Turkmenistan’s President, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, inaugurated Arkadag, a $5-billion “smart” city, in honor of his father, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. Human rights groups have noted that it promotes the country’s strongman personality cult.
To cries of “Glory to the Protector!”, Turkmenistan on Thursday inaugurated Arkadag, a $5-billion “smart” city, built in honor of former strongman leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, cementing one of the most extraordinary personality cults in the world.
During a glorious ceremony, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, his son and current president, unveiled the city around 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of the capital, Ashgabat.
The ex-Soviet Central Asian nation is one of the most secretive countries in the world, and access to foreign media is extremely rare.
The new city, not yet populated, is built in the foothills of the picturesque Kopet-Dag mountains and named after Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who ruled the country between 2006 and 2022 and now carries the title Hero Arkadag (Protector).
“Glory to Arkadag and Serdar, glory to the Turkmen leader,” participants dressed in traditional Turkmen clothes chanted during the ceremony, which took place under a scorching sun.
The former president, who turned 66 on Thursday, remains the real decision-maker in the country, observers say.
Rights groups have accused Turkmenistan of channeling money from its gas profits to lavish projects promoting Berdymukhamedov’s personality cult, with little benefit for the wider population.
Authorities have said that Arkadag, which is in an earthquake zone, will eventually have a population of around 73,000.
The city is dotted with monuments, including a sculpture in honor of Berdymukhamedov atop an Akhal-Teke horse, his favorite breed.
Officials have billed Arkadag as a “city of the future,” adding that “green” technologies were used in its construction.
At the city’s center is the 43-meter (141-foot) statue of the former dentist, who handed the presidency to his son, Serdar, in 2022.
“Smart city”
The statue honors the “great son of the Turkmen people,” the construction and architecture ministry member said.
The golden statue shows the Turkmen leader on his favorite horse, holding the reins in one hand as the animal stands on its hind legs, while his right arm seems to show the way forward.
The statue is reminiscent of a famous painting of Napoleon Bonaparte by Jacques-Louis David.
Authorities have said that “the best conditions” have been created for the future residents of Arkadag, the first “smart city” in the desert-covered country that borders the Caspian Sea.
But despite the pomp in his honor, Berdymukhamedov did not attend the ceremony Thursday, sending his son Serdar instead. The elder Berdymukhamedov was making the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
And as the regime opened a new city in honor of the leader, it also announced that a new book had been published by Berdymukhamedov, a sequel to his book entitled “The Meaning of Life.”
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
