Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan (/tɜːrkˈmɛnɪstæn/ (listen) or /tɜːrkmɛnɪˈstɑːn/ (listen); Turkmen: Türkmenistan, pronounced [tʏɾkmønʏˈθːɑːn];[12]), also known as Turkmenia, is a sovereign country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city of the country. The population of the country is 6 million, the lowest of the Central Asian republics. Turkmenistan is one of the most sparsely populated nations in Asia. Citizens of Turkmenistan are known as Turkmenistanis,[5] Turkmenians[13] or Turkmens.[6]

For the medieval confederation of Oghuz Turkic tribes in Western Asia, see Turkomania (disambiguation). For the TV channel, see Turkmenistan (TV channel).
Not to be confused with Turkestan, Turkey, or Turkmeneli.

Turkmenistan

Türkmenistan  (Turkmen)[1]
Motto: Türkmenistan Bitaraplygyň watanydyr
("Turkmenistan is the motherland of Neutrality")[2][3]
Anthem: Garaşsyz Bitarap Türkmenistanyň Döwlet Gimni
("State Anthem of Independent, Neutral Turkmenistan")
Location of Turkmenistan (red)
Capital
and largest city
Ashgabat
37°58′N 58°20′E
Official languagesTurkmen[4]
Language of inter-ethnic communicationRussian
Other languagesUzbek • Kazakh • Eastern Armenian • Azerbaijani • Baluji • Kurmanji • Ukrainian • Persian and others
Ethnic groups
(2012)
Religion
Demonym(s)Turkmenistani[5]
Turkmen[6]
Turkmenian
GovernmentUnitary dominant-party presidential republic
• President
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Raşit Meredow
Gülşat Mämmedowa
LegislatureAssembly (Mejlis)[7]
Independence from Russia
• Conquest
1879
13 May 1925
• Declared state sovereignty
22 August 1990
• From the Soviet Union
27 October 1991
• Recognized
26 December 1991
18 May 1992
Area
• Total
491,210 km2 (189,660 sq mi)[8] (52nd)
• Water (%)
4.9
Population
• 2020 estimate
6,031,187 [9] (113th)
• Density
10.5/km2 (27.2/sq mi) (221st)
GDP (PPP)2018 estimate
• Total
$112.659 billion[10]
• Per capita
$19,526[10]
GDP (nominal)2018 estimate
• Total
$42.764 billion[10]
• Per capita
$7,411[10]
Gini (1998)40.8
medium
HDI (2019) 0.715[11]
high · 111th
CurrencyTurkmenistan manat (TMT)
Time zoneUTC+05 (TMT)
Driving sideright
Calling code+993
ISO 3166 codeTM
Internet TLD.tm

Turkmenistan has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries; Merv is one of the oldest of oasis-cities in Central Asia[14] and was once the biggest city in the world.[15] In medieval times, Merv was also one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1925, Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR); it became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[5]

Turkmenistan possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas.[16] Most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert. From 1993 to 2017, citizens received government-provided electricity, water and natural gas free of charge.[17]

The sovereign state of Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Türkmenbaşy or "Head of the Turkmens") until his death in 2006. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was elected president in 2007 (he had been vice-president and then acting president previously). Turkmenistan has been widely criticized for its human rights record.[18][19] Notable issues were its treatment of minorities, press freedoms, and religious freedoms. After the suspension of the death penalty, the use of capital punishment was formally abolished in the 2008 constitution.[20][21]

Etymology

The name of Turkmenistan (Turkmen: Türkmenistan) can be divided into two components: the ethnonym Türkmen and the Persian suffix -stan meaning "place of" or "country". The name "Turkmen" comes from Turk, plus the Sogdian suffix -men, meaning "almost Turk", in reference to their status outside the Turkic dynastic mythological system.[22] However, some scholars argue the suffix is an intensifier, changing the meaning of Türkmen to "pure Turks" or "the Turkish Turks."[23]

Muslim chroniclers like Ibn Kathir suggested that the etymology of Turkmenistan came from the words Türk and Iman (Arabic: إيمان‎, "faith, belief") in reference to a massive conversion to Islam of two hundred thousand households in the year 971.[24]

Turkmenistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union after the independence referendum in 1991. As a result, the constitutional law was adopted on October 27 of that year and Article 1 established the new name of the state: Turkmenistan (Türkmenistan / Түркменистан).[25]

A common name for the Turkmen SSR was Turkmenia (Russian: Туркмения), used in some reports of the country's independence.[26]

History
Main article: History of Turkmenistan

Historically inhabited by the Indo-Iranians, the written history of Turkmenistan begins with its annexation by the Achaemenid Empire of Ancient Iran. In the 8th century AD, Turkic-speaking Oghuz tribes moved from Mongolia into present-day Central Asia. Part of a powerful confederation of tribes, these Oghuz formed the ethnic basis of the modern Turkmen population.[27] In the 10th century, the name "Turkmen" was first applied to Oghuz groups that accepted Islam and began to occupy present-day Turkmenistan.[27] There they were under the dominion of the Seljuk Empire, which was composed of Oghuz groups living in present-day Iran and Turkmenistan.[27] Oghuz groups in the service of the empire played an important role in the spreading of Turkic culture when they migrated westward into present-day Azerbaijan and eastern Turkey.[27]

Turkmen helmet (15th century)

In the 12th century, Turkmen and other tribes overthrew the Seljuk Empire.[27] In the next century, the Mongols took over the more northern lands where the Turkmens had settled, scattering the Turkmens southward and contributing to the formation of new tribal groups.[27] The sixteenth and eighteenth centuries saw a series of splits and confederations among the nomadic Turkmen tribes, who remained staunchly independent and inspired fear in their neighbors.[27] By the 16th century, most of those tribes were under the nominal control of two sedentary Uzbek khanates, Khiva and Bukhoro.[27] Turkmen soldiers were an important element of the Uzbek militaries of this period.[27] In the 19th century, raids and rebellions by the Yomud Turkmen group resulted in that group's dispersal by the Uzbek rulers.[27] In 1855 the Turkmen tribe of Teke led by Gowshut-Khan defeated the invading army of the Khan of Khiva Muhammad Amin Khan[28] and in 1861 the invading Persian army of Nasreddin-Shah.[29]

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, northern Turkmens were the main military and political power in the Khanate of Khiva.[30][31] According to Paul R. Spickard, "Prior to the Russian conquest, the Turkmen were known and feared for their involvement in the Central Asian slave trade."[32][33]

City of Chardzhou in Russian Turkestan, 1890

Russian forces began occupying Turkmen territory late in the 19th century.[27] From their Caspian Sea base at Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashy), the Russians eventually overcame the Uzbek khanates.[27] In 1879, the Russian forces were defeated by the Teke Turkmens during the first attempt to conquer the Akhal area of Turkmenistan.[34] However, in 1881, the last significant resistance in Turkmen territory was crushed at the Battle of Geok Tepe, and shortly thereafter Turkmenistan was annexed, together with adjoining Uzbek territory, into the Russian Empire.[27] In 1916, the Russian Empire's participation in World War I resonated in Turkmenistan, as an anticonscription revolt swept most of Russian Central Asia.[27] Although the Russian Revolution of 1917 had little direct impact, in the 1920s Turkmen forces joined Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Uzbeks in the so-called Basmachi Rebellion against the rule of the newly formed Soviet Union.[27] In 1924, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was formed from the tsarist province of Transcaspia.[27] By the late 1930s, Soviet reorganization of agriculture had destroyed what remained of the nomadic lifestyle in Turkmenistan, and Moscow controlled political life.[27] The Ashgabat earthquake of 1948 killed over 110,000 people,[35] amounting to two-thirds of the city's population.

A Turkmen man of Central Asia in traditional clothes. Photo by Prokudin-Gorsky between 1905 and 1915.

During the next half-century, Turkmenistan played its designated economic role within the Soviet Union and remained outside the course of major world events.[27] Even the major liberalization movement that shook Russia in the late 1980s had little impact.[27] However, in 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Turkmenistan declared sovereignty as a nationalist response to perceived exploitation by Moscow.[27] Although Turkmenistan was ill-prepared for independence and then-communist leader Saparmurat Niyazov preferred to preserve the Soviet Union, in October 1991, the fragmentation of that entity forced him to call a national referendum that approved independence.[27] On 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Niyazov continued as Turkmenistan's chief of state, replacing communism with a unique brand of independent nationalism reinforced by a pervasive cult of personality.[27] A 1994 referendum and legislation in 1999 abolished further requirements for the president to stand for re-election (although in 1992 he completely dominated the only presidential election in which he ran, as he was the only candidate and no one else was allowed to run for the office), making him effectively president for life.[27] During his tenure, Niyazov conducted frequent purges of public officials and abolished organizations deemed threatening.[27] Throughout the post-Soviet era, Turkmenistan has taken a neutral position on almost all international issues.[27] Niyazov eschewed membership in regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and in the late 1990s he maintained relations with the Taliban and its chief opponent in Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance.[27] He offered limited support to the military campaign against the Taliban following the 11 September 2001 attacks.[27] In 2002 an alleged assassination attempt against Niyazov led to a new wave of security restrictions, dismissals of government officials, and restrictions placed on the media.[27] Niyazov accused exiled former foreign minister Boris Shikhmuradov of having planned the attack.[27]

Between 2002 and 2004, serious tension arose between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan because of bilateral disputes and Niyazov's implication that Uzbekistan had a role in the 2002 assassination attempt.[27] In 2004, a series of bilateral treaties restored friendly relations.[27] In the parliamentary elections of December 2004 and January 2005, only Niyazov's party was represented, and no international monitors participated.[27] In 2005, Niyazov exercised his dictatorial power by closing all hospitals outside Ashgabat and all rural libraries.[27] The year 2006 saw intensification of the trends of arbitrary policy changes, shuffling of top officials, diminishing economic output outside the oil and gas sector, and isolation from regional and world organizations.[27] China was among a very few nations to whom Turkmenistan made significant overtures.[27] The sudden death of Niyazov at the end of 2006 left a complete vacuum of power, as his cult of personality, comparable to the one of eternal president Kim Il-sung of North Korea, had precluded the naming of a successor.[27] Deputy Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who was named interim head of government, won the special presidential election held in early February 2007.[27] He was re-elected in 2012 with 97% of the vote.[36]

Politics
Main article: Politics of Turkmenistan
External video
Turkmenistani minister gives speech on corruption problems
Golden statue of Saparmurat Niyazov atop the Monument of Neutrality in Ashgabat
Parade celebrating the 20th anniversary of Turkmenistan's independence

After over a century of being a part of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union (including 67 years as a union republic), Turkmenistan declared its independence on the 27th of October, 1991, following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.[37]

President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov, a former bureaucrat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, ruled Turkmenistan from 1985, when he became head of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR, until his death in 2006. He retained absolute control over the country after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 28 December 1999, Niyazov was declared President for Life of Turkmenistan by the Mejlis (parliament), which itself had taken office a week earlier in elections that included only candidates hand-picked by President Niyazov. No opposition candidates were allowed.

Since the December 2006 death of Niyazov, Turkmenistan's leadership has made tentative moves to open up the country. His successor, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, repealed some of Niyazov's most idiosyncratic policies, including banning opera and the circus for being "insufficiently Turkmen", though other such rules were put into such as the banning of black cars.[38] In education, Berdimuhamedow's government increased basic education to ten years from nine years, and higher education was extended from four years to five. It also increased contacts with the West, which is eager for access to the country's natural gas riches.

The politics of Turkmenistan take place in the framework of a presidential republic, with the President both head of state and head of government. Under Niyazov, Turkmenistan had a one-party system; however, in September 2008, the People's Council unanimously passed a resolution adopting a new Constitution. The latter resulted in the abolition of the Council and a significant increase in the size of Parliament in December 2008 and also permits the formation of multiple political parties.[39]

The former Communist Party, now known as the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, is the dominant party. The second party, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs was established in August 2012. Political gatherings are illegal unless government sanctioned. In 2013, the first multi-party Parliamentary Elections were held in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan was a one-party state from 1991 to 2012; however, the 2013 elections were widely seen as mere window dressing.[40] In practice, all parties in parliament operate jointly under the direction of the DPT. There are no true opposition parties in the Turkmen parliament.[41]

Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Turkmenistan
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with the then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
President Berdimuhamedov with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 2017

Turkmenistan's declaration of "permanent neutrality" was formally recognized by the United Nations in 1995.[42] Former President Saparmurat Niyazov stated that the neutrality would prevent Turkmenistan from participating in multi-national defense organizations, but allows military assistance. Its neutral foreign policy has an important place in the country's constitution. Turkmenistan has diplomatic relations with 139 countries, some of the most important allies being Afghanistan, Armenia, Iran, and Russia.[43]

List of international organization memberships

Human rights
Main article: Human rights in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan has been widely criticised for human rights abuses and has imposed severe restrictions on foreign travel for its citizens.[18][19] Discrimination against the country's ethnic minorities remains in practice. Universities have been encouraged to reject applicants with non-Turkmen surnames, especially ethnic Russians.[48] It is forbidden to teach the customs and language of the Baloch, an ethnic minority.[49] The same happens to Uzbeks, though the Uzbek language was formerly taught in some national schools.[49]

According to Human Rights Watch, "Turkmenistan remains one of the world’s most repressive countries. The country is virtually closed to independent scrutiny, media and religious freedoms are subject to draconian restrictions, and human rights defenders and other activists face the constant threat of government reprisal."[50]

According to Reporters Without Borders's 2014 World Press Freedom Index, Turkmenistan had the 3rd worst press freedom conditions in the world (178/180 countries), just before North Korea and Eritrea.[51] It is considered to be one of the "10 Most Censored Countries". Each broadcast under Niyazov began with a pledge that the broadcaster's tongue will shrivel if he slanders the country, flag, or president.[52]

Religious minorities are discriminated against for conscientious objection and practicing their religion by imprisonment, preventing foreign travel, confiscating copies of Christian literature or defamation.[53][54][55] Many detainees who have been arrested for exercising their freedom of religion or belief, were tortured and subsequently sentenced to imprisonment, many of them without a court decision.[56][57] Homosexual acts are illegal in Turkmenistan.[58]

Restrictions on free and open communication

Despite the launch of Turkmenistan's first communication satellite—TurkmenSat 1—in April 2015, the Turkmen government banned all satellite dishes in Turkmenistan the same month. The statement issued by the government indicated that all existing satellite dishes would have to be removed or destroyed—despite the communications receiving antennas having been legally installed since 1995—in an effort by the government to fully block access of the population to many "hundreds of independent international media outlets" which are currently accessible in the country only through satellite dishes, including all leading international news channels in different languages. The main target of this campaign is Radio Azatlyk, the Turkmen-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It is the only independent source of information about Turkmenistan and the world in the Turkmen language and is widely listened to in the country."[59]

Geography
Main articles: Geography of Turkmenistan and List of mountains of Turkmenistan
Map of Turkmenistan

At 488,100 km2 (188,500 sq mi), Turkmenistan is the world's 52nd-largest country. It is slightly smaller than Spain and somewhat larger than the US state of California. It lies between latitudes 35° and 43° N, and longitudes 52° and 67° E. Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. The center of the country is dominated by the Turan Depression and the Karakum Desert. The Kopet Dag Range, along the southwestern border, reaches 2,912 metres (9,554 feet) at Kuh-e Rizeh (Mount Rizeh).[60]

The Great Balkhan Range in the west of the country (Balkan Province) and the Köýtendag Range on the southeastern border with Uzbekistan (Lebap Province) are the only other significant elevations. The Great Balkhan Range rises to 1,880 metres (6,170 ft) at Mount Arlan[61] and the highest summit in Turkmenistan is Ayrybaba in the Kugitangtau Range – 3,137 metres (10,292 ft).[62] The Kopet Dag mountain range forms most of the border between Turkmenistan and Iran. Rivers include the Amu Darya, the Murghab, and the Tejen.

The climate is mostly arid desert with subtropical temperature ranges and little rainfall. Winters are mild and dry, with most precipitation falling between January and May. The area of the country with the heaviest precipitation is the Kopet Dag Range.

The Turkmen shore along the Caspian Sea is 1,748 kilometres (1,086 mi) long. The Caspian Sea is entirely landlocked, with no natural access to the ocean, although the Volga–Don Canal allows shipping access to and from the Black Sea.

The List of cities in Turkmenistan include Aşgabat, Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk) Daşoguz, Türkmenabat, and Mary.

Climate, biodiversity and environment
Main articles: Climate of Turkmenistan and Environmental issues in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan map of Köppen climate classification

The Karakum Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world; some places have an average annual precipitation of only 12 mm (0.47 in). The highest temperature recorded in Ashgabat is 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) and Kerki, an extreme inland city located on the banks of the Amu Darya river, recorded 51.7 °C (125.1 °F) in July 1983, although this value is unofficial. 50.1 °C (122 °F) is the highest temperature recorded at Repetek Reserve, recognized as the highest temperature ever recorded in the whole former Soviet Union.[63]

Turkmenistan contains seven terrestrial ecoregions: Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe, Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe, Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert, Caspian lowland desert, Central Asian riparian woodlands, Central Asian southern desert, and Kopet Dag semi-desert.[64]

Turkmenistan's greenhouse gas emissions per person (17.5 tCO2e) are considerably higher than the OECD average: due to natural gas seepage from oil and gas exploration, and very high energy subsidies.[65]

Administrative divisions
See also: Districts of Turkmenistan
A clickable map of Turkmenistan exhibiting its provinces.

Turkmenistan is divided into five provinces or welayatlar (singular welayat) and one capital city district. The provinces are subdivided into districts (etraplar, sing. etrap), which may be either counties or cities. According to the Constitution of Turkmenistan (Article 16 in the 2008 Constitution, Article 47 in the 1992 Constitution), some cities may have the status of welaýat (province) or etrap (district).

DivisionISO 3166-2Capital cityArea[66]Pop (2005)[66]Key
Ashgabat City TM-SAshgabat470 km2 (180 sq mi)871,500
Ahal Province TM-AAnau97,160 km2 (37,510 sq mi)939,7001
Balkan Province TM-BBalkanabat　139,270 km2 (53,770 sq mi)553,5002
Daşoguz Province TM-DDaşoguz73,430 km2 (28,350 sq mi)1,370,4003
Lebap Province TM-LTürkmenabat93,730 km2 (36,190 sq mi)1,334,5004
Mary Province TM-MMary87,150 km2 (33,650 sq mi)1,480,4005

Economy
Main articles: Economy of Turkmenistan and Agriculture in Turkmenistan
Graphical depiction of Turkmenistan's product exports in 28 color-coded categories

The country possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources.[67]

Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its economy. In 2014, the unemployment rate was estimated to be 11%.[5]

Bazaar in Daşoguz

Between 1998 and 2002, Turkmenistan 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 increases in international oil and gas prices. Economic prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty and the burden of foreign debt.[68]

Ever since 2014, international gas prices have been falling quick, halving from 2014-2015. Though Turkmenistan has enough gas that it should not effect them, due to its lack of trade partners, Turkmenistan's economy has not grown as much as expected due to the gas prices, similar cases of economic growth slowing due to this can be found in other places in Central Asia.

Saparmurat Hajji Mosque featured on the obsolete 10,000 manat banknote.

President Niyazov spent much of the country's revenue on extensively renovating cities, Ashgabat in particular. Corruption watchdogs voiced particular concern over the management of Turkmenistan's currency reserves, most of which are held in off-budget funds such as the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund in the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, according to a report released in April 2006 by London-based non-governmental organization Global Witness.

According to the decree of the Peoples' Council of 14 August 2003,[69] electricity, natural gas, water and salt will be subsidized for citizens up to 2030. Under current regulations, every citizen is entitled to 35 kilowatt hours of electricity and 50 cubic meters of natural gas each month. The state also provides 250 liters (66 gallons) of water per day.[70]

Natural gas and export routes
See also: List of countries by natural gas proven reserves and List of countries by natural gas exports

As of May 2011, the Galkynysh Gas Field has the second-largest volume of gas in the world, after the South Pars field in the Persian Gulf. Reserves at the Galkynysh Gas Field are estimated at around 21.2 trillion cubic metres.[71] The Turkmenistan Natural Gas Company (Türkmengaz), under the auspices of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, controls gas extraction in the country. Gas production is the most dynamic and promising sector of the national economy.[72] In 2010 Ashgabat started a policy of diversifying export routes for its raw materials.[73] China is the largest buyer of gas from Turkmenistan, via a pipeline linking the two countries through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in 2019, China bought over 30bcm of gas from Turkmenistan,[74][75] making China Turkmenistan's main external financial donor.[76] In addition to supplying Russia, China and Iran, Ashgabat took concrete measures to accelerate progress in the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline (TAPI).[77] The estimated the cost of the TAPI pipeline is currently estimated at $25 billion, Turkmenistan's part of the pipeline started construction in 2015 which was completed in 2019, though Afghanistan and Pakistan's part are still in construction.

Oil
See also: Pipelines in Turkmenistan

Most of Turkmenistan's oil is extracted by the Turkmenistan State Company (Concern) Türkmennebit from fields at Koturdepe, Balkanabat, and Cheleken near the Caspian Sea, which have a combined estimated reserve of 700 million tons. The oil extraction industry started with the exploitation of the fields in Cheleken in 1909 (by Branobel) and in Balkanabat in the 1930s. Production leaped ahead with the discovery of the Kumdag field in 1948 and the Koturdepe field in 1959. A big part of the oil produced in Turkmenistan is refined in Turkmenbashy and Seidi refineries. Also, oil is exported by tankers through the Caspian Sea to Europe via canals.[78]

Energy

Turkmenistan is a net exporter of electrical power to Central Asian republics and southern neighbors. The most important generating installations are the Hindukush Hydroelectric Station,[79] which has a rated capacity of 350 megawatts, and the Mary Thermoelectric Power Station, the largest electric power station in the country,[80] which has a rated capacity of 1,370 megawatts. In 2018, electrical power production totalled more than 21 billion kilowatt-hours.[81]

Agriculture
Main article: Agriculture in Turkmenistan

In Turkmenistan, most of irrigated land is planted with cotton, by making the country the world's tenth-largest cotton producer.[82] Turkmenistan started producing cotton when controlled by Russian Empire in the 1860's, when the Russian Empire took control over Central Asia they began delegating the southern regions of Russian Turkestan (which Turkmenistan was a part of), should produce cotton.[83] As of 2020 Turkmenistan still produces large quantities of cotton, they are able to produce such high amounts of cotton due to public sector workers such as teachers and doctors being occasionally required by the government to pick cotton in fields, under the threat of losing their job. After they finish filling their cotton quota, they are put back to normal life.[84]

During the 2020 season, Turkmenistan produced around 1.5 million tons of raw cotton, mainly from Mary, Balkan, Akhal, Lebap and Dashoguz provinces. In 2012, around 7,000 tractors, 5,000 cotton cultivators, 2,200 sowing machines and other machinery, mainly procured from Belarus and the United States, are being used. The country traditionally exports raw cotton to Russia, Iran, South Korea, United Kingdom, China, Indonesia, Turkey, Ukraine, Singapore and the Baltic states.[85]

Tourism
Panorama of the site of the Darvaza gas crater
Main article: Tourism in Turkmenistan

The tourism industry has been growing rapidly since 2010, especially medical tourism, though the government has not publicly disclosed the amount of people who visit the country since 2007, much like North Korea. Turkmenistan's tourism has been growing primarily due to the creation of the Awaza tourist zone on the Caspian Sea.[86] Every traveler must obtain a visa before entering Turkmenistan (see Visa policy of Turkmenistan). To obtain a tourist visa, citizens of most countries need visa support from a local travel agency. For tourists visiting Turkmenistan, there are organized tours with a visit to historical sites Daşoguz, Konye-Urgench, Nisa, Merv, Mary, beach tours to Avaza and medical tours and holidays in Mollakara, Ýylysuw and Archman.

Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Turkmenistan
Population[87][88]
Year Million
19501.2
20004.5
20185.9

Most of Turkmenistan's citizens are ethnic Turkmens with sizeable minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. Smaller minorities include Kazakhs, Tatars, Ukrainians, Kurds (native to Kopet Dagh mountains), Armenians, Azeris, Balochs and Pashtuns. The percentage of ethnic Russians in Turkmenistan dropped from 18.6% in 1939 to 9.5% in 1989. In 2012, it was confirmed that the population of Turkmenistan decreased due to emmigration and is less than the previously estimated 5 million, official population estimates still are likely too high as it is unknown whether the population the Turkmen government says they have is true.[89]

The CIA World Factbook gives the ethnic composition of Turkmenistan as 85% Turkmen, 5% Uzbek, 4% Russian and 6% other (2003 estimates).[5] According to data announced in Ashgabat in February 2001, 91% of the population are Turkmen, 3% are Uzbeks and 2% are Russians. Between 1989 and 2001 the number of Turkmen in Turkmenistan doubled (from 2.5 to 4.9 million), while the number of Russians dropped by two-thirds (from 334,000 to slightly over 100,000).[90]

Languages
Main article: Languages of Turkmenistan

Turkmen is the official language of Turkmenistan (per the 1992 Constitution), although Russian still is widely spoken in cities as a "language of inter-ethnic communication". Turkmen is spoken by 72% of the population, Russian by 12% (349,000), Uzbek by 9%[5] (317,000), and other languages by 7% (Kazakh (88,000), Tatar (40,400), Ukrainian (37,118), Azerbaijani (33,000), Armenian (32,000), Northern Kurdish (20,000), Lezgian (10,400), Persian (8,000), Belarusian (5,290), Erzya (3,490), Korean (3,490), Bashkir (2,610), Karakalpak (2,540), Ossetic (1,890), Dargwa (1,600), Lak (1,590), Tajik (1,280), Georgian (1,050), Lithuanian (224), Tabasaran (180), Dungan).[91]

Religion
Further information: Religion in Turkmenistan and Islam in Turkmenistan
Gurbanguly Hajji Mosque
Russian Orthodox church in Mary

According to the CIA World Factbook, Muslims constitute 93% of the population while 6% of the population are followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the remaining 1% religion is reported as non-religious.[5] According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, 93.1% of Turkmenistan's population is Muslim.[93]

The first migrants were sent as missionaries and often were adopted as patriarchs of particular clans or tribal groups, thereby becoming their "founders." Reformulation of communal identity around such figures accounts for one of the highly localized developments of Islamic practice in Turkmenistan.[94]

In the Soviet era, all religious beliefs were attacked by the communist authorities as superstition and "vestiges of the past." Most religious schooling and religious observance were banned, and the vast majority of mosques were closed. However, since 1990, efforts have been made to regain some of the cultural heritage lost under Soviet rule.[95]

Former president Saparmurat Niyazov ordered that basic Islamic principles be taught in public schools. More religious institutions, including religious schools and mosques, have appeared, many with the support of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Turkey. Religious classes are held in both schools and mosques, with instruction in Arabic language, the Qur'an and the hadith, and history of Islam.[96]

President Niyazov wrote his own religious text, published in separate volumes in 2001 and 2004, entitled the Ruhnama. The Turkmenbashi regime required that the book, which formed the basis of the educational system in Turkmenistan, be given equal status with the Quran (mosques were required to display the two books side by side). The book was heavily promoted as part of the former president's personality cult, and knowledge of the Ruhnama is required even for obtaining a driver's license.[97]

Most Christians in Turkmenistan belong to Eastern Orthodoxy (about 5% of the population).[98] The Russian Orthodox Church is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Archbishop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.[99] There are three Russian Orthodox Churches in Ashgabat, two in Turkmenabat, in Mary, Turkmenbashi, Balkanabat, Baýramaly and Daşoguz one each.[98] The highest Russian Orthodox priest in Turkmenistan is based in Ashgabat.[100] There is one Russian orthodox monastery, in Ashgabat.[100] Turkmenistan has no Russian Orthodox seminary, however.[100]

There are also small communities of the following denominations: the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Pentecostal Christians, the Protestant Word of Life Church, the Greater Grace World Outreach Church, the New Apostolic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and several unaffiliated, nondenominational evangelical Christian groups. In addition, there are small communities of Baháʼís, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Hare Krishnas.[53]

The history of Baháʼí Faith in Turkmenistan is as old as the religion itself, and Baháʼí communities still exist today.[101] The first Baháʼí House of Worship was built in Ashgabat at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was seized by the Soviets in the 1920s and converted to an art gallery. It was heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1948 and later demolished. The site was converted to a public park.[102]

Culture
Main article: Culture of Turkmenistan

Heritage
Turkmenistan in the list of World Heritage Sites
Image Name Location Notes Date added Type
Ancient Merv Baýramaly, Mary Region a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road 1995 Cultural[103]
Köneürgenç Köneürgenç unexcavated ruins of the 12th-century capital of Khwarazm 2005 Cultural[104]
Parthian Fortresses of Nisa Bagyr, Ahal Province one of the first capitals of the Parthians 2007 Cultural[105]

Mass media
Further information: Telecommunications in Turkmenistan

There are a number of newspapers and monthly magazines published and online news-portal Turkmenportal in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan currently broadcasts 7 national TV channels through satellite. They are Altyn asyr, Yashlyk, Miras, Turkmenistan (in 7 languages), Türkmen Owazy, Turkmen sporty and Ashgabat. There are no commercial or private TV stations. Articles published by the state-controlled newspapers are heavily censored and written to glorify the state and its leader.

External video
Example of Turkmenistan TV News
Turkmen President celebrates Independence Day

Internet services are the least developed in Central Asia. Access to Internet services are provided by the government's ISP company "Turkmentelekom". As of 27 January 2021, it was estimated that there were 1,265,794 internet users in Turkmenistan or roughly 21% of total population.[106][5][107]

Holidays
Main article: Public holidays in Turkmenistan

Holidays in Turkmenistan are laid out in the Constitution of Turkmenistan, Holidays in Turkmenistan practiced internationally include New Year's Day, Nowruz, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha. Turkmenistan exclusive holidays include Melon Day, Turkmen Woman's Day, and the Day of Remembrance for Saparmurat Niyazov.

Education
Main article: Education in Turkmenistan
Turkmeni students in university uniform

Education is universal and mandatory through the secondary level, the total duration of which was earlier reduced from 10 to 9 years; with the new President it has been decreed that from the 2007–2008 school year on, mandatory education will be for 10 years. From 2013 secondary general education in Turkmenistan is a three-stage secondary schools for 12 years according to the following steps: Elementary school (grades 1–3), High School – the first cycle of secondary education with duration of 5 years (4–8 classes), Secondary school – the second cycle of secondary education, shall be made within 4 years (9–12 classes).[108][109]

At the end of the 2019–20 academic year, nearly 80,000 Turkmen pupils graduated from high school.[110] As of the 2019–20 academic year, 12,242 of these students were admitted to institutions of higher education in Turkmenistan. An additional 9,063 were admitted to the country's 42 vocational colleges.[111]

Architecture

The task for modern Turkmen architecture is diverse application of modern aesthetics, the search for an architect's own artistic style and inclusion of the existing historico-cultural environment. Most buildings, especially the ones in Ashgabat are faced with white marble. Major projects such as Turkmenistan Tower, Bagt köşgi, Alem Cultural and Entertainment Center, Ashgabat Flagpole have transformed the country's skyline and promotes its contemporary identity.

Sports
Further information: Sports in Turkmenistan

The most popular sport in Turkmenistan is soccer. The national team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but has appeared twice at the AFC Asian Cup, in 2004 and 2019, failing to advance past the group stage at both editions. Another popular sport is archery, Turkmenistan holds league and local competitions for archery. International sports events hosted in Turkmenistan include; the 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and the 2018 World Weightlifting Championships

Transportation
Main article: Transportation in Turkmenistan

Automobile transport

Construction of new and modernization of existing roads has an important role in the development of the country. With the increase in traffic flow is adjusted already built roads, as well as the planned construction of new highways. Construction of roads and road transport has always paid great attention. So, in 2004, Baimukhamet Kelov was removed from office by the Minister of road transport and highways Turkmenistan for embezzlement of public funds and deficiencies in the work.[112]

Air transport
Turkmenistan Airlines Boeing 767-300ER

Turkmenistan's cities of Turkmenbashi and Ashgabat both have scheduled commercial air service. The largest airport is Ashgabat Airport, with regular international flights. Additionally, scheduled international flights are available to Turkmenbashi. The principal government-managed airline of Turkmenistan is Turkmenistan Airlines. It is also the largest airline operating in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan Airlines' passenger fleet is composed only of Boeing aircraft.[113] Air transport carries more than two thousand passengers daily in the country.[114] International flights annually transport over half a million people into and out of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan Airlines operates regular flights to Moscow, London, Frankfurt, Birmingham, Bangkok, Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Amritsar, Kyiv, Lviv, Beijing, Istanbul, Minsk, Almaty, Tashkent, and St. Petersburg.

Maritime transport
Workers in the service of Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan

Since 1962, the Turkmenbashi International Seaport operates a ferry to the port of Baku, Azerbaijan. In recent years there has been increased tanker transport of oil. The port of Turkmenbashi, associated rail ferries to the ports of the Caspian Sea (Baku, Aktau). In 2011, it was announced that the port of Turkmenbashi would be completely renovated. The project involved the reconstruction of the terminal disassembly of old and construction of new berths, in May of 2018, the project finished and it is used to import and export resources to and from Turkmenistan's Caspian Sea neighbors.[115][116][117]

Railway transport
Turkmen Diesel locomotive
Main article: Railways in Turkmenistan

Rail is one of the main modes of transport in Turkmenistan. Trains have been used in the nation since 1876. Originally, it was part of the Trans-Caspian railway, then the Central Asian Railway, after the collapse of the USSR, the railway network in Turkmenistan owned and operated by state-owned Türkmendemirýollary. The total length of railways is 3181 km. The passenger traffic railways of Turkmenistan are limited by the national borders of the country, except in the areas along which the transit trains are coming from Tajikistan to Uzbekistan and beyond. Locomotive fleet consists of a series of soviet-made locomotives 2TE10L, 2TE10U, 2M62U also have several locomotives made in China. Shunting locomotives include Soviet-made TEM2, TEM2U, CME3. Currently under construction are the railway lines of Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan.

See also

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