Authoritarian Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov dies at 66

Whoopie! That signifies some dramatic change! For the better OR worse. He was a whacko-stalinist but he kept Wahhabism somewhat in check. We have to make sure that no new al-Qaeda base is built in Turkmenistan.

Interesting article on "Turkmenbashi" in last Sunday's Times (UK).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2099-2495871,00.html

Niyazov’s Death Rattles Gold Markets

At last this bastard is dead. I'm curious whether this event change Turkmenistan's energy policy.

Authoritarian Turkmen leader Saparmurat Niyazov dies at 66

Authoritarian? Those Russians have sense of humor :)

Authoritarian? Those Russians have sense of humor :)==

Indeed:). What Turkmenbashi did in his country is very resembles North Korea.

Your link shows it's one place where the Republican Party has a chance.

For those who might be curious...Saparmurat Niyazov was a bit of a character. He renamed a town after himself...Turkmenbasy. He renamed schools and airports after himself. He named a meteorite after himself. He named the months and days of the week after himself. His picture appears on all banknotes. Every public building has a portrait of the president hung in prime viewing territory.
He had statues of himself and his momma scattered all over Turkmenistan. He had a gold-plated statue fixed up on the countries tallest building....in such a way that it actually rotates so it always faces the sun and shines light into the city. He had a palace built for himself. He was given the national hero fo Turkmenistan award five times. He demanded the closure of all rural libraries (believing that rural Turks can't read). He once accused his interior minister of incompetence....firing the guy on national TV....and saying on live TV: "I cannot say that you had any great merits or did much to combat crime." Around 2000, the government revoked all Internet licenses except the state-run system. There are believed to be only 36,000 official users of the Internet in the country...representing .7 percent of the total population. He banned ballet and opera in 2001....saying that it was not part of the Turkmen culture. He banned young men from having long hair or beards in 2004.
He fired 15,000 heath workers in 2004. He urged (not ordered) young people not to get gold tooth caps....suggesting they should chew on bones to preserve their teeth. He strongly insisted in 2004 that all licensed drivers pass a morality test....although did not indicate exactly how you'd be graded. He banned news readers in 2004....from wearing make-up. He suggested that he had trouble telling men and women apart. He ordered doctors in 2005...to swear an oath to him....rather than the Hippocratic Oath. He banned video games in 2005....saying they were much too violent. He directed a new pay scale for teachers....which reversed a long-standing order that teachers had to write a article praising him, and have it published in two national papers....to avoid being fired. He banned car radios. He banned video monitors in public places. He banned dogs (at least freely walking ones) from the national capital. He introduced a new Turkmen alphabet based on the Latin alphabet to replace Cyrillic. He banned smoking in public places after major heart surgery in 1997. He also ordered all ministers to do so....which they did. He declared that the chewing of tobacco on Turkmen territory was to be outlawed. He ordered foreigners in 2001 within the country with the intention of marrying a Turk...to pay a $50k fee. He redefined the stages of life....with adolescence being from age 13 to age 24. Youth was to mean age 25 to age 35. To be mature....you had to be 36 to 48 years old. To be prophetic, you must be 49 to 60 years old. To be inspirational, you had to be 61 to 72 years old. To be wise, you must be 73 to 84 years old. After 85....you were simply directed to be old. He ordered 10 July to be a public holiday....in honor of melons. April 27th was reserved as national horse day. He ordered that women were not to be allowed more than one glass of wine in a bar or restaurant. This was done to prevent women from being "morally and sexually unstable." Breaking the law meant a huge fine and was a valid reason for divorce within the court. He ordered a new TV network in 2000....which whole purpose....was to publicize his life and his work. He required the national press to publish his picture every single day....somewhere within the daily paper. For his 63rd birthday.....his government ministers proclaimed him God's prophet on Earth. He took almost $2 billion yearly from the huge gas profits within the country....and moved the cash out to Europe. He prohibited circuses.

He was truly a character. We will miss him.

great post - but how quick before Putie grabs the gas.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Alexei Miller, CEO of gas giant Gazprom, also attended the funeral. - LINK

...head of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation of former Soviet states warned of a "potential aggravation of the situation" in Turkmenistan and said the defence pact could intervene. - LINK

This is exactly what I expected from them.