Turkmenbashi is so controlling that he has even rewritten the calendar, and he recently renamed the month of January to "Turkmenbashi." April is named after his mother.

All Turkmenbashi, All the Time The average citizen of Turkmenistan may barely be earning enough to survive, but they’ve got plenty of swell monuments celebrating President-for-Life Saparmurad ...

Sept. 10 -- In the desolate desert country of Turkmenistan, there's one aspect of the landscape that's more familiar than its ubiquitous camels and sand dunes. It's the pudgy, middle-aged face of ...

KHANKENDI, Azerbaijan, July 4. Turkmenistan has taken the initiative to update and improve existing logistics and transport ...

After heart surgery in 1997 forced him to quit smoking, Turkmenbashi forbade smoking in all public places. His irritation with beards, lip syncing, and gold teeth led to all three being outlawed.

Turkmenbashi Laid To Rest December 24, 2006 13:45 GMT 1 Mourners lining up in the early-morning hours in Ashgabat to pay respects to President Saparmurat Niyazov (epa) ...

The self-declared Turkmenbashi, or father of the Turkmen, ruled the energy-rich but impoverished country according to his very peculiar peccadillos, ...

In a few days, Rahim Esenov would return home to the land of Turkmenbashi. Published in the print edition of the May 1, 2006 , issue. David Remnick has been the editor of The New Yorker since 1998 ...

AFP reports that Asghabat residents saw Turkmenbashi's gilded visage being lifted onto its new perch -- the 95-meter-high "Monument of Neutrality" -- on October 31.

Margot talks with Erika Dailey, program officer with the Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute, about the cult of personality surrounding Turkmenistan's president, Turkmenbashi the ...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The sudden death of Turkmenistan's autocratic president, Saparmurad Niyazov, without any clear succession plan leaves the resource-rich former Soviet republic looking ...

Turkmenbashi Vodka. Photo: Christine Quirk. Ever since Turkmenistan’s eccentric despot Saparmurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov died in late 2006, his eccentric, despotic successor has been busy refocusing ...