Turkmenistan

Until 1917 Russian Central Asia was divided politically into the Khanate of Khiva, the Emirate of Bokhara and the Governor-Generalship of Turkestan. The Khan of Khiva was deposed in Feb. 1920 and a People’s Soviet Republic was set up. In Aug. 1920 the Amir of Bokhara suffered the same fate. The former Governor-Generalship of Turkestan was constituted an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the RSFSR on 11 April 1921. In the autumn of 1924 the Soviets of the Turkestan, Bokhara and Khiva Republics decided to redistribute their territories on a nationality basis. The redistribution was completed in May 1925 when the new states of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tadzhikistan were accepted into the USSR as Union Republics. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan declared independence in Oct. 1991. Saparmurad Niyazov was elected president and founded the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the country’s only legal party. Also prime minister and supreme commander of the armed forces, parliament proclaimed Niyazov head of state for life in Dec. 1999. He held the official title of ‘Turkmenbashi’, leader of all Turkmen. In July 2000 Niyazov introduced a law requiring all officials to speak Turkmen. He died of a heart attack in Dec. 2006. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov succeeded him.