Turkmenistan country profile

Overview

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Despite its gas wealth, much of Turkmenistan's population is still impoverished. After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 the country entered a period of isolation that has only recently begun to end.

It is a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, which was led by the President Saparmurat Niyazov until his death in December 2006.

The late leader styled himself Turkmenbashi, or Father of the Turkmen, and made himself the centre of an omnipresent personality cult. Mr Niyazov, who made himself president for life in 1999, spent large sums of public money on grandiose projects while heavily cutting social welfare.

AT-A-GLANCE Politics: Turkmenistan has become less isolated since President Berdymukhamedov took power in 2007 Economy: It has large natural gas reserves but poverty levels are high International: Turkmenistan exports most of its gas to Russia, but has been expanding export routes to China and Iran since 2009

His influence spread into every area of life in the republic. Turkmens were even expected to take spiritual guidance from his book, Ruhnama, a collection of thoughts on Turkmen culture and history.

His successor, Kurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, said he would follow in Mr Niyazov's footsteps, but increasingly showed signs of a different approach. He eschews the pomp that accompanied his predecessor's public appearances and has set about dismantling the Niyazov cult.

Turkmenistan is the most ethnically homogeneous of the Central Asian republics. There are some Uzbeks in the east, as well as small populations of Russians, Kazakhs, Tatars and others.

In contrast to other former Soviet republics, it has been largely free of inter-ethnic hostilities. However, strong tribal allegiances among the Turkmen can be a source of tension.

Presidential palace in Ashgabat, built by late President Niyazov

With foreign investors keeping away, the Turkmen economy remains underdeveloped.

The country has been unable to benefit fully from its gas and oil deposits because of an absence of export routes and a dispute between the Caspian Sea littoral states over the legal status of offshore oil.

Turkmenistan produces roughly 70 billion cubic metres of natural gas each year and about two-thirds of its exports go to Russia's Gazprom gas monopoly. A protracted dispute between the two countries over the price ended in September 2006 when Gazprom agreed to pay 54% more.

Turkmenistan has since made efforts to break out of Russia's hold on its exports. It has opened major gas pipelines to China and Iran, and is considering taking part in the Nabucco pipeline - an EU-backed project designed to provide an alternative to Russian gas supplies to Europe.

Facts

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• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Leaders

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• Leaders
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President: Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov

Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was sworn in as president after winning elections in February 2007 with 89% of the vote.

Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov aims to follow in President Niyazov's footsteps

There were six candidates in the poll, all from the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. Exiled figures from the Turkmen opposition were banned from competing. Electoral officials put turnout out at over 95%. Rights groups and Western diplomats condemned the election as rigged.

Weeks later the president was chosen as chairman of the People's Council, Turkmenistan's highest legislative body. He was the only candidate.

A former deputy prime minister, Mr Berdymukhamedov became acting president after authoritarian leader Saparmyrat Niyazov died in December 2006. Mr Niyazov had been in power since Soviet times.

His nomination for the presidency surprised observers because under the constitution the post should have gone to People's Council chairman Ovezgeldy Atayev. However, after Mr Niyazov died Mr Atayev became the subject of a criminal investigation and was sacked.

The new president promised to continue the policies of his predecessor but also to introduce reforms, including unlimited access to the internet, better education and higher pensions.

Soon after coming to power, he restored pensions to more than 100,000 elderly citizens, reversing President Niyazov's decisions to withdraw them the previous year.

He has dismantled aspects of his predecessor's personality cult, but in part only to introduce the beginnings of one of his own. Already, a new mosque was named after him in 2009, and bookshops are full of Mr Berdymukhamedov's own works.

Once Mr Niyazov's personal dentist, Mr Berdymukhamedov became Turkmen health minister in 1997 and deputy premier in 2001. One of his tasks was to implement Mr Niyazov's closure of most medical facilities, which brought public health care to the point of collapse.

Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was born in 1957.

Media

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• Media

The Turkmen government has an absolute monopoly of the media. The authorities monitor media outlets, control printing presses, block websites, monitor internet use and lay down editorial policies.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has described the lack of press freedom in the country as "unprecedented" in the body's history.

Under President Berdymukhamedov, "the state's absolute control of the press remains untouched", said Reporters Without Frontiers (RSF) in 2010.

The president suggested that some private newspapers might be permitted in comments in July 2010, but none has yet appeared.

Programmes from Russian TV are censored before being rebroadcast.

Turkmentelecom and other state bodies control internet access. There were 80,400 internet users by June 2010 (InternetWorldStats). Foreign-based opposition websites are blocked. YouTube and blog platform Livejournal were blocked in late 2009.

Turkmenistan is listed as an RSF "Enemy of the Internet" (2010) and one of the Committee to Protect Journalists' "10 worst countries to be a blogger" (2009).

The press

• Neytralnyy Turkmenistan - Russian-language, published six times a week
• Turkmenistan - Turkmen-language, published six times a week
• Watan (Homeland) - Turkmen-language, published three times a week
• Galkynys (Revival) - Turkmen-language weekly, mouthpiece of the ruling Democratic Party of Turkmenistan
• Turkmen Dunyasi - Turkmen-language monthly, mouthpiece of the Ashgabat-based World Turkmens Association
• Adalat (Justice) in Turkmen
• Edebiyat we Sungat (Literature and the Arts) in Turkmen

Television

• Turkmen TV - state-owned, networks include main channel Altyn Asyr (Golden Age)

Radio

• Turkmen radio - state-owned, operates four networks

News agency/internet

• Turkmen State News Service (TSNS) - official news agency
• News Central Asia - Turkmenistan-based agency, registered in US

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