Saparmurat Niyazov

Saparmurat Niyazov served as the dictator of Turkmenistan following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Interestingly, countries that are born from the dissolution of an empire as vast as the Soviet empire have little to no national identity to call their own. Realizing this, Niyazov built a culture and society in Turkmenistan based almost entirely around him, his image, and his philosophies.

Born in 1940, and orphaned early in his life when his father was killed in WWII and his mother killed by a major earthquake in 1948. Without parents to care for him, Niyazov was placed into a state operated orphanage.

When he matured, the future dictator of Turkmenistan became an active member of the Communist Party, and steadily rose through party ranks, eventually becoming the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan by the age of 45. Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Niyazov became the president of Turkmenistan and adopted the title "Turkmenbashi", or "Head of All Turkmens". In 1999, Niyazov adorned himself with the title "President for Life".

As a leader, Niyazov was far from modest. After taking control of the government, he instituted a series of dictatorial policies that restricted the rights of his government and its people. For example, after he gave up smoking after a heart surgery in the late 1990s, he ordered all of his government ministers to follow suit and banned smoking in public places throughout Turkmenistan. While some would argue that this kind of policy would only benefit his people by helping them live longer, Niyazov went a step further by also banning beards and long hair on men, opera, ballet, listening to car radios, and playing recorded music on television and during public events.

Other changes he made to his government included renaming the months of the year and the days of the week after himself and members of his family. Niyazov also ordered into circulation a book, which he authored, called "The Rhunama", which detailed his take on the history of Turkmenistan, national identity, political philosophy, and the destiny of the country. The Rhunama became required reading in schools and universities

The book became required reading in schools and universities. On state controlled television programs, the Rhunama was treated with very much the same level of respect as the Koran, which was a sensitive topic in Turkmenistan because of the dominance of Islam.

While Niyazov made the claim that the Ruhnama's main purpose was to unite the people of Turkmenistan despite their lack of a national identity, human rights groups claim that alternative views of Turkmen history other than those shared in the Ruhnama were banned under Niyazov's reign. In fact, a report completed by the US Department of State in 2001 claims that teachers in the nation were discouraged from informing students on alternative theories and ideas in classrooms. Also, many of the country's writers and historians were blacklisted in their country because they did not share the same historical views as those in Niyazo's Ruhnama.

Despite the country's resources, Turkmenistan under Niyazov was wrought with poverty, a poor education system, and a lack of funding for health and social welfare programs. Niyazov was accused of spending more money on personal pet projects, like a huge man-made lake and a palace of ice, instead of on social welfare programs.

President Niyazov remained intolerant of dissent, authoritarian in politics, and generally vain about himself and his role in Turkmenistan, which was evident by the number of statues and portraits which he ordered built around his country. Under his reign, the free media and political opposition were nearly non-existent. Niyazov died on December 21, 2006 at the age of 66.

Sources:

Ingram, Simon. Turkmen Live by Leader's BooK. BBC News. 29 May 2002.

Obituary: Saparmurat Niyazov. BBC News. 21 December 2006.