(((Oh my. Bizarre dictator for life and personality-cultist, Saparmurat Niyazov, who has ruled the oil-patch of Turkmenistan since the early 1990s, just dropped dead of a sudden heart attack. All the oil, graft and heroin that anyone can eat is right up for grabs, right now. Muslims, Commies, tribal clans, narcoterror, Russians, Yankees, even Chinese, and there's oceans of oil and gas at stake... I have to doubt that this succession struggle will be pretty.)))
(((Happy new year, people of Turkmenistan. Good luck.)))
RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL Central Asia Report
Special Edition
NIYAZOV'S DEATH LEAVES A HUGE POWER VACUUM
The death of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov on December 21 ends an era and begins a period of great uncertainty in Turkmenistan.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/4a0ffd6b-8bf8-4f25-adad-49b88fe5ecfc.html
OBITUARY: LOOKING BACK ON NIYAZOV'S LEGACY
Saparmurat Niyazov's rise from humble beginnings to the center of a massive cult of personality.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/18e778be-fe1e-444c-95da-77d7879e9b29.html
NIYAZOV'S DEATH PROMPTS INTEGRATION HOPES, GAS WORRIES IN RUSSIA
After coping with the loss of friendly regimes in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, the Kremlin is not eager to see a pro-Western government take root in energy-rich Turkmenistan.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/080c63ae-3f1d-4460-a2dc-e43ec7472cab.html
ENERGY: ANALYST DISCUSSES IMPACT OF NIYAZOV'S DEATH
Turkmenistan has the world's fifth-largest natural-gas reserves. Will Niyazov's death produce instability in Turkmenistan or could a new regime there open opportunities for global energy companies?
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/37535B5A-B825-49B1-8F17-863414835E50.html
NIYAZOV IN PICTURES
A slideshow presentation of Turkmenistan under Niyazov with links to RFE/RL features on this closed regime.
http://www.rferl.org/photogallery/93.html
AND MORE COVERAGE, UPDATED CONSTANTLY
RFE/RL and all of its language services throughout Central Asia and the rest of the former Soviet Union are following this developing story.
http://www.rferl.org/
