Opinion: Turkmenistan’s leader leaves a colorful legacy
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Turkmenistan may be overshadowed by its northern neighbor Kazakhstan in the popular mind thanks to ‘Borat’, but the country’s recently deceased leader Saparamurat Niyazov gave North Korea’s Kim Jong Il a run for his money when it came to creating a personality cult. In case it’s too soon to speak ill of the dead (he died today of heart failure), I’ll just follow the Associated Press’s lead and call him ‘colorful.’
- In 2002, Niyazov decided to rename the months of the year after prominent Turkmen, starting off by giving himself January.
- After condemning ballet, gold teeth, long hair, and recorded music, Niyazov spoke out against lip synching, likely to save his country from the scourge of mediocre pop stars on tour.
- Niyazov required drivers in Turkmenistan to pass a rigorous test that includes not only, say, how to change lanes, but also his philosophical writings (which children read daily and which sit next to the Koran at mosques).
- In one of his poems, Niyazov passed himself off as a combination of Big Brother and Santa Clause: ‘If you are honest in your deeds, I see this; if you commit wrongdoing, I see that too.’
- About eight years ago, when two meteorites fell to Turkmenistan in the space of a month, Niyazov named one after himself. It now sits in a museum.
More coverage on Niyazov’s passing--and the succession dilemma it poses for his energy-rich country--here.