RFE/RL's Turkmen Service is the only international Turkmen-language media reporting independently on political, economic, cultural, and security issues from inside one of the the world’s most reclusive countries.
Turkmenistan's authoritarian President Serdar Berdymukhammedov sacked several top officials of the isolated nation last week for "poor job performance," state media outlets reported over the weekend.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation In Europe (OSCE) has called on Turkmen authorities to comply with their obligations regarding media freedom and open Internet access to citizens.
Turkmenistan on June 29 officially opened the city of Arkadag -- a development started from scratch and named in honor of the current president’s father, who led the nation in an authoritarian, cultlike manner for 15 years before giving up power.
Turkmenistan has intensified its long-standing campaign against smoking in recent weeks, with police raiding the homes of “suspected” hookah users and parading smokers and smugglers on state TV to confess to their "wrongdoings."
Turkmen officials have summoned popular bloggers and influencers and instructed them to promote the “happy and prosperous country of Turkmenistan." Police also warned them that sharing any content that is critical of the country is prohibited and could entail a jail sentence.
Students at the Turkmen Cultural Institute in Ashgabat have been forced by their teachers to go to theaters at least once a week.
Turkmen high-school teachers are allegedly demanding their students provide money, food, and favors ahead of crucial graduation exams. And if the students don't comply, they fear, their chances of advancing to university could be ruined.
Police in Istanbul have detained self-exiled opposition vlogger Farhat Meimankulyiev (aka Durdyiev) at the Turkmen Consulate’s request.
Turkmen police have intensified a campaign against men's facial hair, forcibly shaving young men's beards and removing bearded men from international flights. Meanwhile, imams are telling their congregations that only retirement-age men should have a beard. No official explanation has been given.
In one province of economically struggling Turkmenistan, authorities have hinted at the end to a system of rations for low-cost food. In Ashgabat, residents say they haven't had access to such goods in months.
Turkmenistan plans to demolish a historic 1,200-meter iron bridge and sell the metal used in its construction as raw material, sources close to the matter told RFE/RL.
Turkmen officials have ordered thousands of workers and students to take part in nationwide events, including a mass bike ride, for World Health Day on April 7.
Turkmenistan’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has validated the March 26 elections for the members of a newly unicameral national legislature amid reports of widespread election violations in the authoritarian Central Asian state.
Turkmenistan claims security for its citizens abroad was its motivation for asking Turkey to impose a visa policy on its citizens. But it’s more likely the request was driven by anti-regime protests by Turkmen living in Turkey.
Serdar Berdymukhammedov's move to the Turkmen president's office last year has coincided with a more difficult life for women, who have had even more restrictions imposed on them. Recent government actions portrayed as helping women have been dismissed as mere window-dressing.
While China has been Turkmenistan’s top buyer of natural gas for more than a decade, Russia has regained some leverage over Ashgabat and intends to use it, experts say.
Passport offices in Turkmenistan are struggling to cope with thousands of applicants as Turkmen try to leave the country. Appointments just to submit documents for a new passport are booked until May, applicants say. and the government is also taking desperate measures to stop people from leaving.
Former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has officially been named as chairman of the country's People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) under its new mandate as an independent legislative body.
Theft is growing in Turkmenistan, many residents say, blaming it on the deepening poverty the country faces. There have been reports of children stealing food from supermarkets, while worshippers have reported their shoes and wallets being stolen in mosques.
Turkmenistan's former president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who handed his post to his son Serdar Berdymukhammedov last year and currently leads the upper chamber of the parliament, plans to reform the parliament structure, apparently aiming to become the paramount leader of the country.
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!["Parents agreed ([to pay], because they fear that if their children got a lower grade, it would effectively prevent them from being accepted to university," one man said.](https://gdb.rferl.org/734725b0-3404-45fe-bc5c-182f8ddb9d6d_w100_r1.jpg)
!["Parents agreed ([to pay], because they fear that if their children got a lower grade, it would effectively prevent them from being accepted to university," one man said.](https://gdb.rferl.org/734725b0-3404-45fe-bc5c-182f8ddb9d6d_w66_r1.jpg)
