Introduction to Turkmenistan

1. 1. Basic Information
2. Short History
3. Politics
4. Economy
5. Culture

2. Turkmen Flag

3. ARMS PRESIDENTIAL
FLAG

4. • Capital: Ashgabat
• Official Language: Turkmen
• Inter-Ethnic Language: Russian

5. • Turkmenistan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the
northwest, Uzbekistan to the northeast and east,
Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and
southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west.

6. • Present-day Turkmenistan covers territory that has
been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries.
• In medieval times Merv (today known as Mary) was
one of the great cities of the Islamic world, and an
important stop on the Silk Road, a large road used
for trade between China and Europe until the mid-
15th century.

7. History
• Turkmenistan passed under Arab domination in the
8th century
• In the 11th century, region of Turkmenistan was
ruled by the Seljuk Turks
• Jenghiz Khan conquered the region in the 13th
century, as did Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th
century
• After the breakup (late 15th cent.) of the empire of
Timur’s successors, Turkmenistan came under
Uzbek control

8. • In 1869, Russian military forces founded Krasnovodsk
(Turkmen Province) and began to conquer Turkmens
• In 1881, with the conquest of the Gok-Depe (Tepe)
fortress, the Russians established the Transcaspian
Region, which in 1899 became part of the government
general of Russian Turkistan.
• During the Russian civil war, fighting flared between the
Transcaspian provincial government and Bolshevik
troops.
• The Red Army took Ashgabat (the Capital) in July, 1919,
and Krasnovodsk in Feb., 1920

9. • Turkmenistan formally became a Soviet republic in
1925
• Large numbers of Turkmens still live in Iran and
Afghanistan.

10. • A referendum for independence from the Soviet
Union was passed in October, 1991
• Turkmenistan became a member of the
Commonwealth of Independent States in December,
1991
• Saparmurat Niyazov became the first president of
Turkmenistan

11. P o l i t i c
s

12. • The Constitution of Turkmenistan, adopted on 18 May
1992, is the supreme of Turkmenistan
• According to the constitution, Turkmenistan is a secular
democratic and presidential republic
• The government has three branches:
Executive — President and the Council of
Ministers
Legislative — Mejlis (Parliament),
Judicial — Supreme Court.
• Turkmenistan became the first Central Asian republic to
join NATO’s Partnership for Peace program
• Turkmenistan’s declaration of “permanent neutrality” was
formally recognized by the United Nations in 1995.

13. • President for Life Saparmurat
Niyazov was a former
bureaucrat of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union
• He became head of
the Communist Party of the
Turkmen SSR in 1985 and
governed Turkmenistan until his
death in 2006

14. S.A.Niyazov
• After the
independence of
Turkmenistan,
Niyazov changed the
name of Communist
Party of the Turkmen
SSR as Democratic
Party of Turkmenistan.

15. • Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedow
• has served as
the President since
2006
• a dentist by profession
• served in the
government under
President Saparmurat
Niyazov as Minister of
Health beginning in
1997 and as Deputy
Prime Minister
beginning in 2001.

16. G. Berdimuhamedow
• In the February 2012
presidential election, he
was re-elected with 97%
of the vote. He uses the
honorific title Arkadag,
meaning "Patron".

17. ECONOMY
Natural Resources• According to the decree of the
Peoples' Council of 14 August
2003
electricity
natural gas
water
salt will be subsidized for citizens
up to 2030.
• Car drivers are entitled to 120 litres
of free petrol a month.
• Drivers of buses, lorries and
tractors can get 200 litres of fuel
and motorcyclists and scooter
riders 40 litres free

18. Natural Gas
• On 5 September 2006, after Turkmenistan threatened to
cut off supplies to Russia, Russia agreed to raise the
price that pays for Turkmen natural gas from $65 to
$100 per 1,000 cubic meters.
• Two-thirds of Turkmen gas goes through the
Russian state-owned Gazprom.

19. Natural Gas
• Gas production is the most dynamic and promising
sector of the national economy
• China is going to become the largest buyer of gas from
Turkmenistan over the coming years as a pipeline linking
the two countries, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan,
reaches full capacity
• Turkmenistan is supplying Russia, China and Iran
• Ashgabat took concrete measures to accelerate
progress in the construction of the Turkmenistan-
Afghanistan-Pakistan and India pipeline (TAPI).

20. Natural Resources
• Turkmen president unexpectedly signed a decree
stating that companies from Turkmenistan will build
an internal East-West gas pipeline allowing the
transfer of gas from the biggest deposits in
Turkmenistan (Dowlatabad and Yoloten) to the
Caspian coast.
•
• The East-West pipeline is planned to be around
1,000 km long and have a carrying capacity of 30 bn
m³ annually
• Cost of project is between one and one and a half
billion US dollars

21. Natural Resources
Electricity
• Turkmenistan is a net exporter of electrical power to
Central Asian republics and southern neighbors.
• The most important generating installations are the
Hindukush Hydroelectric Station, which has a rated
capacity of 350 megawatts, and the Mary
Thermoelectric Power Station, which has a rated
capacity of 1,370 megawatts.

22. Agriculture
• Half of the country's irrigated land is planted
with cotton, making the country the world's ninth-
largest cotton producer.
• The country traditionally exports raw cotton to
Russia, Iran, South Korea, Britain, China, Indonesia,
Turkey, Ukraine, Singapore and the Baltic nations

23. Turkmen Carpets

24. Turkmen Horses Ahal-
teke

26. Traditional foods

27. Traditional Turkmen Dresses

28. Traditional Turkmen Dresses

33. Turkey-Turkmenistan Relations
• Turkey is one of Turkmenistan's largest trading partners
with over 600 Turkish companies registered in the
country operating in the sphere of
trade
investments
construction
energy
transport
communication
textile and processing industry

34. • Gul said: "Turkmenistan has achieved a
distinguished and influential position in the
international community with its neutrality policy.
Taking into consideration its rich energy resources,
Turkmenistan's role in regional development and
stability is of critical importance,".
• Turkey is the first country to have recognized
Turkmenistan as an independent state
• Turkey was the first to support Turkmenistan's
neutral status in 1995

35. • Gül said the projects undertaken by Turkish companies
in Turkmenistan had been worth almost $50 billion
• Gül attached great importance to the relations between
the two countries sharing common language, faith,
history and culture

36. Thank You
If You have any question, please
ask