Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan's Introduction and History

Until 1991, Turkmenistan was one republic of the Soviet Turcmênia. Turkmenistan's independence was proclaimed on October 27 of 1991, under the leadership of the only presidential candidate, Saparmurat Niyazov, and the following year became the first country in Central Asia to adopt a new constitution, establishing the Halk Maslahat (People's Council) as the supreme organ of government. In the same year, the Communist Party of Turkmenistan has altered its title to 'Democratic Party of Turkmenistan'. The country is then joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1993, Turkmenistan adopted the manat as the national currency out of the sphere of influence of the ruble, sought to expand the oil industry. In July of 1995, a thousand people protested against the government and the economic situation. Several protesters were arrested. In December, in response to international criticism, Niyazov announced that it will establish an institute of human rights in the country. This became operational in October of 1996. In June of 1997, the Halk Maslahat approved a new criminal code which retains the death penalty for premeditated murder, crimes against the government, assassination of the president or possession of drugs. In a meeting with the president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in April of 1998, Niyazov agreed to release eight prisoners detained in the protests of 1995. Days later, Abdy Kuliyev, returned home and was put under house arrest. Kuliyev was released days later, through the intervention of the Russian government. Today, its capital is the city of Ashgabat. One of the most popular and world famous Turkmens today is Kurban Berdyev who is the coach of the Russian club Rubin Kazan.

Physical geography

The country of Turkmenistan can be found in Central Asia. The country's northern neighbor is Kazakhstan and its northeastern neighbor is Uzbekistan. In addition, the southern neighbors of the country are Iran and Afghanistan while Turkmenistan is bordered by the Caspian Sea to the west. With 488 100km², Turkmenistan is the 52nd largest country in the world. The country is located between longitudes 67° and 52° E and latitudes 43° and 35° N. the Karakum Desert covers more than four-fifths of the country's land while the Turan Depression dominates the country's center. The mountainous areas are located in the east and south. Rivers absent in most of the territory, crisscross the border regions, as the Amu Darya River, which forms part of the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan border, and Murgab, born in Afghanistan.

Religious geography

As per recent data from the World Factbook of CIA, nearly 89% of the population of Turkmenistan is made up of Muslims while 9% are Orthodox Christians. The remaining 2% of the population is identified as having no religious affiliation. Islam spread throughout Turkmenistan mainly with the help of preaching. Missionaries were welcomed to these lands as patriarchs of tribes and clans and give them the important status of founders of the country.

During the Soviet era, the religion and related ideologies of the mainly Muslim population was the main subject of ...