neweurasia’s Annasoltan has obtained photographs of “advertisements” for Turkmenistan’s upcoming presidential electino (12 February). These are actually relatively difficult to come by, so check them out!

Is Turkmenistan’s upcoming presidential election really just a totalitarian ploy for false legitimacy, or is it something much more… pitiful? neweurasia’s Annasoltan gives her thoughts

Turkmenistan’s upcoming presidential poll is truly a strange creature. neweurasia’s Annasoltan reviews how it has evolved in the last few months, including the role of government-organized NGOs (GONGOs). “For a sham election,” she writes, “trying to keep track of [it] has proven really annoying.”

“The play ‘s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” — Hamlet, Act II, Scene II.
Even fake elections can give strongman dictators a headache when ordinary people actually expect them to mean …

The Eurasia Star contest has been envisioned by its organizers in Turkey as a Pan-Turkic pop culture spectacle, but it’s been turning out to be a flop in more ways than one. neweurasia’s Annasoltan reports on how in Turkmenistan in particular it’s become a missed opportunity for direct democracy.

The Turkmenet may be very small and very young, but it’s certainly developing at a remarkable rate, and not always in ways that can be clearly said to be good or bad. neweurasia’s Annasoltan explores the rise of hacking in this new space and its particularly Turkmen flavor.

This school year in Turkmenistan is a special occasion, coming as it does 20 years since independence. neweurasia’s Annasoltan talks with a professional teacher in Ashgabat about education’s challenges under the Berdimuhammedow regime, from shifting generational and cultural values to corruption in the schools.

Turkmen authorities have apparently banned students from attending Tajik universities — a development uncomfortably similar to previous bans targeted at Kyrgyz universities. neweurasia’s Annasoltan reports on the human side of this story.

According to official Turkmen news sources, around 100,000 fist grade students have received brand new Lenovo laptops at the start of this school year. Although neweurasia is unable to confirm this, if true — and Annasoltan thinks it likely — this is an incredible development for the country. “This is truly an ambitious project on the part of the Turkmen government,” she writes.

neweurasia’s Annasoltan interviews a veteran of the Turkmen music scene to explore the last 20 years of artistic development — or un-development — in Turkmenistan.