Berdymukhammedov is the president for life of Turkmenistan. Turkmenator: Incredible Adventures and Incredible Power of the President of Turkmenistan. How Gulnabat Dovletova took over the Turkmen Red Crescent

Last week in Russia, all TV channels at once turned into National Geographic with a single two-hour program "The Race for the Pike" (with repetitions in all news releases). Obviously, someone is trying hard to emphasize their masculinity - the best remedy before the upcoming elections. However, this “someone” in the world of political alpha males is now officially only the second, because the first is now the president of Turkmenistan.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the current Turkmenbashi and Arkadag (Patron) in one person, set his next record of heroism last week. At military exercises near Ashgabat, Berdimuhamedov showed by personal example how to hit the enemy with a sniper rifle from five meters, frown when throwing a knife into the hat of a mock enemy, and, of course, reload a pistol in the style of Alexander Nevsky. Hero!

But if you think that these are the only superpowers of Arkadag, then shame on you and twenty years of Turkmen hard labor on your head! Berdimuhamedow is not only the king of the world and a role model in the army, but also the master of sports. Here he is so enthusiastically engaged in simulators and does not even sweat that the entire government, unable to restrain himself (and how can he restrain himself - this is Turkmenistan), rushes to exercise with the same passion.

Arkadag, however, does not need all these miserable attempts of his plebs - he is above this and is ready to swing himself at any time and without subordinates (but with a TV camera and conversations during exercises). Oh, what a bench press he has! What muscles! What a stern, but slightly distracted look!

And all the equipment obeys Arkadag: from a racing car ...

... to some kind of supertank, which automatically dries up after leaving the water (and glows inside under water).

However, as it should be for any superhero, the bulk of Arkadag's cases are far from weapons and aggression. For example, he writes books. Do you know what these books are? About tea, about horses, about medicinal herbs - only 35 items. The only strange thing is that among the books of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov there is not a single collection of tongue twisters.

Even Berdimuhamedov, walking along the road, can discover a whole modern village (move over, Gotham!). True, after that the village immediately disappears, but is this not evidence of the miraculous essence of Arkadag?!

But Berdymukhammedov's main occupation is his singing. He can sing in any genre. If you want a guitar riff, get a riff! In the hands of Arkadag, any detuned instrument turns into a cheerful source of music.

If you want a piano, you will have a piano. White, but no ballerinas inside (and no sound, it seems). Arkadag does not accept vulgarity!

Before the presidency of Turkmenistan, almost nothing was known about Berdimuhamedov, but now his biography has been replenished with many facts.

In the presidential elections held on February 12, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov won 97.69% of the vote, the country's Central Election Commission announced yesterday. And 97.27% of voters took part in the elections.

For the first time, Berdimuhamedov was elected head of state ten years ago, on February 11, 2007, a month and a half after the death of the former permanent leader, Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmenbashi).

Over the past ten years, the president's biography has been replenished with many new facts. Here are nine of the most interesting.

1. There is a family - the spouse is not visible

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, 59, has never been seen in public with his wife. Almost nothing is known about her. At the elections on Sunday, he appeared at the polling station with his closest relatives, but again his wife was not there.

The government website turkmenistan.gov.tm reports that the president was accompanied by father Myalikguly Berdimuhamedov, mother Ogulabat Berdimuhamedov, son, two daughters and grandchildren. A photo of the president's family was not published.

2. Became a successor in a short time

Berdymukhammedov began governing the country as vice prime minister on December 21, 2006, the morning after the death of the country's first president, Saparmurat Niyazov.

Although, according to the Constitution, the chairman of parliament, Ovezgeldy Ataev, was supposed to temporarily act as president for two months - without the right to participate in the presidential elections.

But he was abruptly arrested, charged with malpractice, and later sent to prison for five years.

On December 26, an extraordinary congress of the People's Council was held, during which presidential elections were scheduled and amendments were made to the Constitution, allowing the Deputy Prime Minister to act as president and participate in elections.

In his first presidential election in 2007, Berdymukhammedov received 89.23% of the popular vote. In 2012, he improved the result to 97.14% - it would seem that there is nowhere better.

But in 2017, it turned out even more. Now, according to the amendments to the Constitution of Turkmenistan made in September 2016, the next elections will be held in seven years.

4. Worst among the worst

In 2010, the president of Turkmenistan was named one of the five worst dictators in the world by Foreign Policy magazine.

Human rights activists from Human Right Watch and other international organizations regularly report on the persecution of civil activists and oppositionists, whose trail has been lost in the prisons of Turkmenistan.

Today Turkmenistan is one of the most closed and totalitarian countries in the world. In the Freedom House ranking for 2016, the country was in the top ten along with North Korea, Syria, Somalia and Sudan.

5. Took control of 80% of the country's oil and gas revenues

"President's (Berdimuhamedov's) Personal Pocket: Oil, Gas and the Law" was the title of a report by the American research organization Crude Accountability on the situation in Turkmenistan, published in October 2011.

The document stated that Berdymukhammedov personally disposed of the country's rich energy reserves.

The authors of the report concluded that over the course of four years, the new leader of the country gradually gave exclusive powers to the State Agency for the Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources under the President of Turkmenistan, which closed all activities related to the sale of oil and gas.

The precedent for "manual control" of the country's most profitable sector of the economy was set by Niyazov, who in 1997, according to Eurasianet.org, personally approved all tenders and licenses in the energy sector.

Most of all, researchers from Crude Accountability were surprised by the fact that, according to Turkmen laws, only 20% of revenues from oil and gas exports went to the state budget. The other 80% was controlled by the same agency, which was not even required to report on them.

6. Created the cult of Arkadag instead of the cult of Turkmenbashi

In July 2008, Berdymukhammedov returned the normal names of the months and days of the week to the country.

His predecessor tried to inscribe himself in history by renaming the names of the months: January - in Turkmenbashi, April - in Gurbansoltan (Niyazov's mother. - Ed.), September - in Rukhnama (his philosophical work).

The new names were used only in documents and office work, with the return to the regular Gregorian calendar, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, they rejoiced early: the debunking of one cult turned into the creation of another - the cult of Arkadag (the patron of the nation). So Berdimuhamedov began to be called in 2010, since then the unofficial title has firmly entrenched in him.

7. Helped cut out a tumor, wrote a book

The second president of Turkmenistan is a dentist by profession, he completed his postgraduate studies in Moscow, and in 20 years after graduation he made an enviable career in this field.

By the time of his appointment as Minister of Health in 1997, he was the director of the dental center of the Ministry of Health of Turkmenistan.

Later he became Deputy Prime Minister, responsible for education, science, culture and the media. Already in the presidency in 2007, he received the degree of doctor of medical sciences and the title of professor.

In 2009, the leader of the nation assisted in an operation to remove a benign tumor behind the ear. This happened during the grand opening of the cancer center in Ashgabat.

And the book he wrote about the medicinal plants of Turkmenistan was recommended as a guide to all healthcare workers.

8. Chief horse breeder

Among other titles of the current president is “People's Horse Breeder of Turkmenistan”. His passion - horses, is also dedicated to one of his books entitled "Akhal-Teke horse - our pride and glory."

In April 2013, the leader of the nation, a skilled rider, fell off his horse during a race. Later, the security forces made a lot of efforts to prevent the spread of information about the emergency, but this video is still available on YouTube.

It was reported that the presidential horse stumbled just after crossing the finish line, so that despite the fall, Berdymukhammedov still won those races.

The President of Turkmenistan generally likes to win competitions. For example, once I came to the opening of a car race, suddenly decided to participate - and finished first.

9. Writes songs and sings

During a meeting with voters in the Akhal region on January 30, the president, answering a question about what he was doing, replied that he was working on songs for women that he wanted to present to them on March 8 - International Women's Day.

Then the head of Turkmenistan was captured with a guitar, fervently and with feeling he sang a song to his own accompaniment, thus responding to the musical greeting of young voters.

According to the Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan, in the presidential elections held on Sunday, February 12, the 59-year-old was re-elected the head of Turkmenistan. In addition to Berdimuhamedov, eight other candidates competed for the presidency.

According to the new version of the Constitution, the presidential term will be seven years instead of five.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Dossier

Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich Berdimuhamedov was born on June 29, 1957 in the village of Babarab, Gekdepe district, Ashgabat region, Turkmenistan.

In 1979 he graduated from the Turkmen State Medical Institute. Doctor of Medical Sciences.

He began his career in 1979 as a dental intern at polyclinic No. 5 in Ashgabat.

From 1980 to 1982, he worked as a dentist in a rural outpatient clinic in the village of Errik-Kala, Ashgabat region.

In 1982-1985 he was the chief freelance dentist of the Ashgabat region.

From 1985 to 1987 he was the head of the dental department of the central district hospital of the Keshi village council of the Ashgabat region and the chief freelance dentist of the Ashgabat region.

In 1990-1995, he was an assistant at the Department of Therapeutic Dentistry, Associate Professor, Dean of the Dental Faculty of the Turkmen State Medical Institute.

In 1995-1997, he was the director of the Dental Center of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan.

Since 1997 - Minister of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan.

On April 3, 2001, by decree of the President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan (Niyazov himself was the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan).

In November 2006, he represented Turkmenistan at the CIS summit in Minsk.

On December 21, 2006, by decision of the State Security Council of Turkmenistan and the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, he was appointed Acting President of Turkmenistan, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan, in connection with the death of the first president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov (1940-2006).

On February 11, 2007, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was elected the second president of Turkmenistan. On February 14, the inauguration ceremony took place. By tradition, Berdymukhammedov was presented with a presidential certificate and a distinctive sign in the form of a gold chain with an octagonal emblem. The new president walked on a white carpet, symbolizing a bright path. He was presented with sachak - bread wrapped in a tablecloth, a quiver with arrows, the Koran and the Rukhnama.

In March 2007, he was elected head of the highest representative and legislative body of power in Turkmenistan - the People's Council (Halk Maslakhaty).

On February 12, 2012, the second alternative presidential elections were held in Turkmenistan. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov won 97.14% of the votes.

In 2017, he won the presidential election for the second time.

Cult of personality

Among the people, the president bears the unofficial title of "Leader of the Nation" and Arkadag (translated from Turkmen Arkadag - "patron"). Many social and cultural objects of Turkmenistan are named after him, as well as the names of his family members. Images and portraits of Berdimuhamedov are placed on thousands of posters and banners, countless photographs in the premises of institutions, in the cabs of vehicles.

Relations with Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin praised Berdimuhamedov's contribution to the development of friendly relations between the two countries.

Earlier, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stated that Russia and Turkmenistan have centuries-old friendly relations, which are constantly strengthened by new agreements and interaction in various sectors: the economy (in 2015, trade between the countries doubled), education and culture. In particular, about 17,000 Turkmen students study at Russian universities every year.

“Of course, the cultural and humanitarian sphere is very important for us, because these are issues of education, science, culture and sports. Even today we remember how you (Vladimir Putin) yourself founded the Russian-Turkmen school, which bears the name of the great poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Over the years, a galaxy of graduates has been released who not only want to learn Russian, they love the Russian language. In many of our general education schools, and in higher educational institutions, great importance is attached to the study of the Russian language. Periodicals, exhibitions, photo exhibitions are very good with us, the work on the publishing press, namely on Russian periodicals, is going on at a high level, ”the President of Turkmenistan said at a meeting with Putin in November 2016.

As for foreign policy, Turkmenistan and Russia have always understood each other, Berdimuhamedov said.

“We are a neutral country. We are grateful to you for supporting us twice, you even co-authored the document on the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan. Therefore, we, as a neutral country, and the only neutral country in the world, conduct our foreign policy based on the Charter of the United Nations: it is peaceful in our country - and in this regard, we are also doing a lot with you and, of course, we will continue this policy in the future. ”, Berdimuhamedov emphasized at the time.

I once asked a Turkmen how the personality cult of Turkmenbashi (the title of Saparmurat Niyazov, translated as “Head of the Turkmens”) differs from the personality cult of Arkadag (the title of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, translated as “Patron”).

You know, before we had portraits of Turkmenbashi hanging everywhere. Hung once - and forgotten. And then, in his old age, he decided to dye his hair black, and they announced to the people that the leader had begun to grow younger. Then all the portraits throughout the country were changed. And when Arkadag came, we change portraits every year. No, he does not dye his hair all the time, he just takes his photographs very carefully. Either it should be against a white carpet, or against a red carpet. And you need to constantly run and buy new portraits. We buy portraits with our own money. We jokingly call it the "tax on people's love."

In general, it is very interesting to observe how people are blown away by the unlimited dough and impunity. I can still imagine how Turkmenbashi seized power and began to erect golden statues of himself. A person has a difficult childhood (he grew up in an orphanage), all his life he was a party functionary. And so he decided to break away and take revenge on everyone. But Berdimuhamedov seems to be from a family of teachers, he himself is a doctor of medical sciences, a dentist, he worked as a doctor all his life, then he became the Minister of Health. It would seem that an educated person could pull the country out of medieval rituals. But several years have passed since Berdymukhamedov sat on the throne, and now, with a large crowd of people, a golden monument is opened to him, and portraits of Berdymukhamedov come across on the streets more often than paid parking signs in the center of Moscow.

But let's start in order.

The first president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, ruled the country for more than 30 years. Back in 1985, he became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR, before that he headed the Ashgabat city committee for five years.

When the USSR staggered, Niyazov became chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the republic, which proclaimed its independence. And already in June 1992, the former party worker was elected president of Turkmenistan. They say it was a completely democratic election with a single candidate and a fair 99.5% vote.

Just a year later, the Mejlis, that is, the parliament, bestowed on Niyazov the title of Turkmenbashi, which meant that from now on he is the head of all the Turkmens of the world. Later, the word "Great" was added to the title for persuasiveness. Optional during the reign of Turkmenbashi were such titles as "savior of the nation" and "messenger of Allah", commonly used (including in the media) - Serdar, or "leader". In addition, Niyazov, who did not serve in the army, had the rank of marshal and was awarded the title of Hero of Turkmenistan five times. Officials, when meeting with Turkmenbashi, had to kiss his right hand, studded with rings with emeralds and diamonds.

You think these are just titles, but no. Under the titles, the national anthem was changed. One Turkmen told me that at school on the blackboard where the anthem was, one line was smeared with white paint all the time, and then “Turkmenbashi”, then “Great Turkmenbashi”, or something else was manually entered there.

In the mid-1990s, Niyazov seriously considered declaring himself Shah, but it is said that the elders, as well as the heads of Iran, Russia and Uzbekistan, opposed this. To console himself, in 1999 Turkmenbashi forced the People's Council of the Republic to proclaim him president for life.

To emphasize his greatness, Turkmenbashi ordered to erect a giant 83-meter monument, known as the Arch of Neutrality, in the center of Ashgabat. At its top was a gilded statue of Niyazov himself, which rotated after the sun.

After the death of Turkmenbashi, the arch was dismantled and moved to the outskirts of the city. Now the statue does not rotate, because otherwise the golden figure of the leader would have been turned back to the capital for half a day. Ugly.

In 2000, another giant statue of Turkmenbashi appeared in the Turkmen capital, this time in front of the Independence Monument.

Near the Independence Monument there is the Alley of Presidents, where visiting leaders plant pine trees. This is Medvedev's pine, for example.

And here is Yanukovych's pine.

In total, 14,000 statues and busts of Turkmenbashi appeared in the country in a couple of decades. Their number began to decrease only with the coming to power of Berdimuhamedov. But even now there are a lot of statues.

Golden Turkmenbashi sits near the entrance to the local KGB, his profile adorns the buildings of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Press. And here is his statue in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan.

Another statue stands in the park of the 10th anniversary of the independence of Turkmenistan in the very center of Ashgabat.

The city of Turkmenbashi (former Krasnovodsk) and the peak of the Great Turkmenbashi (Ayribaba peak, the highest peak of the Koytendag ridge) were named after Niyazov. All the streets of Turkmen cities bore the names and titles of either Turkmenbashi himself or his relatives. The rest were either numbered, or had names that were not related to people (for example, Neutral Turkmenistan Street), or were named after two or three historical figures.

In all offices of officials, auditoriums, industrial premises and vestibules, portraits of the leader were to be placed. Of course, the bright face of Turkmenbashi looked at his subjects from the banknotes of the national currency.

The country sold vodka "Serdar" (leader) and toilet water "Turkmenbashi", produced in France. The fragrance, it seems, was chosen by Niyazov himself.

Name brandy

Yanardag Niyazov decided to place his Akhal-Teke horse in the center of the coat of arms of Turkmenistan. After the death of Turkmenbashi, his heir ordered to replace the horse with his own.

Deciding that all this was not enough, Turkmenbashi wrote a great work, which he called "Rukhnama". Niyazov himself called it "the main book of the Turkmen people" and "guide book".

"Rukhnama" was first published in 2001, but in five years they managed to translate it into more than 40 languages ​​of the world, and its total circulation exceeded 1 million copies. To study the book, a separate subject was introduced in schools and universities of the country, knowledge of the "Rukhnama" was tested at entrance exams, as well as when applying for a job.

In 2002, the month of September in Turkmenistan was renamed Rukhnama, and in 2005, construction began on the university. Ruhnama. But a year later, Niyazov died, and this plan could not be implemented. But in Ashgabat, they managed to erect a monument to the Ruhnama.

Few people believe that Turkmenbashi himself wrote the "holy book": it is believed that this is the work of literary blacks. However, this is no longer possible to prove. Turkmenbashi's heir, Berdymukhammedov, partially debunked the cult of the Ruhnama, but instead delighted his subjects with works of his own composition.

By the way, not only September received an actual name. Niyazov renamed the whole year, not forgetting either about himself (January became known as "Turkmenbashi"), or about his mother: the month of Gurbansoltan-eje now stands in Turkmenistan, and not April at all.

The Turkmens even had a joke: "Come to Turkmenbashi (city) to Turkmenbashi (month) along Turkmenbashi (street) to Turkmenbashi (hotel)".

The cult of Niyazov's mother is part of the cult of Turkmenbashi himself. First of all, with the light hand of the President, his parents became Heroes of Turkmenistan. Chorek, the national Turkmen bread, was named after Gurbansoltan-edje. In addition, it was the mother of Turkmenbashi who began to personify Justice instead of the goddess Themis.

In Ashgabat, of course, there were monuments to Gurbansoltan-eje and the father of the leader, Atamurat Niyazov, but in 2014 they were dismantled.

In 2004, in the city of Kipchak, where Niyazov was born, the Turkmenbashi Rukhy Mosque was built, at that time the largest single-domed mosque in the world. On the walls of the mosque there was a place for quotes from the Ruhnama.

Next to the mosque, a mausoleum was prudently built, in the corners of which Niyazov's father, mother and two brothers were buried, and Turkmenbashi himself was buried in the central sarcophagus in 2006.

After Niyazov's death, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov (who is widely rumored to be his illegitimate son) became president of Turkmenistan. Since the beginning of his rule, Berdymukhammedov has been trying to replace Niyazov's personality cult with a personality cult of himself.

But the golden statues of Turkmenbashi still stand outside the buildings of most state institutions. Berdimuhamedov has not yet decided to remove them.

Two years after the start of Berdymukhammedov's presidency, one of the officials reported that from all over the country there were "numerous wishes from citizens, collectives of enterprises, institutions and public organizations with a proposal to confer on the president the title of Hero of Turkmenistan."

The local media wrote that "these words ... those present at the meeting of the government met with a standing ovation, thunderous unceasing applause."

Berdymukhammedov was embarrassed and said that he was too young for the highest rank in the country:

I'm still young, I'm ready to work a little more, so that you can then give me such a high rating.

The Council of Elders of Turkmenistan obediently delayed and awarded him the title of Hero of Turkmenistan only two years later. Berdymukhammedov has four more Hero awards to catch up with Turkmenbashi in terms of the number of top awards.

In order for the new president to keep up with Turkmenbashi in other respects, loyal subjects gave him the title "Arkadag", which means "Patron" in translation. It was given to Berdimuhamedov at a military parade in 2010.

Journalists of the Turkmen edition of Radio Liberty, according to an unnamed blogger, tell how it happened:

A large detachment of the Turkmen military, marching past Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, stopped and turned to face him, and they all selflessly knelt before him. Perhaps this was supposed to symbolize a nation that knelt before its Patron (Arkadag). Interestingly, at the parade after the passage of the military, servile horsemen brought an Akhal-Teke horse to the podium with the "Patron of the Turkmens" and several times tried to force him to kneel before him, but they failed. Either the horse turned out to be thoroughbred, or they didn’t explain to him who was in front of him.

But the government website "Turkmexpo" stated that "stopping in front of the central tribune, the handsome horse bowed before the leader of the nation in a graceful bow."

There are still few monuments to Berdimuhamedov, the campaign for their mass installation is just beginning.

But Arkadag uses the latest achievements of progress and loves to place his portraits on multimedia screens along the streets. Usually he is depicted either against the background of a light-colored carpet, or against the background of a waving flag.

But sometimes he just goes to a brighter future on the green carpet. Here, for persuasiveness, the main sights of Ashgabat were placed behind Berdimuhamedov's back.

In the main newspaper of the country "Neutral Turkmenistan", the writer Gozel Shagulyeva published "A song of joy in honor of the awarding of the honorable President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with the high title of "Person of the Year - 2010"" (this title was awarded to him by the Institute of International Relations and Economic Cooperation of Romania, and many are lost in conjecture why did he do it). Here is what was written in it:

First of all, I want to say about the main thing: I am happy because I am an eyewitness of the great deeds of the great era of the Great Son. I am happy because I consider it my duty to sing the days of the Renaissance of my country, full of great deeds, the fame of which has spread throughout the world.

The world-renowned Arkadag, our stronghold, support, hope, reviving the ancient Silk Road of the Turkmen people with its sympathetic heart, has today turned its Fatherland into a peacemaking center.<...>

When I see how the grandiose plans of our esteemed President are being implemented, when I listen to his historic speeches, I cannot hold back tears of happiness and pride from excitement. And light tears roll down my cheeks - like droplets of my inspiration. When great words merge with great deeds, a real miracle occurs that can amaze our consciousness.

Arkadag welcomes you, traveler.

Sometimes you can see the continuity of generations: the golden statue of Turkmenbashi obscures the portrait of Berdimuhamedov.

In 2013, Berdymukhammedov attended the horse races on the occasion of the Akhal-Teke Horse Festival. He wanted to take part in the races himself, and the panel of judges included him in the Mentors' Race. He rode on his own horse named Berkarar and, unexpectedly for everyone, took first place. The only thing that overshadowed the jubilation of the crowd was the unexpected fall of Berkarar and his rider immediately after the finish.

For a few seconds, the people were numb, but then guards, intelligence officers and ministers rushed to Berdimuhamedov, who was lying motionless. He was taken away in an ambulance, for about an hour the audience waited tensely for news. At the end of the event, the president, alive and almost unharmed, nevertheless appeared in public and even talked with the offending horse:

In the end, Berkarara was taken to the treadmill. The leader of Turkmenistan, known for his love of horses, tried to kiss the horse, but he recoiled. The President did not back down, pulling his horse up again. The horse was forgiven. The crowd cheered.

When the event ended, exit security personnel began sifting through the crowd. Those with cameras were taken to a room under the stands and urged to erase all videos and photos. So that no one could hide the memory cards, student volunteers watched the crowd. In addition, the event was attended by foreign citizens and journalists: their laptops, tablets and phones were already confiscated at the airport. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan reported that several dozen people were then arrested for trying to take "prohibited materials" abroad.

Be that as it may, winning the race brought the president $11.05 million. He promised to transfer them to the state association "Turkmen horses". By the way, the horses that took second and third place also belonged to Berdimuhamedov.

The president participates not only in horse races, but also in auto racing. On them, he also invariably wins and even sets records. Usually such events are described as follows:

To the thunderous applause of the audience in the stands, the leader of the nation enters the track. The fireballs take off and immediately pick up high speed, rapidly covering the distance .... But the seventh number [under which Berdimuhamedov usually drives, because 7 is his favorite number] no longer leaves a chance for the opponent.<...>As you know, having been fond of driving cars since childhood, the leader of the nation has established himself as a high-class race car driver. Having shown a high class of driving a sports car, the pilot won a confident victory ... at number seven - President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov!

In general, Berdimuhamedov does not miss an opportunity to demonstrate to his subjects that he is in excellent athletic shape.

Berdimuhamedov also loves everything gold. Garden equipment included. Here is a golden leechka.

And this is a golden car. It is clear that the person is not easy.

Berdimuhamedov also writes books. He called one of them “The good name is imperishable” and dedicated it to his grandfather Berdimuhamed Annaev, who was a teacher. There are other works under the titles "Turkmenistan - a country of healthy and highly spiritual people", "Akhal-Teke - our pride and glory", "Flight of heavenly horses" and "Medicinal plants of Turkmenistan". At the initiative of the president, in 2009, copies of the Rukhnama written by Turkmenbashi were confiscated from Turkmen schools. In exchange, Berdymukhammedov's books are brought there.

In 2016, two new books were published at once: "The Source of Wisdom" (a collection of Turkmen proverbs and sayings) and "Tea - medicine and inspiration". Berdymukhammedov usually presents his novelties to their deputy prime ministers and ministerial heads, who in return bow at his waist and place the gift on their foreheads.

Berdimuhamedov loves to portray himself against the background of the people, against the background of children and/or elders. There are a lot of portraits where he goes somewhere, young and cheerful, and leads the people.

A classic photo of the leader against a light-colored carpet. This is just the standard of a portrait, which almost everyone in Turkmenistan has.

When possible, the portrait is hung directly on the carpet. The frame, of course, should be gold.

This is the ticket office of the entertainment complex with a Ferris wheel. Here everyone is again met by Arkadag against the background of children.

Portraits hang absolutely everything. They hang at airports, railway stations, many administrative buildings and, of course, in the offices of state and not only companies. This is, for example, the office of MTS. Arkadag here is adjacent to the flag and emblem of Turkmenistan.

In hotel.

This is how the booth looked like at one of the exhibitions of our KamAZ. All companies must equip their stand with a portrait of Berdymukhammedov against the backdrop of a carpet, otherwise, they say, things will not work in the country.

Every year, state institutions and enterprises must update the portraits of the president. The country has a special commission that orders, evaluates and approves new portraits. For different institutions, they are different: for hospital portraits, Berdymukhammedov is photographed in a white coat, for military departments and special services - in a brown uniform and with a serious face, and for the facades of the president's buildings, they are photographed in a suit and with his hand raised in greeting. Portraits of the organization must be purchased at their own expense. For example, last year school teachers bought presidential portraits for 33 manats (about 650 rubles) for their classes.

In general, the universal worship of Turkmenbashi is gradually fading into the past, but the personality cult of his successor continues to grow stronger. Berdymukhammedov recently decided to erect a monument to himself.

There he is! The monument "Arkadag" is a lifetime equestrian monument to Berdimuhamedov. Reminds me of St. Petersburg Peter I, only bigger)

It was opened like this.

The authorities presented the fundraising for the monument as voluntary. But according to the journalists of "Chronicles of Turkmenistan", in fact, the money needed for its construction was simply withheld from the salaries of people in the civil service. According to the plan, the monument was to overshadow the famous Arch of Neutrality with the golden figure of Turkmenbashi on top, which had been moved to the outskirts of the city a few years before.

The period of Berdimuhamedov's first presidential term was called the Epoch of the Great Renaissance. The period of the second term was declared the Epoch of Might and Happiness.

Good luck to you, dear friends. Continue tomorrow.

The logic of the decisions taken by the country's leadership, and in some states the political system, is largely determined by the personality of the chief leader. the site continues to talk about the biographies, families and hobbies of the leaders of the post-Soviet republics. Previous articles were devoted to the chapters of Uzbekistan. Today the material is about the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich Berdimuhamedov.

son of a communist

The future holder of the title Arkadag (“patron”) was born in 1957 in the village of Babarap, fifty kilometers from Ashgabat, into an intelligent family of school teachers. The leader of Turkmenistan is proud of his parents, he periodically appears with them at public events. In honor of the grandfather and father of Arkadag, military units, streets and squares are called in Turkmenistan, their detailed biographies were published several years ago. From the books you can learn that the president's grandfather Berdimuhamed Annaev was a village teacher and director of the school, during the Great Patriotic War he fought with the rank of corporal, and was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor for his labor activity. The president's father, Myalikguly Berdimuhamedov, is a historian by education, worked at a school, then made a career as a correctional worker, rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the internal service, and worked in the apparatus of the Ministry of Fruit and Vegetable Economy of the Turkmen SSR. The book "The Faithful Son of the Motherland" specifically notes that the president's father was a candidate member of the CPSU, in the party committee of the Ministry he was a member of the commission for the preparation of holidays, participated in various party and Komsomol meetings.

After graduation, the future leader decided to devote himself to healing people. At the age of 23, he graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry of the Turkmen State Medical Institute and began working as a dentist in rural and urban clinics. In 1987, he went to Moscow for postgraduate studies, and three years later he defended his Ph.D. Returning home, the future leader of the republic continued to treat patients' teeth, deepened his knowledge at the same time and gradually became an assistant professor, and then the dean of the Faculty of Dentistry. In 2007, when he had already taken the presidency, it was announced that Berdymukhammedov had been awarded the degree of doctor of science in medicine.

At 40, he was appointed Minister of Health. This fact, as well as the fact that in the future he did not fall under numerous purges in the government, gave rise to various gossip. Allegedly, the rapid rise was facilitated by the fact that Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is actually the illegitimate son of the former president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov. Moreover, the external resemblance of the former and current leaders is striking. If we hypothetically imagine such a version to be true, it turns out that the current leader was born when Niyazov was only 17 years old.

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Family

The president has many relatives, but very little is known about what they do. Some information can be gleaned from a memo from employees of the US Embassy in Ashgabat to employees of the State Department in Washington, which was published by the Wikileaks portal. It follows from the document that the Turkmen leader has two daughters and a son, Serdar. The eldest daughter Guljakhon lives in London and is married to Ilasgeldy Amanov, a representative of the Turkmen State Agency for the Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources in the UK. The younger Gulshan lives in Paris and is married to Derya Atabaev, an employee of the Turkmen embassy in France, the couple has a villa on the Cote d'Azur. American diplomats also wrote that, according to rumors, Berdymukhammedov has an unofficial Russian wife named Marina, who used to work as a nurse in the same dental clinic where the head of state worked. Marina, like her 22-year-old daughter common with the president, according to the employees of the American embassy, ​​lived in London at the time the note was written in 2010.

More information about son Serdar, born in 1981. In 2001, he received an engineering degree from the Turkmen Agricultural University and since then has managed to become a doctor of science, a member of parliament, a lieutenant colonel, an honored coach of the country, and in March 2018 he was appointed deputy minister of foreign affairs. Serdar has a wife, three daughters and a son.

Gurbanguly was the only son of his parents, but he has five sisters. Some of them hold responsible positions, for example, Gulnabat heads the national organization of the Red Crescent.

Recently, his grandson Kerimguly, the son of his eldest daughter Guljahon, often appeared in public with the president. In the summer, Turkmen television showed how the head of state, together with his grandson, perform a rap of their own composition.

The only thing known about the president's wife is that her name is Ogulgerek, and she is the same age as her husband. Sometimes Berdimuhamedov appears in public with his wife, but very rarely, she does not give interviews. Arkadag does not like to let others into his family life. But he himself has recently been present in almost every wedding photo in the country: since 2013, all newlyweds have been obliged to take a picture at the registry office against the backdrop of a portrait of the president

Handyman

The President of Turkmenistan has a wide variety of interests. In the list of hobbies and sports, which he has been involved in since childhood. At the age of 15, the future leader of the nation became the champion of Ashgabat in freestyle wrestling, and a year later - the champion of the republic in shooting. Now he has many sports titles in various international sports associations and federations, personally participates in horse racing and car racing, and watches football competitions with interest.

Another area of ​​hobbies is music. The head of state plays the guitar, accordion, keyboards and drums, he himself composes songs in various genres, from pop and pop to rap. He also loves to sing, both songs of his own composition and those of other authors. This year, the president congratulated the women of the republic on March 8 by singing Igor Sarukhanov's song "Kara-Kum".

Berdimuhamedov also loves to invent and assemble technology. Recently, state television showed how the president personally designed and then built a racing car from his drawings.

But the biggest hobby of the leader of Turkmenistan is writing books, which are translated into many languages ​​of the world by a special staff of translators in the country. Berdimuhamedov wrote volumes on the importance of sports, the need to get an education, the benefits of drinking tea, the beauty of music and nature, the importance of water for the national economy, breeding horses, and spiritual self-improvement. The encyclopedic collection in 9 volumes "Medicinal herbs of Turkmenistan" is recommended for use by all medical institutions of the republic. His last opus, published in 2018, is called "The Teaching of Arkadag - the basis of health and inspiration."

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