Turkmenistan Gold

[Shima Costar]

In1948 a massive earthquake leveled the city, and since then it has been rebuilt from the ground up. Soviet-style apartment buildings mingle with modern marble and gold monuments. So many, in fact, that in 2013, the Guinness Book of World Records awarded Ashgabat the record for the highest density of white marble buildings in the world. How did it happen?

The Turkmen people were traditionally nomadic horsemen, and are only a handful of generations distant from their nomadic ancestors. They are still considered expert horsemen, and take great pride in the indigenous Akhal-Teke horse of Turkmenistan.

To add to these improvements, U.S. golf hero and golf course developer Jack Nicklaus opened a championship golf course near Ashgabat just ahead of the games. The people of Turkmenistan are being encouraged to learn to play the unfamiliar sport.

Monument of Neutrality (Turkmen: Bitaraplyk arkasy) is a monument originally located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. In 2010, it was moved to the suburbs.The three-legged arch, which became known locally as "The Tripod",[1] was 75 metres (246 ft) tall and was built in 1998 on the orders of the president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, to commemorate the country's official position of neutrality.[2] It cost $12 million to construct. The monument was topped by a 12-metre (39 ft) tall gold-plated statue of Niyazov which rotated always to face the sun.[2][3] The arch was located in central Ashgabat where it dominated the skyline, being taller than the nearby Presidential Palace.[2] The statue was illuminated at night. The arch featured a panoramic viewing platform which was a popular attraction for visitors.[2]

On 18 January 2010, Niyazov's successor as president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, signed a decree to begin work on dismantling and moving the arch.[2][4] There were reports that the arch would be dismantled as early as 2008, but the president did not approve the move until 2010.[4] The dismantling was officially said to be a move to improve urban design in Ashgabat but is seen as part of Berdimuhamedow's campaign to remove the excesses of the personality cult that Niyazov had created in his two decades at the head of one of the world's most totalitarian regimes. Niyazov also named cities and airports after himself, ordered the building of an ice palace and a 40-metre (130 ft) tall pyramid, but the gold-plated statue has been described as the most notorious symbol of his legacy.[2][3]

Berdimuhamedow moved the "Monument to Neutrality" to the suburbs.[2] The president appointed Turkish construction firm Polimeks, which had initially constructed it, to carry out the dismantling and movement of the arch.[4] The removal of Niyazov's golden statue was completed on 26 August 2010,[5]although it was then placed back after the monument was moved. The statue no longer rotates, but the viewing platform is still usually open for visitors. There are elevators inside the "legs" of the monument.[6]

Turkmen citizens regularly complain about the slow and overpriced telecom services provided by Altyn Asyr, which operates under the brand name TM Cell. Even Berdimuhamedov has criticized its service and accused its former managers of incompetence.

In his 15 years in charge of Turkmenistan, Niyazov established an all-encompassing cult of personality and even gained international fame for his megalomaniacal flights of fancy: renaming the month of January after himself and April after his mother, penning his own book of philosophy that all Turkmen students were made to study, and erecting a golden statue of himself that rotated to always face the sun.

In comparison to these ventures, Altyn Asyr was relatively modest. The company was founded as a small national telecom operator, with a capacity of just 50,000 unique numbers in a country of 4.7 million people.

Soon after MTS entered Turkmenistan through this acquisition, the Turkmen government began to pour money into modernizing Altyn Asyr. Between 2007 and 2012, Berdimuhamedov authorized 11 contracts to purchase SIM cards for the company, modernize its equipment, and even build it a brand-new office building. In total, the contracts were worth over $188 million.

The company initiated legal proceedings against the Turkmen government and managed to reach an agreement with Berdimuhamedov that allowed it to return to the country in 2012, with its license extended until July 2018.

Meanwhile, the Turkmen government has continued to invest in Altyn Asyr. In November 2021, pro-government media reported that Turkmenistan had allowed its national communications agency to purchase equipment, software, licenses, and technical support for Altyn Asyr from international telecommunications companies like Huawei and Nokia. The report did not state how much money would be spent on the investment.

Unlike his predecessor, Shaharliyev has never represented Altyn Asyr publicly, leaving the job to his deputy, Vitaliy Patushenko, who represents the company at conferences and gives comments to state media on its behalf.

Such extreme secrecy may seem unnecessary and even counterproductive for the director of a national telecom company that likely counts most Turkmens as its clients. But Shaharliyev is no ordinary CEO.

OCCRP and partners also found that Hajymyrat Rejepov had built a luxurious mansion for his family in Gazha, an expensive development in the center of Ashgabat, and that both brothers owned multiple apartments in Dubai.

Reporters heard from sources inside Turkmenistan that Shaharliyev owns several restaurants, coffee shops, and a nightclub in the country. Turkmenistan does not publish company registration documents, but reporters found corroborating evidence that Shaharliyev owns two of these restaurants in a leaked database of Altyn Asyr phone numbers.

A phone number listed in the database as belonging to Shaharliyev also serves as the official number of Kopetdag Project, a brand that includes an upscale restaurant, pizzeria, beer pub, and nightclub. Earlier versions of the phonebook show that this number has belonged to Shaharliyev since at least 2015.

Bankrupt U.S. company Steward Health Care sent 7.6 million euros ($8.1 million) to a Swiss firm that paid consultancy fees to former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who is now on trial for corruption.

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CHOLPON-ATA, Kyrgyzstan (September 12) - The first real traces of the development of wrestling date back to the times of the Sumerians, 5,000 years ago. During ancient history, traditional wrestling styles were practiced for different reasons like body preparations for wars and battles.

Turkmenistan shined, winning four gold medals, which included a gold in the men's category and three in the women's category. Host Kyrgyzstan, along with Russia and Uzbekistan, captured two gold medals each. The two remaining titles went to Lithuania and Serbia.

A gilded statue of Niyazov is part of the monument to commemorate Turkmenistan's 10-year independence. Like many of the buildings and monuments Niyazov commissioned, this one is made from imported white marble. Kristen Gillespie hide caption

In Turkmenistan, nearly six million people are still caught in the iron grip of an eccentric dictator who is no longer even alive. His name is Saparmurat Niyazov, but he called himself Turkmenbashi, or father of the Turkmen. Niyazov died last December and was succeeded by his personal dentist, but like so many things in secretive Turkmenistan, little is known about how that happened.

The Central Asian state has long been one of the most isolated countries in the world. This vast, gas-rich former Soviet republic is probably best known for a Stalinist cult of personality created by Niyazov, its first president. Stunts such as holding a press conference to denounce the phenomenon of lip-synching and re-naming the month of January after himself only added to his stature as something of an international joke.

On the streets of Turkmenistan's cities and towns, the most glaring feature is still the totalitarian cult of the dead president. In town squares all over the country you'll find golden statues of Niyazov standing, or sitting on a throne, chin cradled in hand, as if deep in thought.

Niyazov fancied himself a writer and a poet. His defining work is a book, Ruhnama, which means "spiritual book," is praised as the ultimate self-help guide on billboards, official buildings and even on the sides of houses in the middle of the desert.

Study of the Ruhnama comprises a third of Turkmenistan's education system, and anyone entering the civil service is required to pass an exam based on the book's contents, which include stern advice instructing readers to choose clean and decent clothes and not to eat greedily. Words from the Ruhnama also line the tops of buildings: "Citizens of Ashgabat, we must make our city shine" is one example.

The streets of the capital are immaculate, cleaned around the clock by an army of women. Smoking is banned in public, and new white marble buildings gleam in the 115 degree heat, with many more under construction around the city.

With the Ruhnama and presidential cult monopolizing the public space, people have few ways to express themselves. Day after day, Turkmen hear constant praise for the late president, who named streets, buildings, theaters and vodka, among other things, after himself.

Niyazov was the Soviet governor of Turkmenistan before independence in 1991, and the Soviet legacy means that foreign visitors are closely watched. Travel guides warn that restaurants and hotels frequented by foreigners are bugged, and Turkmen can be arrested for speaking to foreigners.

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