Gallup Presents ... Inside Turkmenistan: A Glimpse at the Central Asian Country (Spotlight‪)‬

Since the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan has been one of the most isolated countries in the world. Selling natural gas from the country's abundant supply to Russia allowed former dictator Sapamurat Niyazov to supply the Turkmen populace with basic goods and services even as he denied them fundamental political and economic freedoms. Niyazov also kept the country largely cut off from the rest of the world, making it easier for him to perpetuate the personality cult that characterized his presidency. A party bureaucrat, he adopted the name "Turkmenbashi" (leader of all Turkmen) a year after he was elected president in 1992. He renamed cities, airports, and even months of the year after himself and his family members. Niyazov also made his book Ruhnama--a combination of moral teachings and revisionist history--the principal text at all levels of education.