What's Happening in the Region
Writing Elbasy Out of Kazakhstan’s Constitution
For nearly 28 years, Nursultan Nazarbaev ruled as president of independent Kazakhstan.
Nazarbaev had big plans for Kazakhstan from the early days of independence.
But as time went on, he also began to.
After ruling Turkmenistan with an iron first for nearly 16 years, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov stepped down as president earlier this year. But he continues to wield considerable influence in the Central Asian nation.
Turkmenistan has christened a newly built $1.5 billion city, Arkadag, in honor of ex-president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. It comes less than a year after Berdymukhammedov's son and successor, Serdar Berdymukhammedov, called for a "public discussion" to name the new capital of Akhal Province.
Turkmen officials are holding pro-Kremlin propaganda events, accusing the West of provoking the war in Ukraine, and warning against "foreign agents" trying to destabilize Turkmenistan.