Economy: Turkmenistan’s dictatorship has reached another level

Turkmens might even live well, as the Central Asian country, which is five times the size of Hungary and has a population of six million, is on the world’s sixth-largest natural gas reserve, with many billions dollars that enter the state coffers each year. But they do not live well, and the main reason for this is two people: Saparmurat Niyazov, a former head of state who fell to the right in 2006, and his successor, according to bad languages, his son, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.

The two heads of state have built a dictatorship that is corrupt and takes a personal cult to the extreme, so that the income coming into the country disappears into the pockets of bribed bureaucrats, possibly a public statue, a completely meaningless and disused highway. , and an empty tourist city of emptiness. Or just a stallion – the head of state loves horses and therefore decided to breed thousands of breeds, according to the leader, only Turkmenistan. The situation is compounded by the fact that international oil and gas prices have been relatively low in recent years and grain yields have been low, allowing Turkmen leaders to spend less money on foreign banknotes. .

Mileage lines

And the end result is that Turkmens are slowly lining up for everything: cooking oil, bread, meat, rice. This is because an economy that remains centralized and inherited from the communist era does not produce what is needed, but rather what Berdimuhamedow and his ministers have in mind. So if bread and meat are rarely found in public shops (private traders have produce but they are not affordable for the average Turk), there are tons of carbonated soft drinks, fruit jellies or fruit juices in the warehouses. Of the stores.

And the competent minister found a way to sell useless goods and write down in the statistics what percentage of the consumption of national soft drinks has risen: who wants to get sugar, cooking oil or other “luxury items” at a subsidized price, and must also buy a box of national juice or other product designated by the merchant.

And soda is the best version, according to a report by Radio Free Europe, in some cities a framed photograph of the head of state had to be bought for those who were queuing for flour and bread. And the prices are set in such a way that it is not worth buying masks that cost six times the price, but are not tied. “There is less food than a year ago. Our incomes are lower and food prices have increased significantly. My elderly mother stands in line every day between four and six in the morning, and someone from the family replaces her shortly before the store opens. We often have to wait 3-4 hours for us to queue, ”said one of the parents of the Turkmen family, Sapart, citing Human Rights Watch.

Good local media

Of course, there is not a word in the official media about the growing deficit and the escape from hyperinflation, nor is there any mention of the protests that have been rare so far. However, there are more and more of these: in one city, dozens of women blocked a main road and only returned home when the local governor promised they would all receive two pounds of flour.

And it is not a coronavirus epidemic that has not even officially arrived in the country, while doctors who say anonymously say that there is not enough coffin for those who died from the coronavirus. Furthermore, for some time, the wearing of a public mask was prohibited in Turkmenistan because it was supposedly intended to cause panic in the country. Now it is possible to walk in a mask, according to the official justification, there is a high risk of dust, but no measures have been taken to keep people away, so they can still have crowded weddings and most importantly, funeral.

Between friends

While it is clear to foreigners that there are no human rights at all in the country of Berdimuhamedow and few opponents are quickly imprisoned and from there to the cemetery, there is no way to force reforms. Foreigners still buy natural gas, and Turkmen leaders are not at all interested in the opinion of the outside world.

But some friends can still come forward, Berdimuhamedow was invited from Hungary in 2014, and in 2018 a summit was held in Kyrgyzstan with leaders of Turkish-rooted peoples; of course, Viktor Orbán was among the half and full dictators, and to the president known in his native land as Arkadag (Gazda). “How long can this last? For a while, it is certain that people will be poorer and power will become increasingly oppressive,” said Central Asia expert Luca Anceschi.