Turkmenistan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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Podcast

Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now

As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, from October 19, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team covers a heatwave sweeping across Central Asia, anti-Taliban forces briefly seizing a district headquarters in a worrying sign of cracks in the Taliban's control, a shootout between different branches of Kyrgyzstan's security forces near the Uzbek border, promising new talks between Turkmenistan and Georgia, and a major shake-up inside Uzbekistan's presidential security services. Before then turning to our main story this week, where a growing number of countries are working with Central Asian governments to forcibly return Central Asian nationals, often into incredibly dangerous situations. - Steve Swedlow (Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights) - Bakhtiyor "Bakh" Safarov (Central Asia Consulting)

Turkmen Embroidery

Turkmen Embroidery Showcased at International Fashion Event in France

Turkmenistan’s traditional textile art and national costumes were presented at Art-Storytelling Paris-Deauville, an international fashion event held in the French seaside town of Deauville. The event brought together designers, fashion industry professionals, cultural organizations, and members of the diplomatic community from Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia. Turkmenistan was represented by designer Jennet Agayeva, head of the embroidery department of the Women’s Union of Turkmenistan, alongside representatives of the Women’s Union and officials from the Embassy of Turkmenistan in France. The event also included designers from France, Vietnam, Morocco, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, who presented collections combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary fashion. Turkmen embroidery, officially listed by UNESCO as Turkmen-style needlework art, is one of the country’s best-known forms of traditional decorative art. In 2022, UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The embroidery is known for intricate geometric and floral patterns. Its traditional palette of red, yellow, black, and white has cultural significance in Turkmen heritage.

Breastfeeding

Turkmenistan Promotes Breastfeeding After Reported Decline

Turkmenistan and the United Nations are encouraging Turkmen mothers to exclusively breastfeed their children in the first six months of life, following a decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates in the Central Asian country in recent years. UNICEF said its survey data showed that 84.7% of infants in Turkmenistan are breastfed within the first hour after birth. However, the proportion of babies who are exclusively breastfed over the first six months dropped from 56.5% in 2019 to 35.5% in 2024, the agency said on Monday. UNICEF is coordinating with health officials in Turkmenistan, as well as national media and social media influencers, on a campaign to promote breastfeeding that will conclude in August. The initiative provides information and expands counseling services for breastfeeding, which provides vital nutrients and strengthens immunity against many diseases. The campaign also aims to make workplaces more amenable to mothers who breastfeed their children. UNICEF said 2025 research identified “key barriers to continued breastfeeding, including limited access to counseling after discharge from maternity facilities, misinformation from online and informal sources, workplace pressures, and insufficient family support.” In 2018, the U.N. children’s agency reported that the rate of breastfeeding in Turkmenistan had increased from 11% to 59%. It said that breastfeeding had become an accepted practice in the country, a departure from approaches decades earlier when a mother and her newborn were separated immediately following delivery to let the mother rest. Newborns were fed a special solution on their first day and were breastfed only after 24 hours. In 2009, Turkmenistan passed a law to protect the right of mothers to breastfeed their children. The legislation was updated in 2016. The Progres Foundation, a non-profit organization based in the United States, says the situation for many mothers with young children in Turkmenistan is challenging, partly because of limited state support for fathers. The trust noted a report last year on legislation in Turkmenistan that provides paid breastfeeding breaks every three hours until a child is one and a half years old. However, the duration of those breaks is not specified. Also, while employers must provide nursing facilities, no minimum workplace size is defined in the breastfeeding law.

Photography

19th Century Photographs of Central Asia on Display in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan’s Museum of Fine Arts is showcasing the work of Paul Nadar, a French photographer who documented daily life, ancient ruins and a Russian imperial railway during a three-month trip in Central Asia in the late 19th century. People in traditional dress are seen in some of the photos in the museum exhibition, offering a glimpse of local society at a time when much of Central Asia was unfamiliar to many in Western Europe. One image shows a solitary figure beside the railway in the Karakum Desert, an expanse that covers much of modern Turkmenistan. Others depict people on horseback. Simple dwellings and a railway bridge over water are shown. There are also photos of the ruins of a mosque, mausoleums, the citadel gate and other places in Merv, an oasis city on the Silk Road whose history stretches back several thousand years. Today, the remnants of Merv are in Turkmenistan and are on UNESCO’s world heritage list. Paul Nadar, son of a prominent photographer widely known by the pseudonym Nadar, traveled in the region in 1890, according to the exhibition titled “Journey Through Turkmen Lands.” “He was gathering materials for the First International Exhibition dedicated to the development of the Trans-Caspian Railway, which was scheduled to open in Tashkent,” reported Turkmenistan: Golden Age, a state media outlet. At that time, the publication said, the railway “symbolized modernization and the opening of Central Asia to Europe.” The railway primarily served Russian imperial interests. The Russian military built it in the late 19th century as it solidified control in Central Asia, roughly following old Silk Road trade routes. Today, those routes are the basis for east-west transport channels associated with the developing Middle Corridor network. Paul Nadar used Kodak and Nadar Express Détective instant cameras to take over 1,800 photographs during his trip in the Turkistan region of the Russian empire, in what are today Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, according to the Getty philanthropic institution, which has an album of photos from the trip. It said photos from Nadar’s journey were shown not only at the Tashkent exhibition in 1890, but also at several World’s Fairs during that decade. The images were available for purchase at Nadar’s studio in Paris, Getty said. The photo exhibition in Ashgabat, which includes only a portion of Nadar’s work in Central Asia, opened last week and runs until June 23. It was organized with the help of the French embassy and cultural center in Ashgabat.

Academy of Sciences

Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov Awarded Academic Titles

Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov has been awarded the title of professor in economic and political sciences and elected as an academician of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan. The announcement was made by the state-run Golden Age. The award ceremony took place at the Academy of Sciences on the eve of Science Day, observed annually in Turkmenistan on June 12. According to the official statement, Berdimuhamedov received the professorship for his “outstanding contributions to scientific-production, innovation-industrial, socio-economic, and scientific-technical transformations,” as well as for promoting modern science and expanding international cooperation. The academy also said his election as an academician reflected his role in socio-economic development, the modernization of healthcare, support for science and education, the introduction of new technologies into the economy, and raising Turkmenistan’s international standing. The 44-year-old president has now followed a path similar to that of his father, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the country’s former president, who is widely known by the title Arkadag, or “Protector.” Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov holds titles including Doctor of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Economics, professor, and academician of the Academy of Sciences. The elder Berdimuhamedov has authored more than 60 books covering topics ranging from medicine and philosophy to culture, spirituality, Akhal-Teke horses, Alabai dogs, and sports. Serdar Berdimuhamedov has so far published four books. President Berdimuhamedov graduated in 2001 from the Turkmen Agricultural University named after Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan’s first president, with a degree in engineering technology. Between 2008 and 2011, he served as counselor-envoy at Turkmenistan’s embassy in Russia while studying international relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Russia’s Foreign Ministry. In August 2014, he defended his PhD-equivalent dissertation at the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, and in July 2015 received a Doctor of Technical Sciences degree.

Tourism

Turkmenistan Eases Restrictions for Foreign Tourists

Turkmenistan has begun gradually easing restrictions on foreign visitors and tourists, though local residents and human rights advocates say the changes have had little impact on the daily lives of the country’s citizens. Reports of a more accommodating approach toward foreign travelers have emerged from both tourists and representatives of the international tourism industry. Canadian traveler Elise Williams said that before visiting Turkmenistan in early 2026, her tour operator advised her not to stray far from her hotel and to avoid taking photographs independently in public places. Upon arrival, however, she found the situation less restrictive than expected. “I felt fairly free and was able to take many photographs in different locations,” Williams said. Tourism industry representatives have also noted signs of change. Dylan Harris, head of the British travel company Lupine Travel, said visas for Turkmenistan are now being issued more quickly and that his company has not experienced a single visa refusal over the past year. According to Harris, the application process has become significantly easier following the introduction of an electronic visa system. He believes the authorities are seeking to make the country more accessible to the outside world. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan developed a reputation as one of the most closed countries in the post-Soviet region. Foreign visitors frequently encountered visa denials, travel restrictions, and limitations on photography. A new phase of liberalization began in 2025 with the launch of the electronic visa system, which tourism operators say has reduced bureaucratic barriers and made travel planning more predictable. However, residents interviewed by independent media outlets argue that the recent changes primarily benefit foreigners rather than Turkmen citizens themselves. While international visitors may face fewer restrictions, locals say longstanding controls affecting domestic travel, access to information, and everyday freedoms remain largely unchanged. The contrast highlights the limited nature of Turkmenistan’s opening. While the government appears to be taking cautious steps to attract more foreign visitors, the country remains one of the most tightly controlled societies in the region. For now, the easing of tourist restrictions appears to be aimed more at improving Turkmenistan’s international accessibility than at broader domestic liberalization.