Saparmurat Niyazov

...to open up his country and introduce reforms after years of isolation under Turkmenistan's previous ruler, President Saparmurat Niyazov. But critics say few genuine reforms have taken place and the restrictions on basic freedoms...

In this article: Turkmenistan, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Human Rights Watch, Natural gas, and Dashoguz

...to be compared with the "wedding cake" that Mussolini completed in Rome or the 250ft gold statue that was commissioned by Saparmurat Niyazov, a former Turkmen dictator, to rotate to face the sun. Brian Sewell, the art critic, Britain was...

In this article: London, Boris Johnson, Eiffel Tower, Lakshmi Mittal, Wedding cake, Formula 1, Turner Prize, Sunday Times, Angel of the North, and Bernie Ecclestone

...statement said. President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov has carefully opened his isolated desert nation to courtship by foreign investors since he came to power after the death of longtime autocratic leader Saparmurat Niyazov in December 2006.

In this article: International Monetary Fund, Turkmenistan, Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, Russia, Cash flow, Revenue, and Gazprom

...in the early 1990s. Turkmenistan's leadership has made tentative moves to open up the country since the December 2006 death of Saparmurat Niyazov, the autocract who had ruled since before the 1991 Soviet collapse. His successor, President...

In this article: Peace Corps, Turkmenistan, Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, United States, Natural gas, American University in Bulgaria, American University of Central Asia, and Hillary Rodham Clinton

...ban. </p><p>Efforts to stop students from studying abroad are reminiscent of the draconian policies of late dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, who died in late 2006. </p><p>Educational standards withered under Niyazov, who made the study of his...

In this article: United States, American University of Central Asia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, American University in Bulgaria, Rukhnama, and Hillary Rodham Clinton

...safe." Ashgabad has been under redevelopment for years. The building was begun under its former leader, the authoritarian Saparmurat Niyazov. Nothing has stood in the way of Turkmenistan's construction boom. Dubbed the White City,...

In this article: Turkmenistan, Natural gas, and Hydrocarbon