Only Turkmen Names Allowed

Ethnic minorities in Turkmenistan are reportedly being told they must give their newborn children tradition Turkmen names. The process of “Turkmenization” has been underway in Turkmenistan for many years, but until recently it had not affected the proper names of non-Turkmen citizens. According to a recent report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Turkmen service, known locally as Azatlyk, officials in the eastern Lebap Province were previously urging the Uzbek and Tajik communities in the province to give their newborns Turkmen names. Now this is no longer a suggestion, but a requirement. Lebap borders Uzbekistan. Many Uzbeks and Tajiks lived in this area long before Soviet mapmakers finally drew borders that after the collapse of the USSR in late 1991 became the frontier of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan for Turkmen [caption id="attachment_30930" align="aligncenter" width="1115"] stat.gov.tm[/caption] The credibility of official statistics from the Turkmen government has been called into question many times over the years, and the size and ethnic make-up of the population are no exception. According to the most recent census figures (released in 2023), Turkmenistan’s population is just over seven million people, though the real figure is almost certainly less than that, and could be as low as four or five million. Turkmenistan has been experiencing significant economic problems for some ten years, and many citizens have left the country. For example, as of December 2024, more than 205,000 Turkmen citizens are officially registered as living In Turkey, and that figure could be three times higher or more, including those Turkmen citizens who are illegally residing there. The census released by the Turkmen authorities lists the populations of 14 specific ethnic minority groups. Roughly one million Turkmen citizens are ethnic minorities. The top three are Uzbeks, numbering 642,476, Russians, 114,447, and Baluch, 87,503. These figures might be lower soon, however, at least officially. Authorities in Lebap are also reportedly recommending people from non-Turkmen groups give their nationality as Turkmen in their documents. Being an ethnic Turkmen matters when seeking employment in Turkmenistan, so there is an added incentive for minorities to claim they are Turkmen in official documents. Turkmenistan would not be the first country in Central Asia to have rules on naming newborns. Authorities in Tajikistan banned children from being given foreign names some eight years ago. The Language and Terminology Committee of Tajikistan’s Academy of Science produced a list of more than 3,000 approved Tajik names for children; however, that rule applies only to ethnic Tajiks. Minority groups in Tajikistan are free to name their children as they wish. Azatlyk reports that the authorities are also warning ethnic Turkmen about giving their children non-Turkmen names. Turkish names were becoming popular among Turkmen in Turkmenistan, and some Turkmen families living near Uzbekistan were giving their children Uzbek names. The difficulties in obtaining information from Turkmenistan make it difficult to know if the naming policy being enforced in Lebap exists in other parts of the country. Turkmenistan’s government has, to the greatest extent possible, sealed the country off from...

Inside Turkmenistan: What Self-Isolation Reveals About the Nation

Getting into Turkmenistan has always been a complex undertaking. For most foreigners, the only option available is to apply through an accredited Turkmen travel firm, meaning a 'guide' will trail ones every move. Alternately, there is a five day transit visa, though these are denied more often than they are issued. Arguably the second most insular state in the world after North Korea, it is fair to say that Turkmenistan really isn't in the market for tourists. Frozen in time The first leader of independent Turkmenistan was Saparmurat Niyazov, who climbed up the ladder in the Soviet nomenklatura (administration) and held such positions as First Secretary of the Ashgabat City Committee of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR; Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Turkmen SSR (i.e., Prime Minister); and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR before the collapse of the Soviet Union. From First Secretary, he became President of Turkmenistan for life, as formalized legislatively in 1999. In the second half of 1993, the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (formerly the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR) proposed the extension of Niyazov's powers until 2002 - a second term without re-election - and in January 1994, 99.9% of voters purportedly supported this in a nationwide referendum. From 1994 to 1995, Turkmenistan considered renaming the president's office "Shah" and declaring the republic a Shahdom. However, the idea did not find favor with the elders. Niyazov's strained relationship with his son was also taken into account, and the idea was buried. Declaring himself "Turkmenbashi" (father of the Turkmen people," Niyazov began to rain down a cavalcade of decrees including bans on lip-syncing, car radios, cinema, clowns and the playing of recorded music at weddings. Long hair on men and beards were outlawed, citizens with gold teeth ordered to have them extracted. "I watched young dogs when I was young," Niyazov stated. "They were given bones to gnaw to strengthen their teeth. Those of you whose teeth have fallen out did not chew on bones. This is my advice." All hospitals outside of Ashgabat were shut and the funds were instead spent on a $20 million new leisure center for horses. Compulsory education was cut by a year so students could no longer qualify to study abroad. The opera house and ballet boarded up, in place of culture came such fanciful projects as the $50 million dollar Turkmenbashi’s World of Fairytales theme park and the world’s largest shoe. Six meters long and one and a half meters tall, it was manufactured to symbolize the "great strides" Turkmenistan had made under Niyazov’s leadership. Numerous editions of Niyazov's, Ruhnama, (book of the soul) - his version of Mao’s Little Red Book - were released. A heady cocktail of pseudo-spiritual cogitations and revisionist history, the book claimed the Turkmen people to be the inventors of the wheel and heirs to Earth’s oldest civilisation. Within a year, most bookstores carried nothing but the Ruhnama, and novelists...