journeys Around the World's Most Isolated Country (Dusty Spark,
2006), by John W Kropf. A travel memoir by an American who spent two years living
in Ashgabat. Despite living within the confines of the diplomatic community, Kropf
manages to sneak away from the capital to give us a perspective of life on the ground for
ordinary Turkmen.
¨ Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan (2006), by Adrienne Lynn Edgar.
A scholarly account of the Soviet creation of Turkmenistan, with well-researched
details on Soviet nation building of the 1920s and 1930s. The topic also provides an
understanding of Turkmen language and tribal law.