Portal:Turkmenistan

The Turkmenistan Portal

Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the north, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west. It is one of six independent Turkic states. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. With over 7 million people, 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 located 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.

Turkmenistan is widely criticized for its poor human rights record, 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 (who had been the minister of health, 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, and many leaks. Most of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert. Turkmenistan is an observer state in the Organisation of Turkic States, a founding member of TÜRKSOY (the International Organization of Turkic Culture) and a member of the United Nations. (Full article...)

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Location in Turkmenistan

Türkmenbaşy, previously known as Shagadam (Turkmen: Şagadam), Krasnovodsk (Russian: Красноводск) and Kyzyl-Su, is a major port city in Balkan Province in western Turkmenistan, on the Türkmenbaşy Gulf of the Caspian Sea. It sits at an elevation of 27 metres (89 feet). The population (est 2004) was 86,800, consisting of mostly ethnic Turkmens, with the addition of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani minorities. As the terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway and site of a major seaport on the Caspian, it is an important transportation center. The city is also the site of Turkmenistan's largest oil refining complex.

This city should not be confused with the similarly named town of Türkmenbaşy (Turkmen: Türkmenbaşy şäherçesi), formerly called Janga (Russian: Джанга, Cyrillic Turkmen: Җанга), also in Balkan Province, or the city of Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy adyndaky in Daşoguz Province. (Full article...)

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Turkmenistan
Economy of Turkmenistan
Geography of Turkmenistan
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Culture of Turkmenistan

General images

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

Image 1Detail of a Salyr Turkmen ceremonial carpet, dating from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 2Female 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 3Tekke 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 4Turkmen woman's jewelry, metal and cornelian, 20th century. Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France. (from Culture of Turkmenistan)
Image 5Turkmen 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 6Turkmen woman's jewelry, silver, gold and cornelian, 20th century. Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France. (from Culture of Turkmenistan)
Image 7Seljuk Empire at its greatest extent in 1092, upon the death of Malik-Shah I. (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 8Hoisting the Red Banner in Tashkent 1917 (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 9Soviet soldiers returning from Afghanistan. 20 October 1986, Guşgy, Turkmenia. (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 10The Parthian Empire in 94 BC at its greatest extent, during the reign of Mithridates II (r. 124–91 BC) (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 11Oghuz Yabgu State, 750–1055 (from History of Turkmenistan)
Image 12Map of the Timurid Empire (from History of Turkmenistan)