Even if the construction sector everywhere else in the region looks to be in trouble, Turkmenistan can always be relied on to provide work for foreign building firms in search of a contract.
As ever, the ideas are eye-catching and veer towards the predictably unnecessary and grandiose, suggesting that President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is steadily learning to emulate his predecessor’s eccentric excesses. The latest slew of contracts comes in time to coincide with the Turkmen leader’s newly discovered overwhelming passion for horses, which he displayed recently with the publication of his self-penned “Ahalteke Horses Are Our Pride and Glory”, illustrated with a cover jacket photo of Berdymukhammedov himself manfully straddling one of the beasts. In this enthusiasm for all matter equestrian, Berdymukhammedov last month inaugurated a new stud farm outside the capital, Ashgabat, and later posed for photos as he took a canter on one of the horses _ an event described in detail in a front page article in the Neutralny Turkmenistan state newspaper.
But that was little compared to the lavish raft of contracts handed out to foreign construction companies to build an impressive array of equestrian facilities across the country. The list in full runs as follows:

- Turkey’s Etkin Yapi Sanayi ve Ticaret AS will build a hippodrome in Ahal Region for 80 million euros.

- Russia’s Itera Invest Stroy LLC will build a hippodrome in Balkan Region for 49 million dollars and another hippodrome in the Lebap Region for 49 million dollars;

- Lebanon’s Goodness International Resources LTD will build construct a hippodrome in Dasoguz Region for 49 million dollars.

- Turkey’s Sevincler Insaat, Taahut, Ticaret LTD Sti will build a hippodrome in Mary Region for 49 million dollars.

According to plan, that means a new hippodrome will be built in each of Turkmenistan’s five velayats by October 2010.
The idea behind the initiative is almost literally drawn on the ancient Roman principle of ‘panem et circenses’, although the Turkmens are naturally never assured of a steady supply of bread, so even that is only half true.
In more practical terms, the notion of reappraising traditional cultural past times and having them so closely identified with the president is in a sense a milder reprisal of the cult of personality concept. Berdymukhammedov is not megalomaniacal to the extent of the late Saparmurat Niyazov, so the exercise bears more hallmarks of a PR stunt than an attempt to carve out a virtual demi-god status.
In a similarly conceived escapade in the summer, Berdymukhammedov took a ride in a MiG-29 jet in a bid to display his manly prowess in the style of Vladimir Putin, who has regularly been pictured on hunting trips or firing off rounds from handguns.
To take a generous position, Berdymukhammedov’s posturing is little more than some harmless fun, although it goes without saying that all cults have to start out small. It was always inevitable that he would eventually have to undertake some form of legitimacy-creation and these staged displays of charisma go some small way to serving that purpose.
It is perhaps unfortunate that Berdymukhammedov is very far from charismatic and all this ill-conceived effort does not go far in disguising that fact.
More importantly, his lack of popular political legitimacy is indeed complete. He succeeded Niyazov by fraudulent means, jailing the speaker of parliament who was meant to serve as an interim leader before the presidential elections in January 2007. His eventual election was inevitable given that he was opposed only by complete non-entities, unknown to almost everybody except their immediate family.
These are historical footnotes by now, but the facts are worth recalling as Berdymukhammedov continues in his attempt to reinvent himself before his own people and the international community. It will also be worthwhile dwelling on these details when Berdymukhammedov rides into one of the grand new hippodromes in October 2010 _ possibly just weeks or months before a new round of presidential elections _ like the knight in shining armour.