I watched this Finnish documentary (which first appeared in 2008, and is now available in full on YouTube) on the Ruhnama, the “holy book” that came to define the dictatorship of Saparmurat Niyazov, ...

Berdymukhammedov writes a text to take the place of a handbook which became the basis of a personality cult introduced by his predecessor Niyazov .The new book may be titled “Book of Turkmen ” or ...

People outside Turkmenistan usually have two ways of regarding the Ruhnama, the two-volume compendium of advice, spirituality and ersatz history authored by the Central Asian nation's deceased ...

Two years ago in a McDonald's in Moscow I asked a man from Ashgabat about some of the bizarre stories circulating about his homeland: "Is it true that gold teeth are banned in Turkmenistan?" "Complete ...

When President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov came to office in 2007, he steadily began to remove the trappings of the cult of personality of his predecessor, past dictator Saparmurat Niyazov. Among ...

As an aging freighter inches into the Caspian Sea port city of Turkmenbashi, a red-neon sign flashes on top of the arrival terminal. It says: People, Nation, Turkmenbashi. In Turkmenistan, nearly six ...

Among his many claims to fame, Saparmurat Niyazov, aka Turkmenbashi, the demented and now deceased dictator of Turkmenistan, was celebrated for his Ruhnama or "book of the soul", two volumes of ...

Eleven years after gaining independence, one thing remains very much the same in the Central Asia republic of Turkmenistan: the iron grip of President Saparmurat Niyazov. If anything, the imprint of ...

TEHRAN - A seminar introducing Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov's new book "Ruhnama" was held in the Imam Khomeini International University of Qazvin. The seminar was held through the efforts of ...