52 Facts About Saparmurat Niyazov

Turkmenbasy Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, was a Turkmen politician who led Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006.

Saparmurat Niyazov was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan from 1985 until 1991 and supported the 1991 Soviet coup attempt.

Saparmurat Niyazov continued to rule Turkmenistan as the first president for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

In 1999, the Assembly of Turkmenistan declared Saparmurat Niyazov to be president for life.

Saparmurat Niyazov promoted a cult of personality around himself and imposed his personal eccentricities upon the country, such as renaming Turkmen months and days of the week to references of his autobiography the Ruhnama.

Saparmurat Niyazov made it mandatory to read the Ruhnama in schools, universities and governmental organizations; new governmental employees were tested on the book at job interviews and an exam on its teachings was a part of the driving test in Turkmenistan.

Saparmurat Niyazov was born on 19 February 1940 in Gypjak, just outside Ashgabat in the Turkmen SSR.

Saparmurat Niyazov was a member of the influential Teke tribe of the Turkmens.

Saparmurat Niyazov grew up in a Soviet orphanage before the state put him in the custody of a distant relative.

Saparmurat Niyazov then studied at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, where in 1967 he received a diploma as an electrical engineer.

In 1962, Saparmurat Niyazov started his political career, becoming a member of the Communist Party.

Saparmurat Niyazov quickly rose through the ranks, becoming First Secretary of the Ashgabat City Committee, and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR in 1985.

Saparmurat Niyazov gained this post after Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev had removed his predecessor, Muhammetnazar Gapurov, following a cotton-related scandal.

On 13 January 1990, Saparmurat Niyazov became Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen SSR, the supreme legislative body in the republic.

Saparmurat Niyazov became president at the transition of Turkmenistan from a Soviet republic to an independent state.

Saparmurat Niyazov's presidency was characterised by an initial crumbling of the centralised Soviet model that in many respects was unsuited for a transition to smaller, separate states.

Saparmurat Niyazov made a personal attempt to create a cultural background for the new state of Turkmenistan by writing and promoting the Ruhnama, an autobiography meant to guide the people of Turkmenistan with his ideas and promote native culture.

Saparmurat Niyazov took part in creating new holidays with a specific Turkmen nature and introduced a new Latin-based Turkmen alphabet to replace Russian Cyrillic.

In 1991 and 2001, Saparmurat Niyazov issued decrees making water, gas, electricity, and refined salt free to use for ten-year periods.

In 2005, Saparmurat Niyazov appointed Gurbanmyrat Atayew as Minister of Oil and Gas, succeeding Atamyrat Berdyyew.

Saparmurat Niyazov put the revival of Turkmen culture as one of the top priorities in Turkmenistan's development.

Saparmurat Niyazov introduced a new Turkmen alphabet based on the Latin alphabet to replace Cyrillic.

Saparmurat Niyazov's renaming of months, as well as most of the days of the week, to Turkmen heroes, poets, historical events, family members and himself was an unexpected development.

Not all the changes promoted Saparmurat Niyazov; October was renamed Garassyzlyk to mark the state's founding on 27 October 1991, and November Sanjar in honour of Sultan Sanjar who led the Seljuqs to their last full flowering.

In 2005, Saparmurat Niyazov flew to Moscow to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the war's end, and just days prior, he congratulated Turkmen veterans of the war as well as Russian veterans on behalf of Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian veterans on behalf of Viktor Yushchenko.

Individually, Saparmurat Niyazov's father was awarded the honorary title of Hero of Turkmenistan in 1994 and in 2004, a division of the Turkmen Ground Forces was renamed after Atamyrat Nyyazow.

Today, the 22nd Motor Rifle Division "Atamyrat Saparmurat Niyazov" deployed in Serdar carries his name.

One of the earliest acts of Saparmurat Niyazov was to abolish the death penalty.

Saparmurat Niyazov granted official human rights to the people, though they were not respected in practice, with his government being criticized as one of the worst human rights violators in the world.

Press freedom under Saparmurat Niyazov's leadership was much criticised as it was with other post-Soviet Central Asian states.

In 1998, Saparmurat Niyazov closed the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan.

All libraries outside of the capital were closed, as Saparmurat Niyazov believed that the only books that most Turkmens needed to read were the Quran and his Ruhnama.

In keeping with the predominantly Islamic nature of Turkmen society, Saparmurat Niyazov granted pardons each year on the Laylat al-Qadr in the month of Ramadan.

Saparmurat Niyazov promoted a policy of strict neutrality in foreign affairs, refraining from seeking membership in NATO or GUAM and almost ignoring the CSTO.

In 2006, the European Commission and the international trade committee of the European Parliament voted to grant Turkmenistan "most favoured nation" trading status with the European Union, widely seen as motivated by interest in natural gas, after Saparmurat Niyazov announced he would enter a "human rights dialogue" with the EU.

In January 1996, Saparmurat Niyazov met with Sayid Abdulloh Nuri in Tehran to inform him that the attendees of a CIS summit in Moscow had agreed to renew the mandate of CIS peacekeepers in Tajikistan, which was going through a civil war at the time.

On 25 November 2002, Saparmurat Niyazov's motorcade was fired upon at about 7 am in downtown Ashgabat as he was traveling to his office from his official residence in Arshabil.

Saparmurat Niyazov claimed that it was an attempt at a coup, and as a result, the Turkmen government arrested thousands of suspected conspirators and members of their families.

Saparmurat Niyazov later announced that surveillance cameras were to be placed at all major streets and sites in Turkmenistan, an apparent precaution against future attempts.

Saparmurat Niyazov became a substitute for the vacuum left by the downfall of the communist system, with his image replacing those of Marx and Lenin.

Saparmurat Niyazov renamed the town of Janga and city of Krasnovodsk after his nickname Turkmenbasy, and renamed schools, airports, Ashgabat streets, and even a meteorite after himself and members of his family.

Saparmurat Niyazov gave every citizen a watch with his portrait in its dial.

Saparmurat Niyazov simultaneously cut funding to and partially disassembled the education system in the name of "reform", while injecting ideological indoctrination into it by requiring all schools to use his own book, the Ruhnama, as their primary text.

Saparmurat Niyazov made it mandatory to read the Ruhnama in schools, universities and governmental organizations, new governmental employees were tested on the book at job interviews and an exam on its teachings was a part of the driving test in Turkmenistan.

Saparmurat Niyazov claimed those who read it thrice were destined for heaven.

One month prior to his death, Saparmurat Niyazov had publicly announced that he had been taking heart medication for the past few years for an unidentified cardiac condition.

The circumstances of Saparmurat Niyazov's death have been surrounded by some media speculation.

Foreign news reports claimed that Saparmurat Niyazov suffered from ischemic heart disease and kidney failure due to being overweight and overindulgence of alcohol.

The Arch of Neutrality, the rotating golden statue of Saparmurat Niyazov, was moved from downtown Ashgabat to the southern edge of the city on 26 August 2010.

However, Saparmurat Niyazov has remained a celebrated figure in Turkmenistan.

Saparmurat Niyazov's birthday is designated as a national day, called "Turkmenbasy Remembrance Day".

Saparmurat Niyazov had two children, both of whom have maintained distance from politics after their father's death.