To know Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s capital, is to know the country’s first President and dictator Saparmurat Niyazov. And to know the Rukhnama, his autobiography and ‘words of wisdom’ for his people, is to know both. 🙂

Here is a photo essay of the three, with excerpts from the Rukhnama [the first and second volumes]. For no other three—a man, his book, and a city—are more closely intertwined than Turkmenbasy [Niyazov], the Rukhnama, and Ashgabat.

“When you read Rukhnama, you shall be purified, justified; your life and existence shall have a justification; your objectives and intentions shall be fulfilled. Your existence among the Turkmen shall be accepted!”

National Memorial Complex is dedicated to those killed in the Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881 [after which Russia took over the Turkmen lands], World War II, and 1948 Ashgabat Earthquake.

It was 1948.

6 October, 1:12 am to be exact.

An earthquake of 7.3 surface wave magnitude had ripped the outskirts of Ashgabat.

176,000 died according to Saparmurat Niyazov’s Rukhnama. Three of them were particularly dear to him. His mother and two brothers. His father had already died in World War II when Niyazov was just two years old. Aged just 8, Turkmenistan’s first President become an orphan without any immediate family that fateful night.

“The rule of manners of love is to love your country. My advice: be sincere in your love! May the love you foster for your fatherland be as elegant as the love for a girl! A Turkmen girl loves with grace and with serious affection but does not love by losing her mind. My advice: have manners in your love! Do not demonstrate your love for your country improperly; be quiet and humble with your love for your country.”

Independence Park with Independence Monument.

Brought up in an orphanage and later by a distant relative, Niyazov ended up working for the Communist Party of the Turkmen in 1985. In 1991, following an unsuccessful coup against the fast-collapsing USSR, he became the new country’s first President. He was now tasked with creating a nation and national identity out of a desert and nomadic tribes of shepherds, yurt-dwellers, horse-rustlers and carpet-weavers, including giving it a new alphabet.

Two years later he conferred the title Turkmenbasy, ‘Leader of all Turkmen,’ on himself. In 1999, he declared himself ‘President for Life.’

“Let me see what I have worked for in your smiling faces … The smile is a sign of love. Smiling faces bear a sacred light in them. Allah says, ‘Those smiling high-spirited people are closer to Me, I will grant them twice as much as I will grant to others.’ The smile is the reflection of the human soul.”

Constitution Monument and Square.

Turkmenbasy’s reign is often described as the most despotic totalitarian rule the world has ever seen. For the 15 years he was in power, Turkmenistan, and especially Ashgabat, became a playground for his eccentricities and cult personality.

“At the moment of my betrayal
to my motherland,
to her sacred banner,
to great Saparmurat Turkmenbasy
let my breath stop!”

Wheel of Enlightenment, the world’s largest indoor Ferris wheel.

The most tangible and all-encompassing of Turkmenbasy’s contributions as President was the book he authored—Rukhnama, the Book of the Soul—a collection of his personal thoughts and everything he wanted his people to know and understand. It was to be the New Koran and spiritual guide for the Turkmen.

Months of the year and days of the week were renamed after his family and the book. In schools and universities, the Rukhnama became a key component of the curriculum and taught as theology. Driving tests and job interviews, both included exams on it. Crosswords in newspapers became based on the Rukhnama.

“Wealth should make you closer to the ordinary people, rather than separating you from them. You need your mind to be rich. Buried money is of no use to you or society … If you utilize wealth for proper and righteous ends, it will grow. If you don’t, it will shrink.”

The man Saparmurat ‘Turkmenbasy’ Niyazov, his book the Rukhnama [Volume 2] and the monument for the book in Ashgabat: Rukhnama Monument.
Saparmurat photo source: https://time.graphics/period/2249524

Lest that were not enough, he had a monument built in honour of his book where come evening, passages would be recited on a loudspeaker amidst a sound and light show. The book was sent to the libraries of 162 countries across the world, translated into more than 36 foreign languages, and a copy blasted into space by a Russian satellite.

“Rukhnama is the veil of the Turkmen people’s face and soul. It is the Turkmen’s first and basic reference book. It is the total of the Turkmen mind, customs and traditions, intentions, doings and ideals. It will be our legacy to the future after drawing lessons from the past!”

The marble-encased buildings of Ashgabat are dotted with monuments such as the one honouring Alabai, the national dog, and Turkmenbasy.

Having lost his family and home, Turkmenbasy decided to make Ashgabat his new home. He covered it in millions of cubic feet of imported marble worth billions of dollars because he liked the colour white. He personally designed key buildings such as the national museum and carpet museum, put up statues of himself and his family at roundabouts and atop monuments, and placed his bust on state TV channels and highways.

“Beloved nation! We are constructing buildings of pure white marble to honour the worth of the Turkmen. I want you to live in those buildings as Turkmens, that is, I want you to lead a life within the framework of Turkmen’s national moral and spiritual values.

For this reason, I did not content with having buildings constructed, but also I wrote the Rukhnama book and other literary works, in order to build the realm of mind and spirit of you, the Turkmen of the Golden Age.”

Monument of Neutrality. Turkmenistan is the only permanently neutral country in the world.

One of his statues is almost iconic. Coated in gold, it has him draped in a bellowing cape, perched on the Monument of Neutrality. The figure, made at a cost of USD 12 million would rotate during the day so that it always faced the sun.

“Do not keep beautiful words from each other. Always be kind, joyful, say pleasant things, pleasant words have wings. Pleasant words give wings to humans. Pleasant words cover life with rainbows.”

Turkmenbasy Ruhy Mosque where the holy book is the Koran and Rukhnama.

The national anthem, which Turkmenbasy wrote, extolled his own praises and physicians had to swear on him instead of the Hippocratic Oath. Libraries and hospitals were closed in the rural areas so that those in Ashgabat could be used instead.

He even had a mosque especially built where the maulana had to preach from both the Koran and the Rukhnama. Turkmenbasy assured his people that if they read the Rukhnama thrice, from cover to cover, a place in heaven was guaranteed for them. Tsk, tsk. Do I see the faithful shake their head in disbelief?

“This is the world where you have to spend lavishly all the sorrow and grief that have been gathered in you in the day of mourning.

This is the world where you have to spend lavishly your courage and bravery on the battleground despite the dangers against your life.

This is the world where you have to spend your property lavishly on the day of entertainment.

This way of getting in touch with life is called ‘Turkmen Contact.’ ‘Turkmen’s life’ means to give your entire existence to life. Turkmen thinks that a life in which property and existence are saved, and sadness and joy are not shared is a fake type of life.”

Wedding Palace.

Always smiling, what he did not like he banned. Dogs, circuses, orchestras, cinema, car radios, ballet, make-up, coloured cars, video games, internet, gold teeth, smoking and chewing tobacco became illegal. People who opposed him were deported, imprisoned, or institutionalized. The state media fawned on him and public events were staged to show citizens idolizing him.

“The Turkmen people do not cover the faces of their women and girls like their neighbours. Their women are free. However, they do not know what it is to be unchaste. Turkmen women throughout history have lived without the slightest stain to their honour.”

Ashgabat International Airport and Hotel Yyldyz, the fanciest hotel in town.

Though it would be easy to see all of Ashgabat as an expression of an inflated ego and its satiation, there were also good things brought into the mix during Turkmenbasy’s 15 years of rule. Both the death penalty and child labour were abolished, and Turkmenistan became the only permanently neutral country in the world. Utilities were provided for free and salt and petrol were charged next to nothing. And perhaps most importantly, a national identity was created from 4,500 years of history, rituals and oral traditions, and a culture of horse-rearing and carpet-weaving.

“Only the working man enjoys life. Because work is the key of happiness. Happiness is not given by other people, it is earned. Because happiness is not a value that man takes from outside, it is a value created and developed by the individual. Toil is life’s fidelity. Toil is life’s blessing.”

Horse-shaped stadium in Ashgabat Olympic Village [2017].

Ashgabat Mall.

But everything ends. In 2015, Turkmenbasy passed away from heart failure. His successors have since, slowly and surely, erased the ostentatious displays around their predecessor’s cult personality. Yet, some narratives have been continued, especially the penchant for marble buildings and record-breaking structures.

Nine years on, marble-clad Ashgabat with its fantastical monuments, still reflects Turkmenbasy’s dreams and aspirations. His home and brainchild with its neon signs, empty orderly streets, the world’s largest indoor giant Ferris wheel and star-shaped Wedding Palace are a manifestation of a ‘perfectly mannered world,’ where he was the Lord of the Manor in every sense. Except that the manor was a 12 sq. miles metropolis of a new nation.

“However, no matter how long you live, you will definitely return your soul to its owner, one day, according to the rule of the life on earth … A person who does not take death seriously cannot appreciate the meaning of life.”

– – –

And with this, I come to the end of my Turkmenistan series. I hope you enjoyed reading the posts and found them interesting. In case you missed any of my earlier posts, here they are:

1. Photo Essay: Unravelling Turkmenbasy, the Rukhnama, and Ashgabat [this post]
2. 11 Memorable Experiences only to be had in Turkmenistan
3. Time-travel and Dinosaur Plateaus in Remote North-East Turkmenistan
4. Travel Guide: Turkmenistan’s 3 Legendary UNESCO-listed Treasures
5. Travel Shorts: Kyrk Giz Grotto, if Ribbons and Mud Could Stick
6. At Turkmenistan’s Darvaza: The Gates of Hell
7. Global Travel Shot: Yangykala Canyon in Western Turkmenistan

Recommended watching:

• Turkmenbashi’s Reign of Terror
• The Truth About Turkmenbashi, The Happy Dictator (Waldemar Januszczak Documentary) | Perspective