Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Workers this week removed framed portraits of authoritarian President Saparmurat Niyazov from public buildings in the capital of Turkmenistan. A terse official statement said they were being replaced, at the president’s order, with scenes of national life and quotations from Niyazov’s “philosophical writings.” The move startled Turkmens and foreign observers, but there was no indication that it signaled Niyazov’s fall from power. In 1999, Niyazov—a Soviet-era leader whose post-Soviet rule has been marked by a Stalinesque cult of personality—was made “president for life” and declared “Turkmenbashi” (Father of all Turkmens).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Netherlands split on WFH for sex workersSpeed Read Councils concerned over 'nuisance' of at-home sex work, but others say changes will curb underground sex trade
-
'He adored Trump, and then rejected him'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
The Thursday Murder Club: who's in the film and what we can expectSpeed Read Author Richard Osman reveals starry cast set to play his 'septuagenarian sleuths'
