'People are afraid to say a word': inside the closed city of Ashgabat
When Stanislav Volkov began reporting for the Alternative Turkmenistan News, the secret service cut his internet and threw acid at him – all for daring to describe the harsh reality of daily life in...
View ArticleThe iron, the melon and the jug: the weirdest Stans buildings – in pictures
From Ashgabat’s falcon-shaped airport to Dushanbe’s giant flagpole, and more than a few Eyes of Sauron, the Stans don’t shy away from eye-popping architectureContinue reading...
View ArticleInsta-stans: the cities of post-Soviet Central Asia captured on Instagram
From the stunning ancient cities of the Old Silk Road, to the ornate metro system of Almaty, social media allows people who live in or pass through the ‘Stans’ to share glimpses of their cities with...
View ArticleA puppy for Putin – but for dogs in Turkmenistan it's open slaughter
Berdymukhamedov’s presentation of a puppy to Vladimir Putin is ironic, given the bloodbath of stray dogs and cats over which he has presided in AshgabatThe Turkmenistan president’s present to his...
View Article‘The decline of Russian dominance is striking’: readers respond from the Stans
Guardian Cities readers on the rise of the shopping mall, rivalry between oil-rich Kazakhstan and its rural neighbours – and even a defence of dictatorshipWe received many responses to our callout for...
View ArticleAziýanyň iň awtoritar şäheri bolan Aşgabatda: 'Adamlar söz aýtmakdan hem...
Haçan-da Stanislav Volkov Alternatiw Türkmenistan Habarlar gullugyna habarçy bolup hyzmat etmäge başlanda, howpsuzlyk gullugy onuň internetini kesdi we onuň üstüne kislota dökdi – ählisi hem ýaramaz...
View ArticleTurkmenistan dictator opens golf course – and quickly hits 'hole in one'
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is the latest world leader to show a remarkable talent for golf, according to state TVTurkmenistan’s dictatorial president has already turned his hand to DJing, weights...
View ArticleTurkmenistan's president performs in rap video with his grandson – video
Turkmenistan's unconventional dictator Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has released another of his supposedly self-written songs – this time, performing alongside his grandson. The president has previously...
View ArticleInside Ashgabat, the flashy but empty 'city of the dead'
Film-maker and ‘dark tourist’ David Farrier visited Turkmenistan’s newly built capital, designed to cope with anything – as long as it’s preplannedWandering around Ashgabat, I had Land of Sunshine, the...
View ArticleLandmark Caspian Sea deal signed by five coastal nations
Convention seen as vital to break Iran’s sense of economic isolation after US sanctions Vladimir Putin met the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, on Sunday at the close of a dramatic week in which each...
View ArticlePapers reveal saga of horse given to John Major by Turkmenistan
UK diplomats struggled to get the stallion to Moscow in a drama ‘worthy of Gogol’ The saga of the prime minister’s horse – a stallion called Maksat given to John Major by the then Turkmenistan...
View ArticleLanguage wars: the 19 greatest linguistic spats of all time
Words are ever evolving – but not without controversy. From creative applications of an apostrophe to the overuse of literally, what makes you rage?What is it about language that gets people so hot...
View Article'Edge of catastrophe': report warns firms and governments off Turkmenistan
Citizens of gas-rich, isolated state subject to food shortages and human rights abusesInvestors and governments should stop cosying up to gas-rich Turkmenistan, according to a new report that describes...
View ArticleTurkmenistan leader unveils giant gold statue of local dog
Tribute to alabai sheepdog towers above roundabout in capital of AshgabatTurkmenistan’s longtime president has unveiled a huge gilded statue of a dog on a busy roundabout in the capital.Gurbanguly...
View ArticleTurkmenistan leader reveals golden monument to favourite dog breed – video
Turkmenistan's leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, solemnly inaugurated a monument for his favourite breed of dog, the nationally revered alabai.The gold-leaf six-metre statue of the central Asian...
View ArticleTurkmenistan dedicates holiday to enormous national dog breed
The country’s president has also erected a gold statue and dedicated an ode to the Alabai dog breedTurkmenistan marked a new holiday on Sunday dedicated to its national – and very large – Alabai dog...
View ArticleBoris Johnson needs some good PR. Why not borrow Turkmenistan’s dog day?
The central Asian republic has created a national holiday to celebrate the alabai breed. Sounds like just the sort of distraction our floundering PM might welcomeTurkmenistan may be a bleak...
View ArticleHas Interpol become the long arm of oppressive regimes?
Once used in the hunt for fugitive criminals, the global police agency’s most-wanted ‘red notice’ list now includes political refugees and dissidents Flicking through the news one day in early 2015,...
View ArticleTurkmenistan plans to extinguish vast gas crater fire dubbed ‘Gateway to hell’
President Berdymukhamedov orders experts to find way to put out five-decade-old blaze Karakum desertTurkmenistan’s strongman leader has ordered experts to find a way to finally extinguish a massive...
View ArticleTurkmenistan strongman's son wins presidential vote
Serdar Berdymukhamedov won Saturday’s ballot, officials said, but with lower victory margin than his fatherThe son of Turkmenistan’s autocrat leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has won a decisive...
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