Portal:Turkmenistan

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The Turkmenistan Portal

Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. It is one of the six independent Turkic states. With a population over 7 million, Turkmenistan is the 35th most-populous country in Asia and has the lowest population of the Central Asian republics while being one of the most sparsely populated nations on the Asian continent.

Turkmenistan has long served as a thoroughfare for several empires and cultures. Merv is one of the oldest oasis-cities in Central Asia, and was once among the biggest cities in the world. It was also one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, Turkmenistan figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1925, Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR); it became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The country is widely criticized for its poor human rights, including for its treatment of minorities, and its lack of press and religious freedoms. Since the independence declared from the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan has been ruled by repressive totalitarian regimes: that of President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Türkmenbaşy or "Head of the Turkmens") until his death in 2006; Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who became president in 2007 after winning a non-democratic election (he had been vice-president and then acting president previously); and his son Serdar, who won a subsequent 2022 presidential election described by international observers as neither free nor fair, and now shares power with his father.

Turkmenistan possesses the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas. Most of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. From 1993 to 2019, citizens received government-provided electricity, water and natural gas free of charge. Turkmenistan is an observer state in the Organisation of Turkic States, the Türksoy community and a member of the United Nations. (Full article...)

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According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, 93.1% of Turkmenistan's population is Muslim. Traditionally, the Turkmen of Turkmenistan, like their kin in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan are Sunni Muslims. Shia Muslims, the other main branch of Islam, are not numerous in Turkmenistan, and the Shia religious practices of the Azerbaijani and Kurdish minorities are not politicized. The great majority of Turkmen readily identify themselves as Muslims and acknowledge Islam as an integral part of their cultural heritage, but some support a revival of the religion's status primarily as an element of national revival. (Full article...)

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Turkmenistan
Economy of Turkmenistan
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Culture of Turkmenistan

General images

The following are images from various Turkmenistan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Parthian Empire in 94 BC at its greatest extent, during the reign of Mithridates II (r. 124–91 BC) (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 2Map of the Timurid Empire (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 3Oghuz Yabgu State, 750–1055 (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 4Soviet soldiers returning from Afghanistan. 20 October 1986, Kushka, Turkmenia. (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 5Tekke Turkmen kapunuk (door surround), early 19th century. A kapunuk is designed to surround a door frame, providing a decorative entry to a circular Turkmen yurt. (from Culture of Turkmenistan)
Image 6Turkmen man and his son hoist the flag of Turkmenistan while on horseback at the opening ceremony for the 2008 World Nomad Games. (from Culture of Turkmenistan)
Image 7Turkmen woman's jewelry, silver, gold and cornelian, 20th century. Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France. (from Culture of Turkmenistan)
Image 8Female figurine of the "Bactrian princess" type, 2500-1500 BCE, chlorite (dress and hat) and limestone (head, hands and a leg), height: 13.33 cm, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA). (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 9Detail of a Salor Turkmen ceremonial carpet, dating from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 10Seljuk Empire at its greatest extent in 1092, upon the death of Malik Shah I. (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 11Hoisting the Red Banner in Tashkent 1917 (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 12Turkmen woman's jewelry, metal and cornelian, 20th century. Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France. (from Culture of Turkmenistan)