by Kira Kramer
On 2 March President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov presented his latest book “Arkadag’s Doctrine.The basis for health and inspiration” his first in 2018 and roughly the 40th book during his Presidency.
The writing is devoted to sports since it is during these days that the cross-country marathon and a bicycle race will kick off in Turkmenistan.The head of the Turkmen state is renowned for the fact that he has authored books devoted to a variety of topics, including the police, his favourite horses, medicinal herbs and even tea.
We have decided to count how many books Berdymukhammedov has written and what happens with these writings later.
A book every two months
A new book authored by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was presented at the government session held on 2 March.
The writing, devoted to the policy of sports promotion as presented in the country, is entitled “Arkadag’s Doctrine.The basis for health and inspiration”.The head of state personally handed out copies to those in attendance.
The Doctrine is the first book written by the President in 2018 and certainly not the last.
For example, in 2017 the President authored four books and started working on the fifth one. On 17 February last year his writing “The brave glorify the Motherland” (Mertler Watany beýgeldýär) was released.
Then, on 12 August the presentation of the book “Brave warriors are born for heroic deeds” (Mert ýigitler gaýrat üçin dogulýar) was held in one of the military units of the Interior Ministry.
The book is devoted to the history of Turkmenistan’s Interior Ministry and the work of the President’s father, Myalikguly Berdymukhammedov, in this agency.The book presentation was marked with a concert with a performance of songs, the lyrics of which were authored by Myalikguly Berdymukhammedov.
A month later, on 13 September, the news outlet TDH reported that after visiting the Akhal teke equestrian complex and a horse race, Berdymukhammedov began work on another piece devoted to Akhal-teke horses. It should be mentioned, however, that it is not known whether this creative piece of writing has been completed.
On 28 September, following the Asian Games, the presentation of the first “sports” book authored by the President “Sports as a way to friendship, health and beauty” was held. “Turkmenistan: golden age” reported that the “new book reveals the important role and significance of physical training and sports in the life of an individual and of the community at large”.
Some 10 days later, in the run-up to the session of the Elders’ Council held on 9 October, Berdymukhammedov presented the elders with his book “Turkmenistan, the heart of the Great Silk Road”.
The title of this bestseller became the motto for 2018 with presentations being held in different CIS countries, Europe and Saudi Arabia.
A film based on it was made, and in the run-up to the New Year the Ashgabat main square was decorated using themes from the short stories in the book.
The previous year, the President authored seven books. In January 2016 the book entitled “The source of wisdom” devoted to the Turkmen culture and which includes a collection of proverbs and sayings came out.
On 19 March, congratulating the participants of the government’s session and the people of Turkmenistan on the International day of Navruz-Bairam, Berdymukhammedov said that he had written the book “Tea herbal medicine and inspiration” as a gift for the holiday.
A day later, on 20 March, the state television broadcast a feature that “the head of state had authored a new writing entitled “Dashing step of a riding horse”, which is dedicated to reflections and thoughts of the respected president on race horses.
In May his writing devoted to the art of Turkmen carpet weaving “Celestial splendor” was released.
In July the eighth volume of “Medicinal herbs of Turkmenistan” came out.The first volume of the “fundamental research paper” was written in 2009.
According to Turkmen media outlets, this creative piece of writing sparks much interest from foreign experts as “on its pages one can find detailed descriptions of the healing qualities of herbs, and methods of their use in science-based and folk medicine”.
In early September the release of a new book “The world of music, the music of friendship and brotherhood” (about the musician Shukur Bakhshi) was announced.
The instructions were for it to be edited and published before the session of Turkmenistan’s Council of Elders which was scheduled to be held in Ashgabat on 14 September.
In October the book “Turkmenistan” was released. As the state information agency TDH reported, the edition is devoted to “the tremendous job done during 25 years of the holy independence”.
It was more complicated to find earlier writings authored by the President.However, it is an open secret that the President has authored several novels.For instance, in 2013 the novel “The bird of happiness” featuring the youth of his father, Myalikguly Berdymukhammedov during World War II, was published.
Later a stage production was made based on the book.
In 2011 he wrote the novel “A good reputation is indestructible”, which is dedicated to the memory of his grandfather, Berdymukhammed Annayev.
In 2011 the President also published his first book about carpets, entitled “Living legend”.
It is also known that two books about horses: “Akhal teke horse is our pride” and “Flight of celestial horses” were authored by the President.
In July 2008, in the course of the government session, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov said it was important “to revive and develop the indigenous traditions of our ancestors, including the art of cooking various dishes from produce from the Turkmen land”.
The President suggested a special cook book of the most popular dishes of Turkmen national cuisine be published. “This book will become a symbol of Turkmen generosity, the authentic culture of its hard-working people”, the head of state said.
However, it was not announced whether the book had been written and most importantly, who it had been written by.
Additionally, on an annual basis, the writings by Berdymukhammedov entitled “To new heights of progress” are collected.In 2017 the 10th volume of the President’s statements and speeches was published.
The book chronologically lists 100 works by the head of state campaign speeches, articles, interviews, welcome addresses over a year.It is not known who collects the statements by the President as the author is not indicated on the cover but since the book cites quotations made by the President, he can be referred to as the co-author.
Writings “for a wide audience”
The books authored by the President are published in three languages Russian, Turkmen and English as, according to TDH, they are intended for “a wide audience”.The circulations, however, are not quite suitable for the mass consumer.
It should be mentioned that the circulation of the books authored by the President (if they are indicated) are not very large, from 3000 to 6000 copies.This fact, however, does not prevent them from winning contests.
In September 2017 the XXX Moscow International Book Fair was held, within the framework of which finalists in “The book art”, the International Contest for the CIS countries, were awarded.
Three writings authored by the President became winners.The book “Turkmenistan” ranked 1st in the nomination “My country”.The writing “The music of peace, music of friendship and fraternity” received a special prize from the contest judges.
TDH reported that the Turkmen publication in the nomination “Grand Prix” was the recipient of the main award. The honorary prize was again awarded to the book authored by the President “Dashing step of a riding horse”.
Books written and presented, but what’s next?
Thus, we know precisely about 34 writings by the President. A full list of the books authored by Berdymukhammedov has not been published anywhere. According to various media outlets, the President has authored a total of over 40 books.
What happens with the books later on?The President presents them at the government sessions to Cabinet members and to his counterparts during official visits to other countries.
For instance, in April 2017 Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov personally presented his three books about horses, which were published in the Kazakh language for the first time, in Astana.He signed and presented one of the copies to his Kazakhstan counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev.
During the official visit to Kuwait on 14 March Berdymukhammedov visited the Centre for Arabian Horses and presented them with his book about Akhal-teke horses.
The books authored by the Turkmen President replace the writings by the former President in all libraries of Turkmenistan, including school libraries.
However, the author’s productivity hits hard in the pockets of educationalists.
Pursuant to the requirement of the Education Ministry, in each class there should be at least three books authored by Berdymukhammedov, which the teaching staff buy at their own expense.
For this reason the cheapest novel by the President “A good reputation is indestructible”, which costs 25 manats ($7,14 using the official rate or $5,5 at “the black market” rate as of 2016) is the most popular.
The most expensive book authored by the president is “The source of wisdom” which costs 42 manats ($12 and $9,3 correspondingly).
Books do not only gather dust in school libraries. In early 2014 it became known that starting from the second academic term, which kicked off on 14 January, secondary schools were obliged to study books authored by the incumbent President, or devoted to him, instead of the writings of the former Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov.
An instruction was issued to study the writings by Berdymukhammedov from the 4th grade onward with 7 to 10 academic hours allotted per semester depending on the grade.
In comparison, 1 to 2 hours per semester is allotted in school curricula to study classical authors of world literature such as Shakespeare, Cervantes and Pushkin.
The school curriculum includes the novel devoted to the President’s father “The bird of happiness” and to his grandfather “A good reputation is indestructible”; for some reasons the book about carpets “Live legend”, the novel by Tachmamed Dzhurdekova about Berdymukhammedov “The grandson who made his grandfather’s dream come true”, as well as the poems and odes devoted to the President, authored by the female poet Gozel Shagulyeva.
In March 2018 “Nastoyashcheye vremya” (The Present time) reported that books authored by the President are being recited on television instead of entertainment programs.
Why is the head of Turkmenistan writing so many books?Most likely, he wants to demonstrate his multi-faceted talent.However, the authorship of the books raises doubts.
The question remains open as to whether a person who has devoted his life only to book writing can be so prolific on such a wide range of topics.