Abstract
Until 1917 Russian Central Asia was divided politically into the Khanate of Khiva, the Emirate of Bokhara and the Governor-Generalship of Turkestan. Te Khan of Khiva was deposed in Feb. 1920 and a People’s Soviet Republic was set up. In Aug. 1920 the Amir of Bokhara suffered the same fate. Te former Governor-Generalship of Turkestan was constituted an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the RSFSR on 11 April 1921. In the autumn of 1924 the Soviets of the Turkestan, Bokhara and Khiva Republics decided to redistribute their territories on a nationality basis. The redistribution was completed in May 1925 when the new states of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tadzhikistan were accepted into the USSR as Union Republics. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan declared independence in Oct. 1991. Saparmurad Niyazov was elected president and founded the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the country’s only legal party. Also prime minister and supreme commander of the armed forces, parliament proclaimed Niyazov head of state for life in Dec. 1999. He held the offcial title of ‘Turkmenbashi’, leader of all Turkmen. In July 2000 President Niyazov introduced a law requiring all offcials to speak Turkmen. He died of a heart attack in Dec. 2006.
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Futher Reading
Abazov, Rafis, Historical Dictionary of Turkmenistan. 2005
National Statistical office: State Statistical Committee of Turkmenistan, 72 Magtymgyly Ave., Ashgabat 744000.
Website (Turkmen and Russian only): http://www.stat.gov.tm
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© 2011 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2011). Turkmenistan. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59051-3_335
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59051-3_335
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