Translation of AbdulGamid‘s original post in Russian from 21.10.07

Companies that has been operation in Turkmenistan for long time, keenly responded to the call for foreign investments into development of tourist zone at the Turkmen Caspian see coast.

A presentation of projects on development of the national tourist zone Avaza was held at Serdar hotel on the Caspian Sea coast on October 20. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov attended the presentation.

… The head of state met with chief executives of a number of foreign companies during the presentation, including Siemens of Germany, Bouygues of France and Polimeks of Turkey.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed a number of decrees in the end of talks. According to these documents, foreign companies will start the construction of facilities worth some US $ 500 million in the territory of the planned Avaza zone coming November.

The rest of international partners consider this project not to be promising and refrain from insecure investments, whether they do not have opportunities to enter construction market of Turkmenistan.

This headline stands out of many more important news topics as this governmental portal never publishes anything negative, even within its choice of wording. Even reporting on another fired official by Turkmen president is showing his care about well-being of Turkmen people.

Unexpectedly (or actually it should’ve been obvious) article tells that

By the decision of the competent jury, all six libraries were awarded prizes, sharing three places in pairs. The Central and Mary province libraries took the first place. All prize winners were given diplomas, valuable prizes and gifts.

“A good neighbour policy is the guiding principle of the Turkmen leader’s foreign policy, which in being implemented through collaborative practices with both border countries and beyond. Turkmen-Uzbek relations are a convincing case of the fruitfulness of such cooperation.”

An excerpt from a commentary by the Turkmen state news agency after President Saparmurat Niyazov’s visit to Uzbekistan in November 2004.

Like Niyazov’s visit in 2004, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov two-day trip to Uzbekistan starting Thursday will be a landmark occasion.
Niyazov went to Uzbekistan, leaving his own country for the first time in two years, as the leader of a hermit nation to a neighbour whose cooperation in the West’s military campaign against an extremist regime had won it grudging respectability. Relations at the time were soured by Turkmen allegations that Tashkent was involved in providing assistance to individuals involved in the alleged assassination attempt on Niyazov in November 2002.
In Bukhara, a city located a half-hour or so drive from the border, the leaders of the two countries professed mutual respect and historical solidarity. Niyazov spoke warmly to his former Soviet republican counterpart, praising past cooperation and promising more of the same in the years to come.
The declaration of friendship signed on the occasion, which raised hopes of eased trading exchanges between the two nations, were quashed by reality, however. A lavish opening ceremony in Turkmenistan for petrol stations created to serve neighbouring Uzbeks seeking cheap fuel was snubbed by the guests, according to an account by the Turkmenistan Initiative for Human Rights. The initiative had been prompted by the vibrant cross-border trade in cheap Turkmen fuel, but the petrol stations remained unused and were eventually dismantled.
Reports from Western travellers making the border crossing suggest that suspicion and distrust still lingers. It is unlikely that the situation is any easier for the communities living either side of the border, many of whom would stand to make a lucrative income from an exchange in agricultural goods.
Berdymukhammedov will arrive in Uzbekistan as a world statesman, a figure sought after by Europe, the United States and Russia. As his recent engagement with Central Asian neighbours indicates, however, Berdymukhammedov is also interested in creating influence closer to home. It will be of interest to see what the scheduled signature of bilateral documents will actually bring.
The agenda, as described by Turkmen state media, will be determined by current international issues of mutual interest. In the immediate geographic context, this may be a reference to some of the sticking issues holding up a definitive resolution of a trilateral agreement between Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia to boost gas supplies from Central Asia. Although the mooted coastal Caspian pipeline has been the subject of most attention, the agreement to boost Turkmen contribution to Russia energy security also hinges on plans to boost the capacity of the Central Asia-Center Pipeline, which traverses Uzbekistan.

The expansion of the Central Asia–Centre gas pipeline envisaged by the May accord has been completely overlooked by Caspian-centric observers, but it still remains a crucial factor in any eventual victory that Turkmen gas now seems to represent. In spite of direct meetings in meetings, in the CIS summit in Dushanbe and the Caspian conference in Tehran, Berdymukhammedov and Russian President Vladimir Putin have not settled any of the issues apparently agreed upon a few months ago.
If the May 2007 accord, which did not include Uzbek President Islam Karimov, stands any chance of success, it will have to take on a quadripartite quality. Yet, negotiations with litigious neighbours are normally a standard way of killing of any complex negotiation, so the upcoming meeting in Uzbekistan could go either way.
But Berdymukhammedov has repeatedly displayed himself as a leader willing and able to engage with nations regional and global. In a twist of irony, Turkmenistan can now lend Uzbekistan respectability and solidarity with such state visits. Karimov is now the president that needs support and credibility, both of which his Turkmen counterpart can potentially supply. More importantly, Uzbekistan has a unique chance of locking itself into a powerful Central Asian energy pact should the near-Caspian pipeline agreement be realised in full.
Unaccountably, Turkmenistan is acting as a source of regional solidarity these days. Energy could yet provide an impetus for neighbourly conduct, despite the long-standing differences in the region. What is more certain is that Berdymukhammedov’s visit will not be an exercise in pointless vanity. Diplomatic indifference, or neutrality as it was dubbed by Niyazov’s government, is definitively a matter of the past. With Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan now seemingly travelling in the same orbit, the possibility of Uzbekistan, which has recently been issued a light reprieve by the European Union, joining the same orbit presents intriguing possibilities.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov fired two more high-placed Interior Ministry officials, only days after dismissing the head and deputy head of the ministry, Turkmenistan.ru reported Monday.
Lieutenant Kakaly Tyllayev was released from his responsibilities as Ashgabat chief of police, while Major Gurbangeldy Kurbangeldyev was dismissed as acting chief of police in Dashoguz district. Both were discharged for “serious shortcomings” in their professional conduct, Turkmenistan.ru reported.
Tyllayev was appointed head of police by late President Saparmurat Niyazov in March 2006.
Last week, the security ministries underwent a serious shake-up after Interior Minister Khojamurat Annagurbanov, First Deputy Interior Minister Nuryagdy Yagmyrov, and National Security Minister Geldymukhammed Ashirmukhammedov were all removed from their positions.
Berdymukhammedov cited a various reasons for his decision to dismiss Annagurbanov, including abuse of office and nepotism. Yagmyrov was dismissed for professional shortcomings, including his handling of the fire at the Russian Bazaar in Ashgabat. Meanwhile, Ashirmukhammedov reportedly asked to be discharged for health reasons.
The abuses cited by Berdymukhammedov at a special meeting of law enforcement bodies held on Oct. 8 resulted from an inquiry conducted by a state commission set up to investigate citizens’ complaints about the Interior Ministry.
Berdymukhammedov noted at the meeting that public complaints had doubled recently, without specifying a specific time-frame for the inquiry.
A report detailing instances of bribery and forged evidence sanctioned and ordered by Interior Ministry was presented to the meeting by the Prosecutor General Muhammetguly Ogshukov. He cited a specific case in which Annagurbanov, who has been replaced by 37-year old Orazgeldy Amanmyradov, sought to cover up a serious crime committed by his nephew.
Speaking about the Interior Ministry department’s role in the fire at the Russian Bazaar, Berdymukhammedov lamented its failure to draw conclusions from a resolution passed in spring to carry out a complete inventory of facilities for compliance with fire safety regulations.
The dismissal this week of city-level Interior Ministry officials indicates that the purge of the country’s security apparatus is not yet over. Moreover, the rhetoric and the style in which the rotation was executed were highly reminiscent of that deployed under Niyazov’s rule. The charges were at simultaneously generic and lacking in specific detailed as well as highly personalised. Vague references to abuse of office were coupled with accusations of nepotism, which have been the grounds for the downfall of many high-placed Turkmen officials.
The change of personnel and the source of the charges suggest some degree of inter-ministerial conflict and rivalry, also hallmarks of Niyazov’s regime. While the National Security Minister was replaced by the head of the presidential security apparatus, 41-year old Charymurat Amanov, who had himself taken over from Niyazov’s eminence grise, Akmurad Rejepov, the source of the claims made against the Interior Ministry emerged from the office of the Prosecutor General.
Writing in Russian daily newspaper Vremya Novostei, Arkady Dubnov cites sources as saying that the Annagurbanov’s removal as Interior Minister was prompted by his attempt to extort bribes during the recent annual prisoner amnesty.
This is the most benevolent possible interpretation of recent events. The new appointments certainly have a post-Niyazov air about them and it can only be hoped that the Prosecutor General’s reports, which outsiders can only gain access to via state media, reflect some degree of newly discovered puritanical distaste for the excesses of corruption. However, so long as these alleged criminal activities are exposed in Niyazov-style rituals of televised humiliation, there can be no assurance that any progress has been achieved under Berdymukhammedov’s watch.
Transparency remains a distant goal under the present government, signalled most clearly by the almost instantaneous reversal of a policy on Monday to allow comments on the official state web site. If the West harbours any ambitions to engage further with Berdymukhammedov’s government and keep its conscience clean, these simple facts cannot be overlooked.

 Translation of Abdulgamid’s original post in Russian from 12. 10. 2007

It seems that nothing epic is going to happen in 2009, but the new notes of Turkmen manats will be introduced.

Turkmenistan’s new banknote samples were approved at the top level on October 11. The banknotes will be circulated in 2009. The design of new banknotes have been prepared by British company De La Rue International Limited that has been cooperating with Turkmenistan in the sphere of national currency mint since the first years of independence.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov acquainted himself with banknote samples during the meeting with the UK company executives – James Hassi, Jim Richards and Will Stamper. Having approved the national currency design, the head of state thanked the company for the good job.

As the Turkmenistan.ru’s correspondent reports, new banknotes will bear the images of prominent figures of the Turkmen nation and architectural compositions of Ashgabat. 1 manat banknotes will bear the image of Togrul Bek Turkmen, 5 manat banknotes – Soltan Sanjar Turkmen, 10 manat banknotes – Makhtumkuli Fragi, 20 manat banknotes – Gerogly Bek Turkmen, 50 manak banknotes – Gorgut Ata Turkmen, 100 manat banknotes – Oguz Khan Turkmen. The image of Turkmenistan’s first president Saparmurat Niyazov will be drawn on 500 manat banknotes.

However, what does really get attention is the fact that current exchange rate is 24000 Turkmen manats per one US dollar while banknotes of only more than 1000 manats are actively circulating in the market. Why would be these notes of value from 1 to 100 needed? Is it just in case (or making it obvious) if the economy will undergo monetary reform along with the issue of new banknotes and one manat will cost much more than 0,0024 USD.

Another as important moment is that the portrait of Saparmurat Niyazov will be placed only on 500 manats banknote while today all turkmen money of any value hold the Turkmenbashy image.

 Translation of Abdulgamid‘s original post in Russian from 11.10.2007

Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan, Hojamurat Annagurbanov had his carrier burned to the ashes in the fire of Russian bazaar.

 The law abuses were identified during the check up conducted in the interior ministry as well as the investigation conducted by the State Commission under the President of Turkmenistan on citizens’ complaints on the work of law enforcing agencies. As President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted, the number of Turkmen citizens’ complaints on the illegal activities of certain officials has doubled recently. “It looks like winds of change have passed by the interior ministry where the standards of responsibility and competence fell as low as it can go,” the president said.

During the recent absence of Berdymuhamedov due to participation in the UN General Assembly, Ashgabat and Lepab region faced large scale cases of fire at the markets. “How could you allow fire to happen at “the Russian market” [in Ashgabat]?”- the country leader wondered with his voice raised.

Anyway, Geldimuhamed Ashirmuhamedov, now ex-minister of homeland security, was fired due to “the health reasons”.  So no one has suffered from the fire at the Russian bazaar, but two ministers.

The globetrotting of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov continues unabated, this time with his attendance of this weekend’s CIS summit in Tajikistan.
As well as adding another country to the list of his visited destinations, Berdymukhammedov’s trip also stands out as the first made to Dushanbe by a Turkmen head of state after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As Russian news agency Itar-Tass noted, the scale of economic relations between the two countries is minute. With a meagre foreign trade turnover in the first eight months of 2007 standing at only $32 million, Turkmenistan is only Tajikistan’s sixth largest CIS trade partner. Nonetheless, it is curious that states formerly bound by a common political unity should have drifted so completely apart.
This could be about to change, however.
A nominal shift in the impetus of bilateral affairs came on October 2, when Turkmen Ambassador Akhmed Kurbanov presented his credentials to Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon. Though there is no readily available information about this individual, it is notable that a state visit should have been prefaced by such a change in high-level personnel. So, while we have no way of discerning whether Kurbanov will be more competent or qualified for the post, we can appreciate the symbolic gesture of diplomatic renewal.
In addition to concluding a bilateral treaty on friendship and cooperation, Tajikistan on Friday also sealed a five-year deal for the annual supply of 1.2 billion kilowatts per hour from Turkmenistan. The contract was furthered bolstered after Uzbekistan agreed to make its energy grids available for transit. Tashkent’s new-found amenability is particularly central as earlier an electricity supply agreement was discontinued in 2001 over transit issues.
In comments to reporters after meeting the Turkmen delegation, Rakhmon confirmed that the deal could not have been completed without agreement from all three parties.
“I express my gratitude to the presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan … for their assistance in solving this issue,” Rahmon said, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
In turn, Berdymukhammedov said Turkmenistan was open to the possibility of importing Tajik aluminium and agricultural produce.
When electricity generation and aluminium are discussed in the same briefing, one cannot help but recall that Tajikistan ripped up plans for a joint dam construction project with Russian aluminium giant RusAl in August. Dushanbe’s stake in the project, which was expected to come online in 2009-2010, would have been potential for greater energy security, a vital issue for a nation used to annual trials with widespread electricity shortages.
In this context, Turkmenistan has taken on the guise of a regional ally providing leverage and breathing space for an impoverished neighbour. If Tajikistan can ensure reliable medium-term electricity supplies, they can negotiate more convincingly with investors invested in its natural resources.
More broadly, the emergence of Ashgabat as a broker in regional affairs is a strong indication of Berdymukhammedov’s success in repositioning Turkmenistan from being an international hermit state into a serious geopolitical actor. The risk, as always, is that this type of strategy could easily incur Russia’s irritation. On his recent trip to the United States, Berdymukhammedov pleased his hosts by indicating that energy negotiations with Moscow were proving strained. This tension has been evident for some weeks and could rise with the passing of time as Russia and Turkmenistan fail to resolve issues holding up a conclusive agreement on the construction of a new Caspian gas pipeline, which is a key instrument in ensuring Moscow’s ability to export gas to Europe in the coming decades.

All of the media (or at least, all of the American media) is abuzz about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent speech at Columbia University. However, there was no mention of one of the speakers, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow. His speech included a presentation showing young students typing on brand new laptops, showing the many educational reforms that have taken place since the death of President Niyazov, as well as a variety of other topics. But even more importantly, he spoke of the developing markets in Turkmenistan.

The impressive speech was, however, met with a painful question-and-answer session, in which he was questioned about such issues as freedom of the press and gay rights. He avoided questions, bent the truth, and, in some cases flat-out lied to the people present.

Later, he met with business executives at Rockefeller Center to discuss the developing market that is Turkmenistan. Not only are they interested in Turkmenistan’s gas reserves, but also in the nation’s workforce. With more than half of the population being unemployed seasonally, Turkmenistan could very well become a major industrial center. It’s proximity to Europe also means it could become a good business partner with the European Union.

Will any of this emerge? That remains to be seen. However, it seems that major economic reforms are in place for Turkmenistan as the nation shifts towards the more pro-Western ideals of Poland, the Czech Republic, and other ex-Warsaw Pact nations. As for social issues, it appears that, in the president’s mind, the country isn’t quite ready for large-scale reform just yet.

The speech is available on Youtube at the following addresses:

Part 1 – http://youtube.com/watch?v=SROxZqYY3JY
Part 2 – http://youtube.com/watch?v=W7sw8XdRJPs
Part 3 – http://youtube.com/watch?v =1R9rP3MJkCU
Pert 4 – http://youtube.com/watch?v=p6h_wr6nfvQ
Part 5 – http://youtube.com/watch?v=MrbYcCvzZ6M
Part 6 – http://youtube.com/watch?v =Yv1Z5Zu5oO4
Part 7 – http://youtube.com/watch?v=a2NuMOMtFQI

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.1KB)

About a week ago Russian market, the biggest and most popular bazaar, in Ashgabat was almost burnt.

Unfortunately, no major news pages have reported on this yet.

If anyone wants to share information about what happened, please, do leave a comment. Or drop a line if you are interested to write a post about it (merdjen@neweurasia.net)

Russian bazaar is located in the Ashgabat downtown and next to many governmental buildings and cultural sights. There you can buy anything from delicious watermelons and peaches to warm tamdyr chorek, meats and sweets, fabrics and clothes, shoes and books, etc.

About three or four years ago I met the group of young Korean tourists during the transit stop. They were traveling around Central Asia, they really anticipated the flight to Ashagabat.  All of them were wondering if it is really true that one can get the best hamburgers “shaurma” at the Russian market. It seemed it was their final destination.

UPD. This main part, which is on the picture, was not caught in fire, but the newly built shops and many old ones outside of this section, but still of large area, were all lost…

UPD2. Some people say that it happened, because of the multiple conflicts of interest and share between businesses and fire was not an accident…

Editor’s note: This is a translation of Abdulgamid’s post, which is part of the neweurasia cross-blog survey about humour in Central Asia. In keeping with the subject, the article contains words and phrases that some people may find crude and/or offensive.

Epigraph

“There’s already a sense of wonder in the growing itchiness…”

Sasha Blo in Generation P, Viktor Pelevin

Foreplay

Before relaxing into the entrancing luxury of the sweetly joyful task of deflating this indisputable masterpiece of cinematographic crap (added alliteration), permit me to quote from the most reputable, respectable and elite journal Psychologies (which is now, much to the delight of Russian readers, published in Russian), No. 10, November 2006. Please, evaluate the elegance of the syllables, the beauty of the composition. The note is entitled “A Warm Reception”:

“A small, quiet, cosy place hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the streets in a Moscow courtyard, right in the city centre. A pleasant and relaxing atmosphere, art deco style interior with floral motif on the windows and hand-crafted cutlery. Customers come here not only to enjoy wine and indulge in cheese…

Restaurant “The French Cheese Hole”

Fresh, original, enticing! A hole. A French hole. And not just some sort of chocolate hole, which would, I’m sure you’ll agree, be utterly banal and not half as eclectic. But a cheese hole… What grace, what refinement. It is immediately understood that this is not a place for just anyone, but only for experienced gourmets who can gather together in quiet and secluded place in the very centre of Moscow and in a relaxing art deco atmosphere with floral windows and hand-crafted cutlery not only enjoy wine and indulge in cheese, but also… Read the full story »