Turkmenistan

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Turkmenistan Respublikasy
Republic of Turkmenistan
Flag of Turkmenistan
Coat of arms of Turkmenistan
flag emblem
Official language Turkmen
capital city Ashgabat
State and form of government presidential republic with one-party system
Head of state , also head of government President
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
surface 488,100 km²
population 6,031,000 (2020)
Population density 12 inhabitants per km²
Population development + 1.5% (estimate for 2019)
gross domestic product
  • Total (nominal)
  • Total ( PPP )
  • GDP / inh. (nom.)
  • GDP / inh. (KKP)
2019 (estimate)
  • $ 45 billion ( 91st )
  • $ 96 billion ( 94th )
  • 7,724 USD ( 84. )
  • 16,432 USD ( 81. )
Human Development Index 0.715 ( 111th ) (2019)
currency Manat (TMT)
independence October 27, 1991
(by the Soviet Union )
National anthem Garaşsız, Bitarap, Türkmenistanıň döwlet gimni
Time zone UTC + 5
License Plate TM
ISO 3166 TM , TKM, 795
Internet TLD .tm
Telephone code +993
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Turkmenistan ( Turkmen Turkmenistan , officially the Republic of Turkmenistan , Turkmen Turkmenistan Respublikasy , obsolete Turkmenia ) is a 488,100 km² landlocked country in Central Asia with 5.9 million inhabitants. The former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea borders Kazakhstan in the northwest , Uzbekistan in the northeast, Afghanistan in the southeast and Iran in the southwest .

The capital and largest city of the sparsely populated desert state with 1 million inhabitants is Ashgabat . Other important cities in the Islamic and authoritarian ruled country are Turkmenabat , Daschogus and Mary . Turkmenistan has the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world.

geography

Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Afghanistan , Iran and the Caspian Sea .

Almost 95% of the land area is taken up by the Karakum Desert , which consists of both sandy and scree desert areas. To the west, extending plateau of Turkmenbashi and the Great Balkan ( 1880  m ). This falls towards the south to the Karakum Canal (Turkmen Main Canal), on the other side of which the landscape merges into the Kopet Dag Mountains, which are mostly located in Iran, in Turkmenistan in Mount Reza 2942  m and in Iran 3191  m . While some foothills of the Gissar Mountains still rise towards the southeast to Afghanistan , the highest mountain in the country, the Aýrybaba ( 3139  m ), is on the eastern border with Uzbekistan.

climate

overview

There is a continental climate everywhere with extremely hot and dry summers and cold winters.

As the southernmost region of the former Soviet Union , Turkmenistan has by far the highest temperatures in Central Asia, but since the humidity is low even in summer, the heat is more bearable. In the south, the climate is a little less continental than in the north, and temperatures rarely drop below −5 ° C. The northern areas on the border with Uzbekistan can get cold down to −20 ° C in winter.

The pronounced continental climate in Turkmenistan shows large temperature differences between day and night and also from season to season.

The North

  • The average maximum temperature is between 2 ° C in January and 34 ° C in July.
  • The average minimum temperature is between −4 ° C in January and 22 ° C in July.
  • The average relative humidity is between 35% in July and 78% in January.
  • The average amount of precipitation is often less than 5 mm all year round.
  • The month of January has the most days with precipitation with an average of 11 mm.
  • The month of August has the fewest days with precipitation with an average of 2 mm.

The South

  • The average maximum temperature is between 11 ° C in January and 38 ° C in July.
  • The average minimum temperature is between 0 ° C in January and 24 ° C in July.
  • The average relative humidity is between 23% in August and 70% in December.
  • The average amount of precipitation is often less than 3 mm all year round.
  • The month of January has the most days with precipitation with an average of 5 mm.
  • The fewest days with precipitation have the months June to October with an average of 0 mm.

The central country

  • The average maximum temperature is between 8 ° C in January and 37 ° C in July.
  • The average minimum temperature is between 1 ° C in January and 23 ° C in July.
  • The average relative humidity is between 29% in July and 79% in December.
  • The average rainfall is between 1–2 mm in August and 38 mm in April.
  • The month of December has the most days with precipitation with an average of 10 mm.
  • The month of August has the fewest days with precipitation with an average of 2 mm.

Climate change

Together with the other Central Asian countries, Turkmenistan is one of the countries that, according to the World Bank, are most affected by global climate change. In the event of a global increase in the temperature of the world climate by two degrees, an increase of 6.5 ° C is predicted in Kyrgyzstan , which will affect the water balance of the countries bordering Amu Darya as a result of glacial melt and evaporation. Although climate change has hardly been discussed by the population so far (poverty and economic hardship draw attention to specific economic concerns), the consequences have been felt at the latest since the Aral Sea dried up , whose main tributaries, Amu Darya and Syr Darya, have been withdrawn from 90 percent of their original water volume for irrigation purposes. which exacerbates the temperature differences, especially in summer, and additionally pollutes the remaining river water with pesticides and sewage . The cultivation of water-intensive cotton - although already declining - is still a heavy burden.

Due to the expansion of hydropower in the "upstream states" (ie on the upper reaches of the rivers) Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the "downstream states", whose rivers no longer have any tributaries, threaten to lose control of the river water. Military conflicts are already emerging between upstream and downstream countries, which will worsen with increasing climate change and, according to the World Bank, will increase in the future. So water shortage also endangers the supply of food. The World Bank has announced that it will no longer finance oil and gas production after 2019, but instead, according to Representative Ato Brown (Kazakhstan), will increase funding for climate protection projects and support the search for sustainable solutions in all five Central Asian countries.

nature

Turkmenistan is largely dominated by arid regions and is still home to numerous endangered and rare animal species that are characteristic of steppes and deserts. About a third of the vertebrate species on the Red List of Threatened Species of the former USSR are found in Turkmenistan. These include half donkeys and goitered gazelles , mainly the mountainous regions in the south are also inhabited by urials and wild goats as well as a few hundred specimens of the Persian leopard as the largest predator. An important protected area in Turkmenistan is the Badkhyz Nature Reserve in the south of the country, which was once the last refuge of the Turkmen half-ass and is also one of the most important refuges for the goiter gazelle in Turkmenistan.

population

Distribution according to language groups and age

Population pyramid Turkmenistan 2016
Turkmen in national dress for the 2011 Independence Parade
Two Turkmens on a traditional carpet in front of a yurt before 1916

The main part of the population are the Turkmens with around 77%; the largest minorities are Uzbeks (9%), Russians (7%), Kazakhs (2%), Tatars (1.1%), Azerbaijanis (0.8%), Baluch (0.8%), Armenians (0, 8%), Ukrainians (0.5%), as well as Koreans and Tajiks . Since the end of the Soviet era, the proportion of Russians in the total population has declined, while that of Turkmen has increased.

In the period from 2010 to 2015, life expectancy at birth for the total population was 67.3 years (women: 70.8 years / men: 63.9 years). The median age of the population was 27.5 years and the fertility rate was 3 children per woman.

Population development

year population
1950 1,210,000
1960 1,603,000
1970 2,195,000
1980 2,876,000
1990 3,683,000
2000 4,516,000
2010 5,087,000
2017 5,758,000
2018 5,851,000
2019 5,942,000
2020 6,031,000

Source: UN

Geographical distribution and cities

The highest population densities are found in the oasis areas in the foreland of the Kopet-Dag, the regions on the lower reaches of Tedschen and Murgab , the valley of the Amudarja and the areas on the Karakum Canal . 46% of the residents live in cities.

The largest cities are (as of 2013): Ashgabat (860,221 inhabitants), Türkmenabat (234,765 inhabitants), Daşoguz (285,872 inhabitants), Mary (126,141 inhabitants), Serdar (93,692 inhabitants) and Baýramaly (91,713 inhabitants)

Religions

Around 90% of the population are Muslims ( Sunnis from the Hanafi school of law and Shiites with around 120,000 followers). 9% belong to the Russian Orthodox Church . The following communities are represented as other significant religious minorities: Jewish Religion , Roman Catholic Church , Baptists , Seventh-day Adventists , New Apostolic Church and Baha'i .

The Jewish religion is not recognized in Turkmenistan. The practice of religion is tolerated, however. However, there are no synagogues . About 1000 Jews live in Turkmenistan. Most of them had settled here during the Second World War , they were refugees from Ukraine . Another group are the long-established Bucharian Jews . Many Turkmen Jews emigrated to Germany or Israel in the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union .

languages

During the Soviet era, Russian was the official language alongside Turkmen , which, as the Oghuz language , is more closely related to Azerbaijani and Turkish . Russian was also spoken in the countryside and is still spoken as a mother tongue by 12% of the population, which is many times the proportion of the Russian minority in the country (only 72% of residents speak Turkmen as a mother tongue) - as the ethnic minorities learn Russian. Three languages ​​are often spoken by ethnic minorities, especially in the cities.

However, as a result of the new language policy of the dictatorial regime since 1990, a strong preference for Turkmen can be observed, which is why the knowledge of Russian among younger people continues to decline and is hardly available in the country. However, learning Turkmen in schools is problematic due to limited study time, poorly developed language programs and text books. Given the presence of multinational oil and gas companies, knowledge of Malay , Turkish, French and English is important. Turkish and English are also taught as foreign languages ​​in schools, but only a small proportion of the population can speak it. A special dialect of Turkmen is spoken in the Kopet Dag Mountains near Nokhur .

education

There is a ten-year general schooling requirement from the age of 7. The school system is divided into the following levels: the four-year elementary school and the six-year (grades 5–10) middle school. The higher education system includes the Turkmen State University (founded in 1950) in Ashgabat and eight colleges and universities of applied sciences. The changes in the education system introduced under Nyýazow (nine instead of ten years of compulsory schooling, two-year internship before admission to university, restricted choice of subjects, mandatory reading of the Ruhnama in all curricula) have been largely withdrawn. However, it is still unclear how successful the reforms started by Berdimuhamedow actually are.

story

Paleolithic to Mesolithic

While human traces in Tajikistan go back around 800,000 to 900,000 years (Kuldara in the south of the country), the oldest finds in Turkmenistan are much more recent. But even the oldest finds in Central Asia contradict the fact that 1.6 million year old finds are known in China, because Central Asia is considered to be the corridor between Africa-West Asia and East Asia. Immigrants coming from the west would have had to pass this, especially since the climatic conditions were similar to those of their area of ​​origin. Hand axes from the Acheuleans are at least known from western Turkmenistan, but they can hardly be classified in terms of time and are mainly found in northern and western Kazakhstan.

Fossils of "classical" Neanderthals were found as far as the Altai Mountains in the east

In contrast to the Old Paleolithic , the Middle Paleolithic is much better represented in Central Asia - but worse in Turkmenistan. In Uzbekistan , a Neanderthal child was discovered in the Teschik-Tash cave near the eastern border of Turkmenistan in 1938 and was dated 70,000 years ago. This find is considered to be outstanding for all of Central Asia. Ten teeth were found in Sel-Ungur in the Fergana Basin , although the association with humans has been refuted, whereas the humerus discovered there is human. The organic remains, especially bones from the hunted prey, have been dated to 126,000 ± 5,000 years. The dominance of wild goats and sheep suggests a steppe-like landscape. In any case, the region forms the easternmost occurrence of the Neanderthal man. Genetic studies on another Neanderthal fossil from the Obi-Rachmat Cave in eastern Uzbekistan, discovered in 1962, suggest that the Neanderthals did not appear in the region until about 125,000 years ago. It is possible that a distinct Neanderthal group developed in this area.

Less than the knowledge of the Middle Palaeolithic are the Upper Paleolithic , the period in which the Homo sapiens appeared in the region. Although they found artifacts in the city of Samarkand , but their interpretation is controversial. The Kulbulak site is one of the earliest in Uzbekistan , it provides dates between 39,000 ± 4,000 and 82,000 ± 9,000 years. In the northeast of Afghanistan (Darra-i Kur) about 30,000 year old artifacts of Homo sapiens were found . The human population, which is estimated to be small anyway, probably disappeared during the last cold maximum between 21,000 and 17,000 BC. Chr. Completely.

In the Epipalaeolithic , settlement is much more evident , especially at the Dam-Dam-Çešme (also Cesme) site. In the region, this epoch is often equated with the Mesolithic , making it easier to understand in western Turkmenistan. It lasted from around 9500 to 6000 BC. Chr. Dam-Dam-Çešme are two rock overhangs. The finds in Dam-Dam-Çešme 1 ranged from the Upper Paleolithic to the Bronze Age , while Dam-Dam-Çešme 2 only began at the border between the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic; only there was a growing proportion of goats and sheep found. Otherwise gazelles were hunted . In addition, there were small numbers of onagers , wild cattle and cats .

Mesolithic artifacts of this hunter, gatherer and fisher culture were also found in the Kailyu Cave a little further north near the Caspian Sea on the Krasnovodsk Plateau and at the Hodscha site. The former fishermen left large quantities of sturgeon behind in Hodja . There were also burial places with shells. The two sites form the northern edge of the Caspian Mesolithic . The abrises were probably only visited seasonally.

Neolithic and Copper Age

The Neolithic began in southern Turkmenistan as early as the second half of the 7th millennium BC. With the Jeitun culture . This archaeological culture got its name from Jeitun , the oldest Neolithic settlement in the country; Namazgadepe , 80 km southeast of Ashgabat, is a little younger . Located in southern Turkmenistan, about 25 km north of Ashgabat in the Kopet-Dag , the 0.7 hectare Tell settlement Jeitun has been excavated since the 1950s. It consisted of about 30 houses. According to David R. Harris , none of the wild forms of einkorn or barley were present in this region; the same applies to the sheep. So they must have been brought with them, possibly via the Zāgros Mountains from the Levant . The wild form of the goat ( Capra aegagrus ), on the other hand, was also widespread in Central Asia and could therefore have been domesticated there.

At the beginning of the Copper Age is the Anau IA stage , which reached far beyond Turkmenistan to Iran; therefore it was assumed that groups may have migrated from Iran. Characteristic of the following societies, some of which were still dependent on hunting, were, in addition to the use of copper, specifically painted ceramics and more complex structures than in the Jeitun culture.

The South Turkmen Eneolithic , which followed the Neolithic , is divided into three stages based on the changing ceramics, namely Namazga I to III . The first stage was in the 5th millennium, Namazga II in the first half of the 4th millennium, and Namazga III finally in the late 4th millennium BC. Dated. Here, too, Iran does not form a border, as the local sites in the Atrek region and in the Gorgan plain show. The best-researched place is the Geoksjur oasis in the former Tedschen Delta, where Tell settlements such as B. Dašlydži-Tepe , Jalangač-Tepe or Geoksjur-Tepe 1 emerged, settlement mounds that indicate generation -long continuity. The houses in the Namazga I level were made of air-dried mud bricks . The square or rectangular houses usually had one or two rooms, rarely more. The mostly free-standing houses were connected by enclosing walls to form closed homesteads. This simple type became more complex in the Namazga II stage . Thus, storage buildings (?) Were added, as well as round houses that resemble bastions. Namazga III already has building complexes, while the individual houses, as it turned out in Kara-depe, almost disappeared. So similar houses were lined up, inner courtyards, narrow alleys and small squares were created that spatially separated the larger complexes from one another. This type of subdivision into quarters was to intensify in the Bronze Age .

Extensive grain cultivation, especially wheat and barley , was hardly possible in the arid area without artificial irrigation. While cattle was less important, sheep and goats dominated as domesticated species. Pigs were also kept, but their numbers were few. Wild animals such as the gazelle and wild horse, deer, wild boar or hare only covered around 10% of the meat requirement. The camel can already be identified.

Sarasm excavation site in northwest Tajikistan

In addition to Namazgadepe, an important site is the proto-urban settlement Sarasm (early 4th millennium to 2000 BC) in northwest Tajikistan, which was discovered in 1976 and founded by colonists from Namazgadepe and neighboring oases. The two oldest of the tin deposits in Central Asia necessary for the production of bronze were located in its vicinity. With an area of ​​at least 35 hectares , maybe even 100 or even 150, Sarasm was the largest settlement of an early agricultural culture in Central Asia.

Namazga IV is already from the Early Bronze Age (1st half to at least the middle of the 3rd millennium BC). At Altyndepe , one of the most prominent settlement areas in southern Turkmenistan, complexes of houses were built with blocks separated by streets. They were surrounded by fortifications with gates. Urban centers later emerged from them in the Namazga IV stage . The company already had a distinct division of labor, a significant part of the ceramics was made on the fast rotating potter's wheel . Specialists processed tin and arsenic and bronze alloys .

Camel sculpture of the oasis culture (also Oxus culture), height: 8.89 cm, copper alloy, late 3rd / early 2nd millennium BC BC, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Outside of southern Turkmenistan, settlement types from levels Namazga III and IV only spread eastward, as seen from Sarazm on a terrace on the south bank of the Serafshan , which is located in northwestern Tajikistan. To the north of this area there were more Mesolithic cultures, such as the Hissar culture in Tajikistan. It can be shown that communication networks connected southern Turkmenistan with the Iranian highlands , eastern Mesopotamia and the northwestern Indus Valley .

Overall, the finds show that southern Turkmenistan between the Caspian Sea and Margiana was a peripheral region of the Middle East from the late 7th to the early 2nd millennium , which could only expand slightly northwards. The hierarchy of society increased in the Bronze Age. In the Middle Bronze Age Namazga V originated around 2000 BC. BC urban centers, public buildings and their own artisan quarters. However , there is no evidence of public administration, as in Sumer .

From antiquity to the 19th century

Alexander the Great conquered the area in the 4th century BC. On his way to India. 150 years later, the Parthian Empire established its capital in Nisa , an area around what is now Ashgabat . In late antiquity , parts of the area were under the rule of the Sassanid Empire and the Iranian Huns .

In the early 8th century AD, the Arabs took the region, bringing the population into contact with Islam and the culture of the Middle East . Around this time the Silk Road developed into an important trade route between Asia and Europe. Soon, the area now known as Turkmenistan was Khorasan known as the Caliph of the Abbasid , al-Ma'mun , Merv got his capital. At all times, people have had to adapt to changing water resources. In addition to oasis cultures, there were also river cultures. From the 5th century BC to the 17th century AD, a river culture settled on the banks of the Usboi , which ran through the whole country together with the Amudarja. When the Amu Darya no longer reached the Sarykamysh Depression, the inhabitants of the Usboi gave up their settlements. The survivors lived as nomads.

In the middle of the 11th century the Seljuks tried to invade Afghanistan via Turkmenistan. The Seljuk Empire collapsed in the late 12th century and the Turkmens lost their independence when Genghis Khan took control of the regions east of the Caspian Sea on his way to Europe . For the next seven centuries, the Turkmens lived under different rulers and waged tribal wars among themselves. Little is known about the Turkmen history before the occupation by Russia in the 19th century. As the Turkmen in the area of the Mangyshlak -Halbinsel in today's Kazakhstan to the borders of Iran and in the basin of the Amu Darya migrated, the tribal traditions strengthened and developed further, thereby forming the first approaches of today's Turkmen national consciousness.

Russian and Soviet rule

Flag of the Turkmen SSR (1925-1991)

By 1894, the Russian Empire had ruled Turkmenistan. The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia led to a period of instability. After a British military intervention in 1918/1919, Turkmenistan was incorporated into the Turkestan ASSR . The proclamation of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic as one of the republics of the Soviet Union took place in 1925. At this time, the current state borders of Turkmenistan were drawn. Active and passive women's suffrage was introduced under Soviet administration in 1927 .

As a Soviet republic, Turkmenistan was also involved in World War II . 38 military hospitals were built in the Turkmen SSR and 43,500 wounded were cared for in these.

During the war, the Order of Hero of the Soviet Union was also awarded to several Turkmen soldiers. Two recipients of the award, Klychniyas Asalov and Tatschmamed Nijasmamedow, were murdered in the summer of 1945 by members of the anti-communist and Ukrainian-nationalist organization OUN - UPA on their way home.

In 1948, the capital, Ashgabat, was destroyed by a devastating earthquake .

In the first independence referendum in March 1991, 99.8% of voters voted to remain in the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan became an independent state on October 27th. A second referendum resulted in 94 percent support for self-employment. The women's suffrage was confirmed. In the 1992 presidential election in Turkmenistan , Saparmyrat Nyýazow was elected the first president of Turkmenistan.

independence

The era of Türkmenbaşy Nyýazow from 1991 to 2006

The personality cult of Saparmyrat Nyýazow can also be seen on a banknote from Turkmenistan 10,000 manat, 1996. On the reverse, in the center, the state coat of arms of Turkmenistan is depicted.

The former leader of the Communist Party, Saparmyrat Nyýazow , led the state extremely rigorously as head of state and government with the help of the military and a very strong secret service until his death in December 2006, establishing an omnipresent personality cult . With the parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan in 1994 , parliamentary elections were held for the first time in the young state. However, these lacked any democratic competition, and opposition parties were excluded from the election.

At the end of 1999 Nyýazow was appointed president for life by parliament. The opposition was increasingly suppressed, especially after a staged assassination attempt on Niyazov on November 25, 2002. In 2003, he was proclaimed a prophet by his cabinet of ministers.

Nyýazow also banned theater and opera, as well as smoking in public and the free choice of subjects. He made one of his books - the Ruhnama  - official compulsory reading for his people. Statues of him, his father and his mother were placed everywhere. Luxurious representative buildings and spacious squares were built in the capital.

At the same time, the Turkmenbaşy ("leader of the Turkmen"), as Nyýazow was called, reduced the state's social spending. In 2004, 15,000 hospital workers were laid off and replaced by conscripts. Nyýazow planned to close all hospitals in the country, except one in the capital. In early 2006 pensions and disability allowances were also drastically cut. At the end of Niyazov's rule, all opposition parties were banned and most of the opposition politicians fled abroad.

The last parliamentary election under his rule took place on December 19, 2004. Only candidates from the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan , were admitted.

The Berdimuhamedow era since 2006

When Niyazov died on December 21, 2006, the Security Council appointed Vice Prime Minister Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow as interim president. According to the constitution, the President of Parliament Öwezgeldi Ataýew should actually have taken over the office. Immediately after the death of "Türkmenbaşy", however, the public prosecutor opened criminal proceedings against Ataýew in order to arrest him immediately.

In the presidential election in Turkmenistan 2007 , 89.23% of the votes cast went to Berdimuhamedov, with a turnout of almost 99%. In addition to Berdimuhamedow, five other candidates ran for the presidency, all of them members of the ruling party. The opposition and international organizations therefore spoke of staged or unfair elections.

In the run-up to the elections and on the occasion of his inauguration on February 14, 2007, Berdimuhamedow announced reforms. He promised to give all citizens access to the Internet and to expand education, medical care and housing. He added, however, that he wanted to maintain the course set by Nyýazow, particularly in terms of foreign policy and benefits for the population (gas, water, electricity and salt are free, bread and gasoline are very cheap).

Even under the rule of Berdimuhamedow, bans that were probably unique in the world were introduced. Because the color white is Berdimuhamedow's favorite color, from 2015 only white cars were allowed and vehicles of other colors were withdrawn from circulation. Furthermore, women are prohibited from driving a vehicle. The import, but not the sale, of bikinis and short swimming trunks is permitted. Most recently, Berdimuhamedov was confirmed in office with more than 97% of the votes in the 2017 presidential election in Turkmenistan .

politics

Turkmenistan is a presidential republic under the 1992 Constitution .

government

The holder of the office of state president is both head of state and government and has largely dictatorial powers. According to the constitution, he is directly elected by the people for five years. He determines the guidelines of politics, has an unrestricted right of regulation and appoints the members of the government. The office of Deputy Prime Minister is also planned.

By virtue of his office, the president of the country is also chairman of both chambers of parliament , but a vice-president is appointed for each chamber of parliament, who in fact exercises the chairman's function. These offices, as well as the post of Vice Prime Minister until 2001, saw frequent personnel changes in the years before Nyýazov's death.

The current president is Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow , who took power in December 2006 after Niyazov's death. He was elected to office in February 2007 and confirmed as president in February 2012. Constitutional amendments in 2016 lifted the age limit of 70 years for presidential candidates and extended the presidential term from five to seven years. As a result, the incumbent president was re-elected in February 2017.

legislative branch

The legislature consists of two chambers of parliament:

  • The assembly ( Mejlis ) represents the actual parliament, whose 125 members are elected for a legislative period of five years. For the first time since the introduction of a new constitution, parliamentary elections were held on December 14, 2008. When the results were announced on December 22, 2008, nothing was known about the party affiliation of the elected. Meanwhile, almost all of the eligible candidates belonged to President Berdimuhamedov's ruling party.
  • The People's Council ( Halk Maslahaty ) consists of 2507 members, the majority of whom were appointed on the basis of a proportional key that takes into account the regional origin of the member. A small proportion of the members were elected on April 7, 2003. Since the constitutional reform of September 26, 2008, the Halk Maslahaty has only had an advisory role.

Parties

The country has a presidential system of government with a ruling unity party , the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan . However, the new constitution from 2008 allows the formation of parties. After a one-party system always prevailed in Turkmenistan during Niyazov's presidency , his successor Berdimuhamedow promoted the establishment of new parties and in January 2012 approved a law that confirmed and specified the constitutional possibility of establishing parties. In August 2012, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan was registered as a second political party in Turkmenistan. The new party was able to move into parliament with 14 members in the parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan in 2013 . This development was only possible because the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan is loyal to the president and is not a political opposition. The registration of opposition parties is still not possible in Turkmenistan, so opposition groups such as the Republican Party of Turkmenistan from exile have to act.

Political indices

Political indices issued by non-governmental organizations
Name of the index Index value Worldwide rank Interpretation aid year
Fragile States Index 69.1 out of 120 90 of 178 Stability of the country: Warning
0 = very sustainable / 120 = very alarming
2020
Democracy index 1.72 out of 10 162 of 167 Authoritarian regime
0 = authoritarian regime / 10 = complete democracy
2020
Freedom in the World Index 2 of 100 - Freedom status: unfree
0 = unfree / 100 = free
2020
Freedom of the press ranking 80.03 out of 100 178 of 180 Very serious situation for freedom of the press
0 = good situation / 100 = very serious situation
2021
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 19 of 100 165 of 180 0 = very corrupt / 100 = very clean 2020

Human rights

Many human rights organizations believe that the human rights situation in Turkmenistan is unsatisfactory. Although the death penalty was abolished on January 1, 2000, individual freedoms - in particular freedom of the media and freedom of religion - are often disregarded. According to Human Rights Watch, the violence against human rights defenders is so great that no human rights movement can exist in the country. Most homosexuality in Turkmenistan is outlawed.

Turkmenistan is one of the countries with the most repressive media laws in the world. All domestic media are state-controlled and subject to censorship. Critical journalists face arrest or torture.

In August 2011, possession of all satellite dishes for television reception was banned. The official reason given by the President is that the outside / facade of buildings is "disfigured" by the satellite dish. As a replacement, the population is being offered a switch to cable television. Human rights activists fear that the ban on satellite dishes will completely cut off the population from the outside world. Because subscribing to foreign newspapers and magazines is also prohibited in Turkmenistan.

Although freedom of religion is enshrined in the constitution, only Sunni Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church were officially recognized for a long time. Attempts at proselytizing by non-Muslims are often prevented. In spring 2004, due to international pressure, especially from the USA, the regulations for the admission of religious minorities were relaxed. Due to international pressure, the following other religious communities have now been approved: Baptists, Seven-Day Adventists, Bahai , Hare Krishna , Greater Christchurch , Church of Christ , Light of the East , Full Gospel Christian , New Apostolic Church and Source of Light . Freedom of religion, however, still does not meet the standards customary in Western countries. Shiite Muslims, Catholic Christians, Jews and Jehovah's Witnesses are still not registered in Turkmenistan.

The right to conscientious objection is part of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , which Turkmenistan ratified in 1997 . This right is also found in the Human Dimension Commitments of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) , where Turkmenistan acceded on January 30, 1992. Nevertheless, the UN Human Rights Committee had to declare in the Concluding Observations of the 104th session on March 15 and 16, 2012 after a discussion on the human rights situation in Turkmenistan:

“The State party should take all necessary measures to amend legislation to provide an alternative to military service. He should also ensure that the law clearly defines that individuals have the right to conscientious objection. Furthermore, he should stop all persecution of people who refuse to do military service for reasons of conscience and release those who are currently detained. "

This complaint is based on the committee's finding that a number of people belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses are repeatedly persecuted and imprisoned for refusing to do military service (see Discrimination and persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses )

In Turkmenistan, women are no longer allowed to drive. Since January 2018, reports have been coming from the isolated country that women at the wheel are not only confiscated their driving licenses, but also their cars. The background to this is unclear, but there are indications that the ban is not due to Islam, but to the preferences of the dictatorial president. The Ministry of the Interior allegedly relies on statistics according to which women are predominantly involved in accidents.

Foreign policy

Locations of the diplomatic missions of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a member of the UN , the ECO , the OIC , the OATCT and the OSCE and is associated with the CIS . It has declared itself neutral in terms of foreign policy . Due to its form of government, among other things, Turkmenistan finds itself politically in a relatively international isolation . In a geopolitically conflict-ridden region, neutrality should on the one hand keep all options for exporting its energy resources open, on the other hand, according to Western observers, the isolation requires ongoing, sometimes serious state interventions in individual freedoms and hinders the modernization of the economy. Relations with the People's Republic of China , Russia , Iran and Turkey are particularly good . There are diplomatic relations with the Vatican , although the Roman Catholic Church in Turkmenistan is not recognized and licensed. However, there are also areas of conflict with neighboring countries.

At the beginning of October 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to Turkmenistan to discuss the stationing of Russian troops on the Turkmen-Afghan border with his Turkmen counterpart Berdimuhamedov. The background thought was the intensified and coordinated fight against Islamist terrorism. But the Turkmen head of state referred to the neutral status of his country and fundamentally opposed the presence of foreign armed forces in Turkmenistan.

Smoking bans

Turkmenistan is the country with the lowest percentage of smokers in the world. Through various bans, Turkmenistan has reduced the smoking rate from 27% in 1990 to around 8% in 2015.

military

Mi-8 of the Turkmen Air Force on the occasion of the Independence Day parade

The Turkmen Armed Forces have 18,500 members and are divided into the armed forces, army , air force , air defense and navy . There is also a national guard . In 1992 a bilateral defense agreement was signed with Russia, around 12,000 Russian soldiers were stationed to secure the border with Afghanistan and Iran. As relations deteriorated, the last Russian troops left the country in 1999.

Administrative division

Asgabat Balkan welaýaty Daşoguz welaýaty Lebap welaýaty Mary welaýaty Ahal welaýaty Kasachstan Kasachstan Usbekistan Afghanistan Iran
The provinces of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is divided into five provinces ( welaýatlar , singular welaýat ) with over 50 districts as well as the capital district Aşgabat şeheri .

No. province ISO code capital city Area (km 2 ) Population (2005)
1 Ahal welaýaty TM-A Änew 97.160 939,700
2 Balkans welaýaty TM-B Balkanabat 139,270 553,500
3 Thatşoguz welaýaty TM-D Daşoguz 73,430 1,370,400
4th Lebap welaýaty TM-L Turkmenabat 93,730 1,334,500
5 Mary welaýaty TM-M Mary 87,150 1,480,400
- Aşgabat şeheri (Capital District ) TM-S Ashgabat 470 871,500

business

Economic situation

Economically, Turkmenistan cooperates with numerous countries that are interested in Turkmenistan's rich natural gas and oil reserves , including Russia , Turkey and the USA . As German corporations, Deutsche Bank , Siemens and Daimler AG in particular benefit from orders from the state (e.g. telephone network, state cars, high-tech). Agriculturally, Turkmenistan is mainly used for the cultivation of cotton, which is mainly the case in the north and south, where there is also irrigation land. The importance of melon growing is highlighted by the observance of the Turkmen Melon Day .

Turkmenistan is also a net exporter of electrical energy to the Central Asian republics and southern neighboring countries. Virtually all electricity and heat are generated from natural gas due to the country's significant reserves. Turkmenistan's first power station was built in 1909 and commissioned in 1913. In 2019 it was still in operation. The original triple-turbine hydropower plant in the Hindu Kush , which was built by the Austro-Hungarian company Ganz Works on the Murghab River , was designed for an output of 1.2 megawatts at 16.5 kilovolts.

The country's industry consists primarily of textile and chemical industries, as well as petroleum refineries and other petrochemical plants. Due to the extremely high natural gas reserves and a limited population, gas, electricity, water and salt in Turkmenistan have been free for the population for private consumption since 1993.

The prices were lifted despite widespread political opposition. When the announcement was made on January 4, 1993, the President said "Such a measure would increase the real income of the people better than banknotes that would be canceled at the speed of light". The fear of currency devaluation existed, since in January 1993 Turkmenistan had only been an independent state for 14 months and the prices for natural gas were at a very low level, natural gas cost less in 1993 than in 1982 under the Soviet Union. A massive increase in natural gas prices did not take place until 2000.

Until then, however, the population of the Nyýazow era sank increasingly into poverty, while corruption raged and the state had a bizarre personality cult around the president. After all, Nyýazov's successor in the presidency has begun cautious political, economic and social reforms.

The unemployment rate in 2020 was 4.1%.

Key figures

All GDP values ​​are given in US dollars ( purchasing power parity ). In 2019, the gross domestic product (GDP) was $ 46.7 billion. Real growth was 6.3%. Thanks to its raw materials, Turkmenistan is one of the most rapidly developing successor states of the Soviet Union and now has a relatively high GDP per capita. However, official economic data from the country are subject to considerable uncertainties.

year 1993 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
GDP
(purchasing power parity)
10.90 billion 8.90
billion
11.56 billion 27.48 billion 31.44 billion 35.84 billion 41.93 billion 44.84 billion 49.55 billion 58.01 billion 65.61 billion 73.45 billion 82.50 billion 88.78 billion 95.48 billion 103.49 billion
GDP per capita
(purchasing power parity)
2,975 2,070 2,554 5,755 6,509 7,335 8,478 8,954 9,740 11,212 12,455 13,687 15.093 15,952 16,922 18,126
GDP growth
(real, in percent)
−10.0 −7.2 18.6 13.0 11.0 11.1 14.7 6.1 9.2 14.7 11.0 10.2 10.3 6.4 6.2 6.5
Inflation
(in percent)
3,102.4 1,005.2 23.6 10.7 8.2 6.3 14.5 −2.7 4.4 5.3 5.3 6.8 6.0 7.4 3.6 8.0
Public debt (
as a percentage of GDP)
... ... 44 5 3 2 3 2 4th 10 18th 20th 17th 22nd 24 28

Natural resources

Turkmenistan has significant oil and gas reserves. 44.5 billion tons of oil equivalent have been tested . However, estimates assume that up to 250 billion tons could be present. In 2007 and 2008, foreign companies invested $ 0.8 billion and $ 2.2 billion in the oil and gas sector. In 2009 it will be around $ 3.8 billion.

The state-owned groups TurkmenGeologiya (TG), TurkmenNeft (TN), TurkmenGas (TG) and TurkmenNefteGazStroy (TNGS) are responsible for the development, exploitation and processing. They enter into joint ventures (JVs) and production-sharing agreements (PSAs) with foreign corporations, with the Turkmen side always holding a share of greater than 50%.

The first expert report on the Turkmen gas deposits based on an international classification system was published in October 2008 by the British agency Gaffney Cline and Associates . The representative of the British energy certification agency emphasized that Turkmenistan's gas reserves are considerably larger than previously assumed. As a result, Turkmenistan has one of the largest natural gas fields in the world. The South Yolotan-Osman Field near the Afghan border contains recoverable reserves of 4 to 14 trillion cubic meters of natural gas (the equivalent of 140 to 495 Tcf ). At 4 trillion cubic meters it would be one of the ten largest fields and at 14 trillion cubic meters the largest onshore gas field in the world. At 6 trillion cubic meters, it would exceed the richest Turkmen gas reserve, Dowletabad, by a factor of five.

2008 "Iran Khazar" drilling platform drilling for Dragon Oil off the coast of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan exports the oil and gas to the world markets via Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Oil is also transported by ship to Baku (Azerbaijan) and Neka (Iran).

In 2008 oil and gas were produced from over 40 fields.

Foreign producers:

  • Dragon Oil (Ireland; 51% of the shares are held by the Emirate of Dubai )
  • Eni (Italy)
  • Petronas (Malaysia)
  • Maersk Oil (Denmark) + Wintershall (Germany) + ONGC (India)

tourism

Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum in the ancient oasis city of Merw on the Silk Road
Derweze Crater ("Gate to Hell")

After the country initially opened up to international tourism in the early 1990s, the country is now rather hostile to foreigners. Although there is a relatively good infrastructure in parts, consisting of means of transport, hotels and restaurants for tourists, there are hardly any visitors. Turkmens themselves do not travel very much and mainly visit their own relatives. Turkmenistan is a country rich in ancient sites, in particular the abandoned oases Merw and Nisa and the city of Köneürgenç (with the highest minaret in Central Asia). But the bizarre desert landscape also offers tourists unique experiences. Natural wonders are the burning gas craters near Derweze , the thermal cave lake Kow-Ata near Baharly (formerly Bakharden / Bähden) and the world's largest salt waterfall at the tributary of Garabogazköl Bay . Germans, Swiss and Austrians can apply for a tourist visa with a stay of up to 30 days at the relevant Turkmen consulate. Before applying for a visa, however, it is necessary to book services with a Turkmen tour operator ( voucher ). A transit visa with a stay of up to seven days is simpler and more flexible.

State budget

The state budget in 2016 comprised expenditure of the equivalent of 4.7 billion US dollars , which was offset by income of the equivalent of 3.7 billion US dollars. This results in a budget deficit of 0.9% of GDP .

The national debt was 23.8% of GDP in 2016.

In 2006 the share of government expenditure (as a percentage of GDP) was in the following areas:

Infrastructure

Turkmenistan infrastructure

traffic

Road traffic

The country is a desert state. The car traffic routes are bundled along the former Silk Road in an east-west direction from Samarkand ( Uzbekistan ) via Ashgabat to Turkmenbaşy on the Caspian Sea.

In 2015, an import ban on black cars came into force. There have been reports of dark vehicles being stopped and taken out of service by the police. Black as well as dark blue and red cars would be stopped at the borders. The government officially states that the decision is not based on the president's personal preferences, but that dark colors have devastating effects on the subtropical desert climate that prevails in Turkmenistan.

Since December 2017 there has been a driving ban for women in Turkmenistan. After the lifting of the ban on women’s driving in Saudi Arabia, it is the only country where women are not allowed to drive.

Rail transport

Rail transport in Turkmenistan is operated by the state railway company Türkmendemirýollary on a 4980 km long rail network with a gauge of 1520 mm ( Russian broad gauge , 4 feet 11 2732 inches ).

Air traffic

The country's only international airline is Turkmenistan Airlines . It operates from the largest airport in Turkmenistan, Asgabat Airport .

In addition to the international airport in Asgabat, there are five other airports in Turkmenistan, of which Turkmenabat Airport (CRZ) is also served from Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) four times a week.

The remaining four airports are only served nationally by Turkmenistan Airlines with Boeing 737s . These are the following airports:

irrigation

The Turkmen government began building an artificial lake , the " Lake of the Golden Age ", in the Ustyurt steppe in 2000 . The completion of the one billion US dollar project is expected in 2020 [obsolete] . Where seasonal rainwater collects in the depression in Lake Karakum, the first water from the Usboi flowed into it in July 2009. The major project in the 120-kilometer Karaschor -sink that will serve the desalination of the acreage is environmentally and geopolitically disputed.

Culture

literature

Since the 11th century, Turkmen poets have been writing mainly in Farsi , but also in Turkish, from which a separate Turkmen written language was only gradually emerging. The oldest literary monuments in the Turkmen language (14th to 15th centuries) have a religious and didactic character and are committed to the Sufi tradition. Various poets such as Azadi (1700–1760) also wrote in Chagatan .

Classical Turkmen poetry

In the 18th century, extensive epic works of the romantic Destan poetry were created in a verse form that is similar to the Turkish Koşma . It deals with stories of lovers, heroic deeds and sad events, which in the second half of the 18th century took on an increasingly patriotic appearance and came closer to the vernacular. From Kurbanali Magrupi (about 1735 to 1805) which is widespread in Central Asia heroic tale come Iusup i Akhmed (Russian edition in 1944; dt "Yusup and Achmed.") And poems. The combination of folk and art poetry was made by the most important classical poet of the Turkmen, Mahtumkulu Firaki (Turkmen Magtymguly Pyragy , 1733-1813?). This tradition was further developed by the teacher and jeweler Mollanepes (* around 1810, † 1862), who wrote not only love poetry but also critical writings. He wrote the popular epic Zochre and Tachir .

National poet Magtymguly on a Turkmen ten manat banknote
Soviet time

The modern written Turkmen language emerged in the 1920s. It was first written in Arabic, 1928–1940 in Latin, then in Cyrillic and, since 1993, gradually again in Latin. One of the founders of Turkmen Soviet literature was Berdy Kerbabayev with his novel about the civil war in Turkmenistan after 1917 ( The decisive step , Berlin 1952) and other works, albeit steeped in socialist clichés. Significant authors of the Soviet period include: the poet Aman Kekilow (1912–1974) and the prose writer Agakhan Durdyýew (1904–1947) ( Beauty in the Dragon's Claws and other short stories) and Beki Seitäkow (* 1914). Durdy Gylytsch (1886–1950) was one of the traditional folk singers who continue the tradition of epic singing (see below under music ).

Due to the lack of new publications, books from the Soviet period are still available in bookshops (as of the 2010s).

Since 1991

After independence in 1991, a few classical works were initially published in Latin script, but the content of the books available in Turkmenistan was increasingly oriented towards ideological guidelines. The government controls the printing of all books. The import of foreign books is subject to strict rules. Rachim Ėsenov (* 1927) was banned from writing in 1997 and sentenced to prison for the alleged historical inaccuracy of his novel Ventsenosny Skitalets ("The Crowned Wanderer"), which is set in the Mughal era . He had brought the main character of his novel trilogy, the politician, general and poet Bayram Khan , into connection with the Shia , although he is officially considered a Sunni .

music

The music of Turkmenistan is essentially the music of the Turkmen, which is also cultivated by the Turkmen minorities in the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and Iran. The peculiarities of their melody formation are based on Iranian traditions that go back to pre-Islamic times , which have mixed with the singing techniques of the Turkic peoples who immigrated from the 10th to the 13th centuries. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Turkmen society was devoid of central authority and divided into tribes with cultural peculiarities. The radical political and social changes brought about by the Soviet leadership in the early 1920s affected the other Central Asian states, whose feudal rulers had to smash the Bolsheviks , but hardly affected the territory of Turkmenistan. Here folk music was able to retain its old character and was not converted into a concert system based on the western model under state management.

Turkmen music is initially vocal and is divided into the range of folk songs sung by amateurs (music lovers) and the extensive songs of professional musicians ( bachschi, bachšy ), the singers of epic songs. Overall, there are only a few Turkmen musical instruments: the most widespread are the plucked long-necked lute dutar and then the three-string spike violin ghichak . Though less often, the longitudinally blown reed flute tüidük is also one of the three most valued instruments used by professional musicians. In the field of amateur music, there is also the small single- reed instrument dilli tüýdük , played by shepherds, and the jaw harp , kopys , which is part of the music of women and children. Before the introduction of the two-string dutar , the earlier epic singers ( ozan , corresponding to the Turkish aşık ) accompanied each other on the bowed bowl-neck lute kobys or on the long-necked lute komuz, also known as kobys . In the music of the Turkmen there are no drums such as the daira frame drum, which is widespread in Central Asia . Drums are only found in the east of the country in areas where Uzbeks live.

The professional epic singer bachschi is still held in high regard today because he has inherited the cultural heritage of the Central Asian shaman and is considered to be the custodian of cultural memory. Few professional female singers have moved in the male domain of bachschi , who succeeds a master from whom he learned his art , since the end of the 20th century . The center of the epic tradition is the northern province of Daşoguz welaýaty (Taschaus). The epics there are about the hero Görogly, under whose leadership the Turkmen tribes united. The bachschi accompanies his singing alone on the dutar , occasionally he is supported by a second dutar and a ghichak . The tüidük bachschi sing alternately with the flute. One or more bachschi appear at family celebrations (wedding, birth, circumcision) or at dinner invitations ( saz söchbet ), which can last until early in the morning, in private homes. Family celebrations ( töj ) are the main occasions for the performance of music in Turkmenistan. The repertoire is structured according to certain rules, musically and in terms of content, over the entire duration of the performance. In this concept, the bachschi moves musically on the “right” journey ( jol , “path”, means “order”, “rule”) up to a highly anticipated expressive climax. The course of the melody is based on the mukam used , a melodic basic structure that is related to the oriental maqam in terms of its name, but only slightly in structure . A bachschi knows some of these mukam compositions and uses them to improvise the other melodies. The rhythm is based on complex meters , the text is performed in stanzas. The epic lecture is associated with corresponding forms of singing in Uzbek and Tajik music .

The folk songs that are accompanied on the tüidük but not on the dutar include work songs , lullabies ( läle chüvdi ) and wedding songs ( jar jar ). Instead of the bachschi , a popular light music band is often invited to wedding celebrations today. Women dance at family celebrations, but rarely otherwise.

The melody of the national anthem of Turkmenistan, composed by Veli Muhadow , comes from the Soviet period . Muhadow was one of the composers trained at the Moscow Conservatory who stood in the service of the state for a pathos-influenced, Western classical music style. The first Turkmen national opera with the title Sudba Bachschi ("The Fate of Bachschi ") was performed in 1941 in the newly opened Opera and Ballet Theater. Symphonic music and the other Western art forms fell victim to nationalism after independence in 1991, they have not been promoted since then and were banned in 2001.

Ashkhabad is a band that is well-known in the world music scene beyond the country's borders and performs not only at weddings but also at public events . The singer and dutar player Atabay Tsharykuliev is accompanied - typical of a new popular style - by fellow musicians who play traditional melodies with a clarinet instead of the tüidük and a violin instead of the ghichak , supplemented by accordion and synthesizer .

media

There are three nationally distributed daily newspapers in Turkmenistan . Turkmenistan (Turkmen- speaking) and Nejtralnyj Turkmenistan (Russian) are widespread . As a state broadcaster , the Turkmen Radio is directly subordinate to the Turkmen government. Four out of seven radio stations are broadcast via satellite. The state operates five national television programs, one foreign television program in seven languages ​​and one regional television station for the capital region of Ashgabat . All television programs are available unencrypted via satellite and as a live stream.

In 2017, 21 percent of Turkmenistan's residents used the Internet . The broadband penetration rate in 2002 was below 0.01%. The only internet provider is the state monopoly company Turkmentelekom.

Sports

The sport is used by the authoritarian ruling President Berdimuhamedow to keep his country in the mood inside and to put it in a more positive light on the outside. Wrestling and horse riding are important sports in Turkmenistan . In wrestling, Turkmen athletes are also successful in international competitions. The equestrian look in Turkmenistan on a long tradition, especially the breed of Akhal-Teke is an important part of Turkmen equestrian culture. As part of the Day of Turkmen horse , in particular in Ashgabat hippodrome takes place, numerous horse races are held, also attended the President attends.

In Olympics Turkmenistan was in 1996 represented the first time in Atlanta and always took part in since the summer games. The first and so far only Olympic precious metal for Turkmenistan was won by weightlifter Polina Gurjewa at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 . In the lightweight class up to 59 kg, the athlete landed in second place and thus won the silver medal .

The largest sporting event in Turkmenistan to date was the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games 2017 , which took place in Asgabat in September 2017. The Games were intended to portray Turkmenistan as a sport-loving country and good host, but according to observers they were accompanied by increased surveillance of the population. Free reporting was not possible.

The Turkmen national soccer team has hardly been able to make an appearance internationally. The team has not yet managed to qualify for a soccer world championship , in 2004 and 2019 the team took part in the Asian championships.

Ice hockey is becoming increasingly important, the development of which is supported by the state through the construction of numerous ice rinks.

On the occasion of World Bicycle Day, large bicycle parades are held in Turkmenistan, and it was also ordered that all Turkmen citizens must purchase a bicycle. Former President Nyýazow had several paths built into the Kopet Dag Mountains, known as the health trail, near the capital, Ashgabat . This measure served the athletic training of the Turkmen population.

literature

  • Markus Wehner : In the realm of the great leader: Turkmenistan - a Central Asian despotism. In: Eastern Europe. 2001, No. 2, pp. 127-134.
  • V. Fet & KI Atamuradov (Eds.) Biogeography and Ecology of Turkmenistan. (1994) Kluwer Acad. Publ., ISBN 0-7923-2738-1
  • A people. One empire. A Turkmenbashi. In: GEO. Issue 11/2005, pp. 152-176.
  • Peter Böhm : The grayest spot on earth. Die Weltwoche, August 11, 2005, No. 32, p. 34
  • Thomas Kunze : Central Asia. Portrait of a region. Christoph Links, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86153-995-7 .
  • Central Asia - Architectural Monuments 9. – 19. Century. Planeta, Moscow 1987, illustrated book
  • Thea-Marianne Bobrowski: Folk tales from Turkmenia. Raduga, Moscow 1987.
  • Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer: Turkménistan . Éditions Non Lieu, Paris 2009, ISBN 978-2-35270-068-5 .
  • Sébastien Peyrouse: The Political System of Turkmenistan . In: Jakob Lempp, Sebastian Mayer, Alexander Brand (Ed.): The political systems of Central Asia. Internal change, external actors, regional cooperation . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2020, ISBN 978-3-658-31633-4 , pp. 105–117.

Web links

Wiktionary: Turkmenistan  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Turkmenistan  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikimedia Atlas: Turkmenistan  geographical and historical maps
Wikivoyage: Turkmenistan  Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. United Nations
  2. Population growth (annual%). In: World Economic Outlook Database. World Bank , 2020, accessed February 20, 2021 .
  3. ^ World Economic Outlook Database October 2020. In: World Economic Outlook Database. International Monetary Fund , 2020, accessed February 20, 2021 .
  4. Table: Human Development Index and its components . In: United Nations Development Program (ed.): Human Development Report 2020 . United Nations Development Program, New York 2020, ISBN 978-92-1126442-5 , pp. 344 (English, undp.org [PDF]).
  5. a b ВБ: из-за глобального потепления в Центральной Азии могут начаться конфликты. podrobno.uz, January 25, 2018 (German translation by Florian Tack: World Bank: global warming could lead to conflicts in Central Asia at novastan.org)
  6. Hans-Balder Havenith, Ruslan Umaraliev, Romy Schlögel, Isakbek Torgoev: Past and Potential Future Socioeconomic Impacts of Environmental Hazards in Kyrgyzstan. In: Oliver A. Perry (Ed.): Kyrgyzstan: Political, Economic and Social Issues. Nova Science Publishers, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5361-2763-8 , p. 90.
  7. Thomas Kunze, Christopher Braemer: Climate report 2011
  8. Anver K. Rustamov & Ovez Sopyev: Vertebrates in the Red Data Book of Turkmenistan . In: V. Fet & KI Atamuradov (eds.): Biogeography and Ecology of Turkmenistan . Kluwer Academic Publ., 1994, ISBN 0-7923-2738-1 , pp. 205-230 .
  9. ^ Population in Turkmenistan
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  11. Population Turkmenistan - Population Dynamics - Total Population by sex.UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, accessed on November 29, 2021 .
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  13. Cities of Turkmenistan with population figures .
  14. Religions / Churches of Turkmenistan on the website of the Federal Foreign Office
  15. a b Admitted religious communities in Turkmenistan on the website of the Federal Foreign Office
  16. a b K. Aminov, V. Jensen, S. Juraev, I. Overland, D. Tyan, Y. Uulu: Language Use and Language Policy in Central Asia. Retrieved September 29, 2017 .
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  18. This and the following, unless otherwise documented, from: David R. Harris (Ed.): Origins of Agriculture in Western Central Asia. An Environmental-Archaeological Study , University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010, pp. 53-58.
  19. Michelle M. Glantz: The History of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia in Review , in: Christopher J. Norton, David R. Braun (Eds.): Asian Paleoanthropology. From Africa to China and Beyond , Springer, 2010, pp. 101–112, here: p. 105.
  20. These surface finds mostly have no stratigraphic context, such as in Yangadja in southern Kazakhstan, located on the Krasnovodsk Peninsula on the Caspian Sea (Michelle M. Glantz: The History of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia in Review. In: Christopher J. Norton, David R . Braun (Ed.): Asian Paleoanthropology. From Africa to China and Beyond. Springer, 2010, pp. 101–112, here: p. 105).
  21. Michelle M. Glantz: The History of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia in Review , in: Christopher J. Norton, David R. Braun (Eds.): Asian Paleoanthropology. From Africa to China and Beyond , Springer, 2010, pp. 101–112, here: p. 101, calls the child's discovery “preeminent”.
  22. Michelle Glantz, Bence Viola, Patrick Wrinn, Tatiana Chikisheva, Anatoly Derevianko, Andrei Krivoshapkin, Uktur Islamov, Rustam Suleimanov, Terrence Ritzman: New hominin remains from Uzbekistan , in: Journal of Human Evolution 55 (2008) 223-237.
  23. Michelle M. Glantz: The History of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia in Review , in: Christopher J. Norton, David R. Braun (Eds.): Asian Paleoanthropology. From Africa to China and Beyond , Springer, 2010, pp. 101–112, here: p. 108.
  24. Dimitri AG Vandenberghe, Damien Flas, Morgan De Dapper, Jasper Van Nieuland, Kseniya A. Kolobova, Konstantin Pavlenok, Utkur I. Islamov, Ellen De Pelsmaeker, Ann-Eline Debeer, Jan-Pieter Buylaert: Revisiting the Palaeolithic site of Kulbulak ( Uzbekistan): First results from luminescence dating. In: Quaternary International 324 (2014), pp. 180-189.
  25. This and the following, unless otherwise noted, based on: Hermann Parzinger : Die Kinder des Prometheus. A history of mankind before the invention of writing , 3rd, reviewed edition, CH Beck, Munich, 2015, pp. 441–447.
  26. ^ David R. Harris: Jeitun and the transition to agriculture in Central Asia , in: Archeology International 1 (1997) 28-31, here: p. 30 doi : 10.5334 / ai.0109
  27. Robert N. Spengler III, George Willcox: Archaeobotanical results from Sarazm, Tajikistan, an Early Bronze Age Settlement on the edge: Agriculture and exchange , in: Journal of Environmental Archeology 18.3 (2013) 211–222, here: p. 213 ( academia.edu ).
  28. ^ Ryszard Kapuściński, Martin Pollack (translator): Empire: Soviet forays . AB - The Other Library. Berlin, 2015. ISBN 978-3-8477-2008-9 , ISBN 3-8477-2008-2 .
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Coordinates: 39 °  N , 60 °  E