Turkmen Capital Hits Guinness Book of Records

Turkmen capital of Ashgabat has been included in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest density of white marble buildings in the city. The edition’s chief editor Craig Glendale travelled to the former Soviet country to present the certificate on Saturday to the city’s mayor of Ashgabat. The certificate names Ashgabat as the most white-marble city in the world for its 543 new buildings lined with white marble covering the total area of 4.5 million square meters. Earlier the capital of Turkmenistan, a Central Asian state widely known for its personality cult traditions and media censorship, had at least four mentions in the Guinness Book of Records for its world’s tallest flagpole (133 meters), largest fountain complex, the largest architectural image of the star and the largest Ferris wheel in an enclosed architectural design.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20130525/181343827/Turkmen-Capital-Hits-Guinness-Book-of-Records.html

Turkmen President Falls Off Horse after Winning $11 Mln

Turkmenistan’s president, a known horse enthusiast, won US$11 million by coming first in a race organized to celebrate domestic horse breeding. The triumph was marred by a fall right after the finish line, news which the government tried to suppress. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov took part in last week’s Day of the Turkmen Racehorse by taking to the saddle and competing with six other riders. The president chose a horse of his favorite Akhal-Teke breed to be pitted against other breeds. All the riders in the race were at least 30 years old and were competing for a prize fund provided by the owners of the horses. The president, 55, and his racehorse Berkarar, reached the finish line less than a second ahead of the second-placed jockey. Skeptics were quick to accuse organizers of fixing the race. The victory however proved to be costly for the Turkmen leader. Just meters after the finish line his horse apparently stumbled, and Berdymukhamedov dived over its head and fell face-first into the turf. The development apparently caused several tense minutes for his security staff and cabinet members, who rushed on to the racetrack in their dozens. An ambulance arrived minutes later and took the president away. However about an hour later he was in good enough shape to appear at the event once more, so apparently the fall didn’t cause any serious injuries. Witnesses however say Berdymukhamedov was restrained in his movements as he waved to the spectators of the race day. Local media in the Central Asian country didn’t mention the fall while reporting the president’s victory, stopping the footage as he crossed the finish line. However the uncut version quickly leaked to the internet. Some online media said the footage surfaced despite attempts by security personnel to confiscate all copies made by the hundreds of people attending the event.

http://rt.com/news/turkmenistan-president-fall-horse-706/

Turkmen President Pardons 2,000 Prisoners

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has reportedly signed an amnesty decree for 2,000 prisoners (including 11 foreigners). In a televised statement issued on October 24, Berdymukhammedov said the clemency was granted "in accordance with the noble tradition of our nation, based upon teachings of our great ancestors, and due to the 21st anniversary of Turkmenistan’s independence." Before Berdymukhammedov’s presidency, his predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov issued amnesty decrees once a year, in the holy month of Ramadan. Berdymukhammedov issues such decrees several times a year, usually ahead of state holidays. Turkmenistan's Independence Day is October 27.

http://www.rferl.org/content/turkmen-president-issues-amnesty-for-2000-inmates/24749322.html
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/10/24/pardon/

Turkmenistan Gets its Second Political Party

Turkmenistan launched its second political party on Tuesday. The 300-member Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs held its inaugural meeting two years after the president ordered the creation of a multi-party system in the ex-Soviet republic. The new party made its debut under a large photo of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. Created under the auspices of the country’s “Political Parties Act,” which was adopted in January by Turkmenistan’s parliament, the new party faces an uphill battle in its electoral fight against the president’s Democratic Party in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to take place sometime in 2013.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-turkmenistan-partiesbre87k0ft-20120821,0,4212798.story
http://www.rferl.org/content/transmission-turkmenistan-second-political-party/24683555.html

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Ban "The Dictator"

Tajikistan has decided not to screen Sacha Baron Cohen's latest spoof blockbuster, The Dictator, after authorities concluded the movie was incompatible with the nation's mentality. Turkmenistan is also unlikely to show the comedy, though it is being released in other former Soviet republics. The film features Baron Cohen as General Aladeen, the tyrannical ruler of a fictitious country. In 2006 Kazakhstan banned Borat, another Baron Cohen comedy depicting a Kazakh journalist who travels to the US to marry Pamela Anderson.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/may/18/tajikistan-bans-dictator-baron-cohen
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/05/18/dictator/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYplvwBvGA4 (official trailer)

Turkmenistan’s President Re-Elected with 97% of Vote

The incumbent Turkmen President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, won the recent presidential election with 97 percent of the vote, trouncing seven token competitors. All of the presidential candidates were from the same — in fact, the only — party, the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. The results give Berdymukhammedov another five-year term as president of Turkmenistan, an oil- and gas-rich former Soviet republic bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/world/asia/berdymukhammedov-re-elected-president-of-turkmenistan.html

Journalist Sentenced to 5 Years in Jail in Turkmenistan

A Turkmen court sentenced a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent to five years in jail. Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev went on trial for allegedly urging a relative to attempt suicide, in a case that his family says was brought in retaliation for his journalistic activities. Yazkuliyev was one of the first journalists in Turkmenistan to cover July's deadly explosions at a weapons depot at Abadan near Ashgabat. Official media initially downplayed the explosions as a minor incident. RFE/RL President Steven Korn called the case against Yazkuliyev "an outrage," noting: "This was a bogus trial and a predatory sentence that shows that Turkmenistan authorities respect no law and no standards when it comes to their treatment of the media. RFE/RL protests the sentence vigorously and calls on others in the international community to condemn it as well."

http://www.rferl.org/content/rights_group_denounces_sham_trial_against_rferl_journalist/24349776.html

Turkmenistan Convicts 10 Central Bank Officials

Turkmenistan’s Supreme Court has convicted ten senior central bank officials of bribery and sentenced them to long jail sentences as part of a crackdown on corruption in the country. The officials were found guilty of extorting about $4.8m worth of bribes from construction companies, state media reported. Four of the convicted men, including Byashim Begdzhanov, the former head of international operations at the bank, received 15-year jail sentences, the country’s maximum penalty for economic crimes.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/57e33a1a-bb78-11e0-a7c8-00144feabdc0.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/07/29/bribes/

Clothing Retailer Mango Targets Russia and CIS Countries for Expansion

Spanish clothing and accessories retailer, Mango, announced plans to double the number of stores it has in Russia over the next 3 years.  Mango representative, Aniko Kostyl, linked the expansion plan to Russia's very "fashion-oriented" consumer, as well as to the size and growth potential of the Russian market (second only to China in retail sales).  Kostyl added that Russia's growing middle class was a driving force in the retailer's expansion plans and would continue to shape demand in Russia's retail market over the next several years.  In addition to its plans for 200 stores in Russia, Mango also hopes to increase its retail presence in other CIS countries, including in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan -- the only CIS countries that are currently Mango-free.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/08/russia-mango-idUSLDE7670O120110708

Russia's Transparency Rating Drops

Transparency International's new corruption index ranks Russia number 154 out of 178 countries, a fall from the previous rank of 146. Russia is the world's lowest-ranked major economy, with a rating of 2.2 (down from 2.1) on a scale of 1 to 10. TI reports that Russia has created the necessary laws and legal institutions, but has not taken serious steps to implement anti-corruption measures in everyday life. Elsewhere in the former USSR, the Baltic countries ranked the highest (Estonia 26th, Lithuania 46th, Latvia 59th), Georgia ranked 68th, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were ranked below Russia, and the other countries ranked higher than Russia, but not in the top 100.

http://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/print/2010/10/26/1132227

Turkmenistan Energy Industry Moves Away from Russia

In several recent oil and gas deals, Turkmenistan has exhibited a reorientation away from working with major Russian companies like Gazprom and Lukoil and toward a preference for partners from the United States, Europe, Asia, and the United Arab Emirates. In early August, the Turkmen government announced that it would accept bids for oil field development projects from several major Western companies and a UAE company, but Russian companies are not in the list of invited bidders. Also, Turkmen oil is being piped to China and through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and a possible pipeline through Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India is under discussion. Explanations offered for the shift away from Russia include a Western advantage in offshore drilling technology for deposits in the Caspian Sea, a 2009 pipeline explosion for which the Turkmen leadership blamed Gazprom, and disagreements over prices for Turkmen oil and gas and over whether Gazprom should have a right to re-export Turkmen gas.
http://www.tol.org/client/article/21743-russian-energy-companies-left-out-in-turkmenistan.html

Turkmenistan Bans Exit to 37,000 Citizens

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has reportedly issued secret black lists of persons prohibited from leaving or entering the country. About 37,000 people, including state officials and crime suspects under surveillance, are prohibited from leaving. About 2,000 Turkmenistan citizens, including fugitive politicians, journalists, and criminals, and about 7,000 foreigners, including 1,748 Russian citizens, are prohibited from entering.

http://lenta.ru/news/2010/07/29/list/

U.S. DoJ: Daimler Bribed Russian Officials

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against German carmaker Daimler accusing it of bribing officials in 22 countries, including Russia, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, to secure government contracts. According to the suit, filed under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, in 2000-2005 Daimler paid $4 mln in bribes to Russian officials.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/daimler-accused-of-bribing-russians/402514.html