Shadow movement
Glimmers of light in a murky state
ALTHOUGH Turkmenistan’s eccentric and autocratic president-for-life, Saparmurat Niyazov, was short in physical stature, he has continued to cast a long shadow since his death two years ago. Only very gradually has his successor, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, begun to make moves to release the country from its self-imposed, Soviet-style isolation.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Shadow movement”
From the January 3rd 2009 edition
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