He's not only a brutal dictator, but a dictator who runs his country like it's his own private Disney World. That country, Turkmenistan, is a former Soviet republic sitting strategically between Iran ...

The late Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov (who liked to be known as Turkmenbashi, or "Leader of the Turkmen") is remembered for an authoritarian style and eccentric personality cult embodied by ...

Meet the new statue, same as the old statue. It's been a tastelessly iconic symbol of Turkmenistan since it appeared in 1998: a 12-meter-tall, gold-plated statue of Saparmurat Niyazov, the country's ...

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world’s hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook, Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter @atlasobscura. In a plaza on the southern outskirts of Turkmenistan’s capital, ...

Ever since Turkmenistan’s eccentric despot Saparmurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov died in late 2006, his eccentric, despotic successor has been busy refocusing Niyazov’s pagan-like personality cult on ...

Of the fifteen states of the former Soviet empire, Turkmenistan, just north of Iran, is the one that has turned out to be a cruel blend of Kim Jong Il’s North Korea and L. Frank Baum’s Oz. Not long ...

Recent Russian threats about possible cuts in natural gas deliveries has the European Union concerned. But new light being shed on Western overtures to the despotic ruler of energy-rich Turkmenistan ...

Turkmenistan's leader Saparmurat Niyazov's recent visit to China proved "a complete success," as Ashgabat and Beijing took preliminary steps toward the construction of a pipeline linking the two ...

A recently published book about President Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan confirms that the cult of personality is alive and well in the republic. After 15 years of independence Maria Yanovskaya could ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

Landing in Ashgabat, there's no sign telling you where you are. No "Welcome to Ashgabat", no "Ashgabat International Airport, Terminal One" or anything of the sort. Instead, atop the terminal building ...

One day it will crumble, Ozymandias-like, into the surrounding Karakum desert — a curious relic that might prompt a brief flicker of interest from passers-by. But for the moment, though already coated ...