Saparmurat Niyazov - The Rukhnama

Saparmurat Niyazov or Türkmenbaşy (leader of all Turkmen) was an eccentric Pan-Turkmen Socialist dictator that ruled Turkmenistan in the wake of the collapse of the USSR.

Provided here is his primary written work ormer dictator of Turkmenistan. This book, the Rukhnama, was mandatory reading for all school children and they were forced to memorize passages.

Türkmenbaşy was accused of numerous human rights violations and massive embezzlement ($3b) from the state, but he did increase the GDP by a large amount, and allegedly provided all Turkmen people with free oil gas and electricity until 2020.

On the minus side, he closed down all hospitals outside the capital, demanded the return of old-age pensions, built a giant golden rotating statue of himself in the capitol and renamed the days of the week after his family, banned lip syncing, and recommended chewing bones, like dogs, to strengthen the teeth.

His book, the Rukhnama, is actually fairly well-written and inspirational. It's part autobiography, part history, and part nationalistic inspiration. It reads a lot like a Tony Robbins self-help lecture, except written by an eccentric Turkmen dictator who thinks that months would probably be better off being named after him.

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Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, the subsequent leader of Turkmenistan, eased many of these restrictions and vowed to take down the gold rotating statue as he took Turkmenistan in a bold new direction. He did. And in 2015 a giant golden statue of Berdimuhamedow riding a horse atop a white marble cliff was erected in Ashgabat in its stead.

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Please note: This is a piece of political history and primary source. it is provided to preserve history. I do not necessarily endorse the viewpoints presented. If this sort of thing is illegal in your country or offends you, please do not download it.

Pdf is the only edition I'm aware of. Some minor problems with the accents on some of the letters.

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