Last week Turkmenistan buried its brutal dictator, Saparmurad Niyazov. His ruthless reign spanned two decades, during which time his policies became increasingly irrational and unpredictable. The long ...

ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Turkmenistan mourned its dead leader Saparmurat Niyazov on Friday but political uncertainty and intrigue gripped the Central Asian country as it prepared to bury the man who had ...

MOSCOW, Dec. 21 -- Saparmurat Niyazov, who wove a bizarre and gilded cult of personality into dictatorial rule as president for life of the energy-rich former Soviet republic Turkmenistan, died early ...

Turkmenistan is officially a nation of orphans. Government officials announced Thursday morning that President-For-Life Saparmurat Niyazov, self-proclaimed “Turkmenbashi” — the Father of all the ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The Church publishes the Monitor ...

ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Turkmenistan's leader Saparmurat Niyazov, who died on Thursday, was absolute ruler of his Central Asian desert state for more than 20 years, enjoying a unique personality cult.

The post-Soviet government of the Republic of Turkmenistan retains many of the characteristics and the personnel of the communist regime of Soviet Turkmenistan. The government has received substantial ...

ASHGABAT, TurkmenistanASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan’s president has appointed his father to lead the country’s newly formed supreme representative body, further expanding the older man’s clout ...

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan -- He has outlawed opera and ballet and railed against long hair and gold teeth, but now Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov is determined to wipe out another perceived scourge ...