In the country led by the president-son Serdar Berdymukhamedov, among other officials at all levels, kinships multiply, while without blood ties it is very difficult to get ahead, even for the most gifted, perhaps even with a degree in abroad.
Ashgabat () – The countries of Central Asia are traditionally very attached to respect for blood ancestry at all levels of power and social life, and Turkmenistan stands out above all the others, led by a president-son, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, under the close control of former President Gurbanguly, who has remained at the head of the Senate. The cult of personality is exalted here as the “cult of the family,” which includes mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, sons and daughters.
This system is deeply rooted in the structures of law enforcement and public administrations, both central and regional, despite some warnings from above not to involve family members too much. For example, the governor of Turkmenabat, Khusniddin Bazarov, is the older brother of the capital’s mayor, Gubanči Bazarov; Following protests in recent days over excessive favoritism and abuse of power, the investigation was entrusted to the regional prosecutor, his third brother, Gafurdžan Bazarov.
Two other members of the Bazarov family, cousin Gozel and her brother Berdymurat, hold senior positions in the Dašoguz velayat (province), the former as head of the local police headquarters, and the latter as director of the study department. and preparation of cadres of the Central Bank of Turkmenistan. In Ashgabat, the head of the state printing house is a woman, Gozel Tajdžikova, who works well in tandem with her sister Majsa, editor-in-chief of the capital’s magazine Zenan Kalby (“The Female Soul”). The Economy Minister of the adjacent province is Serdar Šamedov, whose brother Dovran heads the state-owned company Tukmenkhimija.
Examples can be multiplied almost indefinitely, as Turkmen.News documents: the vice-president of the Dašoguz court, Dajanč Ovvadov, is the brother of the general director of the Turkmen Post Office, Serdar Ovvvadov. The state insurance company in the city of Kunjargenč is headed by Bajramgul Nurmukhammedova, whose niece Govkher is the director of the local school, while her brother Mukhammetnazar heads the province’s tax agency. Some object that kinship is not in contradiction with competition, in fact, it helps to develop it, but it is a fact that as soon as someone reaches a position of certain prestige, brothers, aunts and nephews crowd around them in Turkmenistan, while that without blood ties it is very difficult to get ahead, even for the most gifted, perhaps with a degree from abroad.
Some interviewees complain that “at home, if you are born to an electrician and a primary school teacher, it is impossible to reach higher levels, and if you find some good opportunity abroad to study or work, you will never return home, and thus we lose all our best young people. Many sectors are calling for stricter controls, because nepotism is less controllable than corruption, although the two scourges are often related, especially when someone accused of a crime ends up being investigated by a relative.
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