Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city of the country. The country has a population of about 6 million, the lowest of any republic in Central Asia. Turkmenistan is one of the least populated countries in Asia. Citizens of Turkmenistan are known as Turkmenistan (emphasizing citizenship rather than ethnicity), Turkmenistan, or Turkmen.

The region, now known as Turkmenistan, has long served as a path for many other countries and cultures. Merv is one of the oldest oasis cities in Central Asia and was once the largest city in the world. In the Middle Ages, Merv was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Turkmenistan, which was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, later became prominent in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1925, Turkmenistan became the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR), a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became independent.

Turkmenistan has the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world. Most of the country is covered with Karakham or Black Sand Desert. From 1993 to 2017, citizens received government-supplied electricity, water and natural gas free of charge.

The country has been widely criticized for its poor human rights. Notable issues were minority treatment, press freedom, and religious freedom. After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan's sovereign state has been governed by two oppressive holistic regimes. Until his death in 2006, he was ruled by President Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Turkmenbashi or "Head of Turkmenbashi"). Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow became president in 2007 after winning an undemocratic election (he was the Vice President and later acting president). The use of the death penalty was officially abolished in the 2008 Constitution.