APS Diplomat Operations in Oil Diplomacy articles from October 2003

APS Diplomat Operations in Oil Diplomacy archives from October 2003

TURKMENISTAN - The Non-OPEC Countries - Part 10.
October 20, 2003... The decision making system in Turkmenistan resembles something very close to the former regime of Nicolai Ceausescu in Romania. It is one of absolute authority in the hands of the President Saparmurat Niyazov, who has built a personality cult...

TURKMENISTAN - Saparmurat Niyazov.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... Niyazov was born on Feb. 19, 1940 into a poor worker's family. His father was killed in World War II. During the 1948 earthquake in Ashgabat, he lost the remaining members of his family. He grew up in an orphanage and subsequently lived with...

TURKMENISTAN - Turkmenbashi's Expensive Tower.
October 20, 2003... Niyazov has a gigantic monument in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. Jutting through the skyline of Ashgabat, it bears ornate runic inscriptions, a glass elevator up the middle and, on top, a solid gold statue of Niyazov which rotates 360 degrees...

TURKMENISTAN - The Ruhnama.
October 20, 2003... In 2001 Niyazov issued a curious book called Ruhnama (which roughly translates as spiritual revival) and had it distributed every-where. It contains 400 pages of rambling revisionist history, homely philosophy and personal musings on...

TURKMENISTAN - Tacberdi Tagayev.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... Currently the Minister of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources, Tagayev is someone appointed to the position to obey the bidding of Niyazov. There is little room for initiative. However, it appears that Tagayev has been fulfilling his...