by Kira Kramer
Another year is drawing to a close, which was no less difficult for Turkmenistan than the year 2018.The economic slump was still underway, the demonstration fight against corruption was on, female drivers were discriminated, basic groceries were in short supply and queues formed in front of the ATMs and at the end of the year the authorities banned cash payments in stores.
Digitalization, which currently involves only video conferences, and import substitution, in the framework of which Turkmenistan is exporting surplus groceries and manufactured “domestic” computers from China-made parts, were underway.
The year 2019 was marked with a few high-profile events the consequences of which we might see in 2020 and the upcoming years.
“I’ll be back!”
The most significant event of the year, covered by all world’s media outlets, was the “death” of 62 year old President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. In July the head of state unexpectedly disappeared from the media space for 10 days.
After that the state television of Turkmenistan announced that the President was on a month long annual leave despite the fact that previous summer holidays of the President had been for two weeks.
This led to the fact that social media published the reports on the President’s alleged death, which were eventually disseminated by respected media outlets.
While the global community was making speculations and was concerned about the fate of the country, the Turkmen state television prepared a 30 minute broadcast of the President’s holiday featuring him riding a horse, cycling, riding a rally vehicle, playing bowling, rifle shooting, holding sport trainings for ministers, writing a book on Central Asian shepherds and recording a song for lyrics he had personally composed.
It appears that this served as evidence refuting rumours about the President’s death.
Yet, even this video did not convince numerous skeptics who started making assumptions that the video had been edited from the previous television footage or a President’s look- alike was used.
All doubts were dispelled when Berdymukammedov took part in the Caspian Economic Forum in Avaza.
“Gazprom” and “Turkmengas” bury the hatchet for five years
On 1 July, 2019 “Gazprom” concluded a five year contract to import gas from “Turkmengas”.
The volume of the Turkmen gas supplies is scheduled to amount to 5,5 billion cubic meters a year but the price details were not disclosed.
The new contract was preceded by a long break: in 2015 “Turkmengas” officials announced that “Gazprom” had not been paying the bills and declared the Russian gas holding insolvent.
In response “Gazprom” filed a lawsuit to review the prices of the gas purchased in Turkmenistan and demanded that $5 billion be paid back for overpaid amounts.It was not until late January 2019 when both sides signed an agreement to cease court proceedings in the International Court of Arbitrations and on 15 April “Gazprom” resume gas exports from Turkmenistan by concluding a temporary contract before a long-term agreement is signed.
EASA shuts a “window to Europe” to Turkmenistan Airlines
In February 2019 Turkmenistan Airlines were barred from making flights over Europe due to non-compliance with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).The reasons behind the ban were not disclosed.
According to the reports of the pro-governmental media outlets, the reasons were the incorrect technical aircraft paperwork: the documentation for Turkmen Boeings allegedly complied with the US standards while EASA demands it complies with the European system.
The management of the national air carrier had repeatedly announced that the flights would be resumed shortly but the first flight to Europe was made only in December.
It appears that EASA was discontent with more serious shortcomings than the documentation since briefing the President on the results of the inspection the Chairperson of Turkmenistan Airlines Dovran Saburov reported that “pursuant to the requirements the operations of border guard, customs and migration services of Ashgabat airport have been streamlined”.
Duumvirate?
In the course of the second session of the Khalk Maslakhaty (People’s Council) President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov unexpectedly put forward a proposal to combine the Council and the existing Majlis (Parliament) into a unified two-chamber representative body. It goes without saying that the decision made by Arkadag was supported.
Radical reforms, according to the head of state, will “create conditions for the exeсution of the law and the implementation of national programs” and also “provide the opportunity to represent the interests of all groups of Turkmen society. It was not specified why the existing multi-party Majlis is incapable of representing all strata of society.
The experts who “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” interviewed assumed that Berdymukhammedov came up with the idea of the two-chamber Parliament after reshuffles in Kazakhstan’s administration.
The President will unite all agencies and authority in the new chamber, grant extended authority to it in order to head this body in the future.He will hand over his post to someone from his immediate environment, most likely his son.
The 2018 session of the Khalk Maslakhaty
Coming out Turkmen style
In the country where homosexuality is still being criminalized, a young man came out to confess he is gay in the autumn of 2019. Kasymberdy Garayev became the first representative of the sexual minorities in Turkmenistan who personally contacted “Radio Azatlyk” to “share his story and initiate the discussion of the state of the LGBT community in the country”.
After the publication Kasymberdy went missing.However, after his disappearance sparked concerns of the global community, he twice made public appearance, but only in the presence of his family members to confirm that the information about him “is not true”.
12 reprimands and one dismissal
After a 10 year tenure and 12 reprimands the Minister of the Interior Isgender Mulikov was dismissed. After relieving the Minister of his post the President also deprived him of all the state awards and demoted him from Lieutenant General to a police Major.
The Minister had occupied his post since May 2009.Mulikov is notorious for receiving the largest number of reprimands from the head of state with three of them (issued in 2018 and 2019) with “the final wording”.
A month after the dismissal Mulikov appeared in a state television broadcast wearing a convict’s uniform and with a shaven head. The former minister was sentenced to a 15 year imprisonment term. Large amounts of cash and property which Berdymukhammedov had ordered to accommodate kindergartens and services of the Interior Ministry were confiscated.
SimCity
The President of Turkmenistan loves building various facilities.Billions of dollars are allocated in the country to building new residential districts, schools, hospitals and even greenhouses, the opening of which are timed to coincide with various holidays.
This year Berdymukhammedov’s interests moved on to the next level: the head of state initiated the construction of two cities Ashgabat-city and the new capital of Akhal velayat.
The President personally oversees the first construction site whereas Serdar Berdymukhammedov, who had been appointed by his father the khyakim (governor) of the province by his father, is in charge of the second one.
Pursuant to state media outlets, “this large-scale project required heavy investments but the government has a rather stable economy to implement the most audacious and large-scale plans for the sake of people’s well-being”.
The festivities held on the occasion of the ground-breaking ceremony in the province headed by the President’s son were held in September 2019.
The new city was scheduled to be commissioned by 2022.As regards Ashgabat city, which is scheduled to be built on the outskirts of Turkmenistan’s capital, the project design of the would-be city was demonstrated to the President in June but the construction works have not been launched yet.
A dual national is not as black as he is painted
In early June many of those who have been waiting to leave Turkmenistan for many years were provided with this opportunity as Turkmenistan’s Migration office started accepting documents to issue international travel passports to dual nationals who had obtained Russian citizenship after June 2003.
It is unknown whether these events are related but the applicants’ documents have been accepted after the new contract with “Gazprom” was signed.
Turkmenistan unilaterally terminated the dual citizenship agreement with Russia signed in 2003, after a 25 year contract to supply the Turkmen gas to Russia had been signed.
This led to the fact that thousands of residents failed to exit the country.The good news resulted in huge queues in front of the Migration offices, which are unable to manage the flood of people.
Mems’ generator
The video by the Turkmen state television featuring the outstanding talents of the Turkmen President, has moved beyond local news this year. The video featuring Berdymukhammedov shooting targets from a bicycle became the most popular one in 2019 with some 765 thousand views.
Following this, two highly rated US comedy shows, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and The Last Week Tonight devoted their broadcasts to the Turkmen leader. The first show laughed at the President proving that he is not dead in a lengthy broadcast instead of coming out and simply saying that he was alive.
The second show mocked at Berdymukhammedov’s talents as well as his cravings to set the Guiness World Records in Turkmenistan.
The show’s crew made the largest “marble” cake in the world (similarly to Ashgabat, which is listed in the Guinness World Records as the city with the largest number of marble buildings) featuring the President of Turkmenistan falling from a horse and applied for the world record.
Regrettably, representatives of the Guinness World Records refused to record this accomplishment.
This is how the year 2019 will be remembered by us. We wish you only positive events in the forthcoming year. Happy New Year!