16.01.2020

Akhal-Teke

Saudis step up, awkward timing with Iran, and you won’t want to fly Turkmenistan Airlines after reading this.

Turkmenistan may have found a benefactor willing to serve as Pequod in the quest for President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s white whale: the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India, or TAPI, pipeline. Berdymukhamedov has spent years promoting the project, to no avail, while misleadingly claiming progress on the pace of construction.

On January 9, state media reported that the president had signed a decree authorizing the State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs to conclude a loan with the Saudi Development Fund for TAPI funding.

The size of the loan is not stated. This… >> подробнее

07.01.2020

Akhal-Teke

A holiday switcheroo exemplifies neatly how Turkmenistan trades in appearance over substance. This and more in our weekly briefing.

Turkmenistan takes New Year’s celebrations seriously.

Even the day before the calendars were flipped to January 1 was decreed a holiday. Then again, people were required to work on December 29, a Sunday, to make up for lost productivity.

Last year was branded with the slogan “Turkmenistan: Motherland of Prosperity.” But this holiday switcheroo exemplifies neatly the ways in which President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s regime trades in appearance over substance.

The scrapping of free handouts of water, gas and salt in January was sold to the population as a momentous… >> подробнее

01.01.2020

Batyr Berlyev

From the Book «Parting Song»

These poem was written by Batyr Berdyev in the first months of imprisonment (December 2002-March 2003). The manuscript was secretly handed over to the public and published in 2017

To Rakhman Berdyev,
My beloved son

Happy New Year, my son, Happy New Year!
Let the lights shine bright on the tree.
Tonight, before God, you and I and your mother
Will be together, as we used to be.

Let the cotton snowflakes hang in the air,
And let your laughter be joyful,
The old year bears away our troubles and partings
And leaves us hope enough for all.

Let the tree spark with tinsel and baubles;
Let the New Year fairytale be told;
Let the clock strike for good luck at midnight
And for the bright days ahead.