SAPARMYRAT
TURKMENBASHY
RUKHNAMA
Reflections on the Spiritual Values of the Turkmen
ASHGABAT
2003
O A T H
TURKMENISTAN, MY BELOVED MOTHERLAND,
MY BELOVED HOMELAND!
YOU ARE ALWAYS WITH ME
IN MY THOUGHTS AND IN MY HEART!
FOR THE SLIGHTEST EVIL AGAINST YOU
LET MY HAND BE LOST!
FOR THE SLIGHTEST SLANDER ABOUT YOU
LET MY TONGUE BE LOST!
AT THE MOMENT OF MY BETRAYAL
TO MY MOTHERLAND,
TO HER SACRED BANNER,
TO GREAT SAPARMYRAT TURKMENBASHY
LET MY BREATH STOP!
THE PRESIDENT FOR A LIFE OF
INDEPENDENT AND NEUTRAL TURKMENISTAN
SAPARMYRAT TURKMENBASHY THE GREAT
THE STATE EMBLEM OF TURKMENISTAN
THE FLAG OF TURKMENISTAN
THE PRESIDENTIAL FLAG
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM OF THE
INDEPENDENT NEUTRAL TURKMENISTAN
The great creation of Turkmenbashy,
Native land, sovereign state
Turkmenistan, light and song of soul,
Long live and prosper for ever and ever!
I am ready to give life for native hearth,
The spirit of ancestors descendants are famous for,
My land is sacred. My flag flies in the world
A symbol of the great neutral country flies.
The great creation of Turkmenbashy,
Native land, sovereign state,
Turkmenistan, light and song of soul,
Long live and prosper for ever and ever!
My nation is united and is veins of tribes
Ancestors’ blood, undying flows,
Storms and misfortunes of times are not dreadful for us,
Let us increase fame and honour!
The great creation of Turkmenbashy,
Native land, sovereign state,Turkmenistan,
light and song of soul,
Long live and prosper for ever and ever!
Mountains, rivers and beauty of steppes,
Love and destiny, revelation of mine,
Let my eyes go blind for any cruel look at you,
Motherland of ancestors and heirs of mine!
THE FIRST SECTION
TURKMEN
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST EXALTED
My Beloved People!
My Dear Nation,
This book, written with the help of inspiration sent tomy heart by the God who created this wonderful universeand who is able to do whatever He wills, is TurkmenRukhnama.Allah has exposed the Turkmen nation to great anddifficult problemssince the creation of humankind. Mypeoplehas successfully passed through these hard times. TheTurkmen people whose history goes back 5000 years to theperiod of Oguz Khan, contributed to the universal valueswhich emerged in the lands between the EasternMediterranean and India, and indeed, cannot beunderestimated. In its own lands, the Turkmen peoplefounded more than 70 states including the Anew, Altyndepe,Margush, Parfiya, Seljuks and Koneurgench states.The Turkmen people has a great history which goesback to the Prophet Noah.Prophet Noah gave the Turkmen lands to his son Yafesand his descendants.Allah made the Turkmens prolific and their numbersgreatly increased. God gave them two special qualities:10spiritual richness and courage. As a light for their road, Godalso strengthened their spiritual and mental capacity with theability to recognize the realities behind events. After that Hegave Hisservantsthe following general name: TURK IMAN.turk means core, iman meanslight. Therefore, TURK IMAN,namely Turkmen means “made from light, whose essence islight.” The Turkmen name came to this world in this way.Allah by his sacred command sent the Prophet Noahscripturesincluding holyorders. The Prophet Noah distributedthese to the people of his time. The essence of these pageswas, indeed, beautiful ethics. There were sayings like:“honour-honesty to young men; virtue1to the girls, intellect,sagacity, dignity to the old men and women; nobility to thebrides.”Prophet Noah taught his children and youth courage,nobility, keeping their promises, hard work, and spiritualvirtue. He made them aware that any small problem in any ofthese would mean a problem in their honesty in general. TurkIman, that is, Turkmen young men considered verbal attackson their homeland, their relatives and parents, as attacks ontheir honour and they did not hesitate to struggle against these.The Prophet Noah ordered girls, wives and old womento cover their bodies with long, loose dresses, and their headswith head scarves, but left their faces open. “Turkmens’facesreflect the light of Allah. For that reason sunlight, which isthe torchlight of God,should fall on their faces and thisshouldnot be prevented.” Prophet Noah also advised repeatedly thatmen should not hit the faces of their children or wife. As for1 The original Turkmen word is uyat which comes to the meanings of chaste, innocence, bashfulnessand virtue.11the woman’s mouth, he ordered them to cover it. This coverbecome the Turkmen traditional cover or yashmak. Later heordered the girls to cover their faces with the extensions oftheir dresses when they made eye contact with a man and tobite the extension when they heard ugly words.Prophet Noah ordered the elders to be careful, patientand wise when educating children and placed on the shouldersof the elders the burden of bringing up children suitablyequipped with the necessary skills for conditions in the realworld. Prophet Noah wanted the youth to avoid making errorsand not to be mistaken. He preached thus:“If elders make a mistake once, their juniors make it athousand times. If the father makes a mistake, the son makesa mistake; if the mother makes mistakes, the daughter makesmistakes; if the father-in-law and mother-in-law make amistake, the bride makes a mistake.” For this reason heestablished the rules of good manners at home for TURKIMAN.This rules of good manners are as follows:1. respect your elders2. love your juniorsProphet Noah said, “If you do notrespect your old people,and do not love your juniors then humanity gets lost; and anera of no mercy begins”3. respect your father and motherHe advised children kindly: “Do not talk to your fatherand mother while looking in their faces. Do not frown at,make sour face to, them. Do not behave badly to them. Ifthey order something, then do it.” This can be internalizedby the children easily and in a short time.124. Wear clean and decent clothes.(Outward appearance)Prophet Noah ordered: “Good clothes improve theexternal appearance and make people look good. Chooseclothes that suit you.”5. Keep goods at your home that have been earned byyour own labor and efforts.Prophet Noah said: “Do not take other people’s goods.Do not bring them to your house, and do not make themyours,” and added, “The home is also a place to visit.”6. The decoration of the home, its order, cleanliness andappearance should be very good.Prophet Noah repeatedly said: “Each material thingshould make the soul feel comfortable and should increasehappiness in life. If your house is dirty, then you feel bad,dis-oriented and uncomfortable.”7. Protect the home and its exterior and neighboring areasand the place you live in.Prophet Noah ordered: “Remain aware of and protectwhole-heartedly your neigbours and your neighbourhood. Ifan enemy attacks your neigbour’s home, then you will be thenext.”8. Spritual sublimityProphet Noah advised: “Always maintain sublime targetsfor your spirit. That adds spirit and light to the value of yourlife, and makes your difficult dealings easy.”9. Women’s make up“Do not be mean with emerald stonesfor your daughtersand wives. Find them wherever they are and give them to the13women. If one upsets his wife or daughter, he is not a TURKIMAN since they are very pleasant by nature, and their soulsare pleasant too. Please them if you want to treat them well.Give them valuable pieces so that they may wear them ontheir breast, neck, and back. However, never harm their faces;the face itself is more valuable than thousands of emeraldpieces. Allah’s love in people’s heart shows itself in people’sfaces and enlightensthe world. If you do this, they look better,satisfy yoursoul, and strengthen yourspirit.” as Prophet Noahadvised. He always said: “The decoration and beauty of thehome are the daughters and the wives. A rose is beautiful inthe garden; a wife, a daughter is beautiful in the home.”More than this, the Prophet Noah said:“Keep the fire in the stove alight and do not allow yourfamily to perish. Fire islife and puts an end to problems,frightening evil away.”Turkmens have preserved their religion, their language,and the purity of their nation, and created their own customsand legitimate conduct. These multi-faceted positive changesderive from the spiritual wealth of the people. EveryTurkmenhas this spiritual wealth and up until the 18th century by theirlabor, honor, courage, and endurance they determined theirfate by themselves with cooperation at various levels, in thefamily, society, people and nation.If you look at the history, over the last 300 yearsTurkmens’ attributes have changed, their power and scopehas decreased, conflicts have replaced unity and cooperation.My Turkmen nation with neighboring nations, the clansbetween themselves, and tribes against other tribes, all fellinto different conflicts. The lack of trust reached such a level14in our nation that citizens distrusted citizen, brother distrustedbrother and father distrusted son. They lived without trustingeach other or anyone else. I lived in the Soviet era and whenI was young I recognized and felt my people’s lack of trust injustice and their hopeless view of the future. Our people werenot only unable to understand what they were experiencingbut also unable to judge their daily life. There was this kindof belief among our people: “Day belongs to the poweful,and kawurma2 belongsto those who have canines” They usedto belive that whatever you do, you cannot prosper. But whyhas the fate of Turkmens been so problematic in the last threecenturies?The state was divided, tribes fought with each other, thenation lost its core, was almost led to forsake their religion,its language was simplified, culminating in the loss of theirhorse, costume, jewelry, and customs which had been gainedthrough a thousand years’ work. Nothing happens in thisuniverse without a reason; whether it is a natural or manmadedisaster which afflicts a nation, there is always a reason forit.Let’s leave each Turkmen to think about this questionand face this problem in his soul and answer it before God.By the order of Allah the Most Exalted, as the shadowof the third millennium fell on to us, in 1991, Turkmenistanbecame an independentstate. However, at the outset, this wasonly on paper. The developing society, state institutions,thinking on national independence, sustainable economy andinternational affairs shaped by national interest were namelytaking shape. The most challenging aspect of this business is2 A roasted or fried meat dish
Our Respected Leader Great Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy’s copy
of the scripts of Rukhnama.
to connect individual fate with independence and tounderstand how our national interest is attached to theindependence. The most challenging aspect of this businessis that views, reasoning and mental independence are not upto the level of understanding the national benefit and intereststhat come about as a result of them.If you do not have a nationalstate organization, a nationalpolicy, a national ideal which will enthuse and mobilizepeople, a national economy, a national civilization, a nationalarmy, then your condition cannot be described as fullindependence. We need time for this. We need at least 10-20years.First, people’s perception and spiritshould change. EachTurkmen is responsible for the nation’s fate, national state,society, its indivisible unity, and unification. Each Turkmenshould know what kind of path their nation followed in thepast, should be able to compare it with their current era andknow their future. The general interest of the Turkmen nationdepends on each individual Turkmen.Allah the Almighty gave us limitless land and water. Hegave us underground resources. He created our nationintelligent and able to judge their own conduct. In addition,he gave us an independent Turkmen state.Turkmen keep your morale high and keep good work,prosper and make others and your country prosper. Thosewho will make the Turkmens attain the true level and statusof the Turkmen and work for Turkmenistan will be theTurkmens themselves.My dear Turkmen nation, in order to urge your soul andmind to fullfill these duties and to raise a strong faith in your17heart for self-confidence, and to be a support to you, I havewritten this book, Rukhnama, for you. I dedicate and presentthe book I have written to you today.* * *My Dear Turkmen Nation!You are themeaning ofmy life and source ofmy strength.I wish you a healthy and long life. Our Turkmen ancestorswere courageous people and they began to educate theirchildren before they came to life. The Turkmen child reachedmaturity and bravery, and then has a national education andworldview. For thatreason, bodily health, intellectualstability,and integrity, and good manners were the specialcharacteristics of the Turkmen.In our times, the Turkmen should take care in his eatingand drinking to preserve his health and endurance. He shouldnot eat greedily. In order to keep his health, strength andproductivity, the Turkmen should rememberAllahAlmighty’sorder: “Eat and drink but do not waste,” and behave accordingto this order.The real Turkmen should be careful about the clothes hewears and the way he dresses should be reasonable. Hisappearance should be pleasing since Allah is beautiful andthe Turkmen should be appropriate for His love.The Turkmens before us continued to read and learn newsciences even though they had reached the highest levels inthe sciences. They lived with the accumulated knowledgethat had passed from generation to generation and passed iton to the current generation. They thought that the learningof the sciences would end if they made any break in thisendeavour.2. Rukhnama18Today’s Turkmens, you will be seen as scientists if youkeep reading. If you lose your learning, then you will become illiterates. Every citizen of Turkmenistan should havea knowledge of science. This would be the result of bravesouls, poetic perceptions, sensitive heart, and spiritual richness. To read and to learn is to have a deeper knowledge oflife. When one reads, new ideas and anxieties emerge in themind. Thus, to read and to learn is to appreciate Allah Almighty. Intellectuals and scientists have special place in myworld and I show them great respect.The Turkmen man should lead his family efficientlyand direct them to goodness.Intellectual and wise, the Turkmen father should set agood example to educate his children; he should approachhis children with love and should choose for them and offerthem modesty, happiness, and compassion; he should treatthem equally and justly. The Turkmen child should notcommit illegitimate acts, and should be both physically andspiritually healthy. Thus, a Turkmen child should have asense of humor, and be generous and loyal to his/her parentsand the country, in addition to having a sense ofresponsibility. After all these, the parents’ duties to theirchildren are as follows: first, they should ensure they gainknowledge of a valid science, then help them to have a homeand, third, help them to marry. The Turkmen man should beon his own after these aids. We take these threeresponsibilities seriously in Turkmen territory. In eachsubject and area, our road be bright.In societal relations, the ethical values advised in theQuran and their strength will improve the Turkmens’characteristics and make them more powerful in this GoldenAge of Turkmens. Turkmens will be civilized, clean,attractive, and useful individuals.19Turkmens, without distinction, should not deceive,should not lie, should be honest, and should not be jealous.Good morals and honesty are the characteristics which suitthe Turkmen best. The Turkmens who have these qualitiesshould be the citizens of the 21st century. May Allah give usstrength and patience on this road.The never ending spiritual source for a true Turkmen,who continously ponders on his spiritual world, who reallyworries about his well-being, who is self-conscoius, alert andcareful about enhancing hisintellectual, physical and spiritualcapacites, should be the Rukhnama, which never lets hisexuburant, sensitive, poetic and sublime heart, and longingforspirit, deeply felt enthusiasm and inner feelings, extinguish.* * *Fate gave me the role of being leader of Turkmenistan atthe juncture of the second and third millennia. The burden ofthe responsibility of taking my people from the last years ofthe second millennium, in which things did not go well, tothe summits of the third millenium fell onto my shoulders.This position and responsibility, which have been givento me without my asking, have motivated me to call up myspiritual, intellectual and physical strength that Allah grantedme with and use them as a societal force to achieve progressin my country. I understand that it is necessary to call up notonlymy own strength but also all the nationalspiritualstrengthgiven to the whole Turkmen nation. Indeed, throughout history which connects one generation to the others, there is alaw of individual-society relations: the power which has beengenerated by the society in one era comes to life in an individual matured in the same nation at a later point. Thisshould20not be put to keeping people where they are but to comeback with a different outlook and raise them to the summits. I dedicate Rukhnama, my desired and expected book,to my people. Although the demand for a book such as thishas come from our generation, this is not a problem whichhas only surfaced in recent history. The Turkmen generations before us, even though they did not make such demands explicitly, felt the necessity of spiritual principleswhich will not lead our generation to divide and disappear.Each individual comes to the fore with the symbols thatconstitute its core: the commander holds a weapon, the poetholds a pen, the doctor holds a remedy. The President, ashistorical character, writes his guidelines and come to thefore with these.My main guideline is Rukhnama. As a systematicworldview, Rukhnama isthe core of all mypolitical, economicand life targets, with civil content and methods of use indifferent areas of society.* * *Before beginning to talk about the different aspects ofthe historical necessity in this book, I would like to drawattention to a characteristic of Rukhnama, which shows thatit is one another within life, which is a part of life, integralbut not exclusive. The greatest miracle of Allah in the world,the human being, has passed through dark periods, naturaldisasters and societal fightings, many difficult times. Theknowledge and consciouslife of the human being begins withthe book, namely when human being understood the wordand considered it sacred. These miraculous books have beengiven to the Prophets Moses, David, Jesus Christ and21Muhammad, peace be upon them all. The Messenger of Allah, our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, endorsedthe fact that the four sacred books, including the Quran,were given to the Prophets by Allah, and thus word hasgained a highest, exalted, rank.The Word is the most sacred gift that God gave to human beings.The Word is the fruit of people, but it is given to humanbeings by God.With the coming of the sacred books, the era in whichhuman beings worshipped evil forces was ended. The era inwhich the wisdom of the word has been appreciated beganimmediately afterwards. These eras became the two mostsignificant eras.Allah, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, in the Quran thatHe sent to Prophet Muhammad,said that Noah, Moses, Christand Muhammad are elevated spirits. The Turkmens’Rukhnama is not a religious book. The Quran, the book ofAllah, the Most Exalted, is the first and the most importantand the reference book of the Turkmens among other Muslimsthat guides people to put their life into order. God’s book,the Quran, is sacred and cannot be replaced or compared toany other book.We also believe in the books mentioned in the Quran.About the Old Testament that was sent to Moses, Allah saidin the Quran: “We really sent the Old Testamant and there inare good ways to take as examples and Allah’s light.” TheGospel is the book sent to the Prophet Christ.Allah who created miracles ordered that:“After the prophets we sent Christ, son of Maryam, and22with him it has been endorsed that previously sent Old Testament is real. In addition we gave him the Gospel and withthis book gave the shining light that approves what is saidin the Old Testament and the right path.”Allah the Merciful gave the book Zebur (Psalms) tothe Prophet David.Allah the Merciful said: “We gave Zebur to David.”Apart from all these, we believe that Allah sent suhuf(scriptures, pages) to other prophets. If something shouldbe said about believing in the Quran, obeying the Quran hasbeen ordered in it and it has been placed above comparisonto others since it has privileges, given by Allah, that areabsent in others. That is why we show extra respect to theQuran. We obey the Quran and the Quran is a sacred book.Rukhnama should be a source of power and striving toreach the targets of Turkmen’s Golden Age. The realTurkmen cannot treat himself badly and does not forget whohe is and his real duties towards his own people. TheTurkmen’s outlook cannot be separated from his inner life.Indeed, the Turkmen should be able to keep the delicatebalance between the material judgement of his body and hisspirit.Rukhnama should be a source of power that will keephearts alert, of intellect, and suitable spirit, and the poeticsoul of those real Turkmens who are concerned with theirown spiritual world and also their spiritual and physical development.* * *Rukhnama is the book of unity and togetherness. It isthe only source that will connect Turkmen’s present and itspast. Up until now, there were a number of words, special23words, but not a whole word. Rukhnama should fill this gap.Rukhnama should place in the hands of Turkmens theirunique and whole history, and spiritual striving. My philosophy is unity and togetherness. For in the absence of unityand togetherness, there is no nation. If it happens by accident, it does not last long. Spiritual multiplicity, differentmental perspectives, and different voices of the soul havebeen built upon this unity. The unity and togetherness inside becomes the pillars that keeps the nation together.No other nation in the world was divided into so manytribes as the Turkmens. The real unity of Turkmen is bloodand language unity.Unity provides the nation with the means to constructits future. Without unity, it is not possible to understand theTurkmens’ past. Turkmenistan is one of these nations whichhas the richest history. There have been so many books written on different periods of Turkmen history, but a surprising situation emerges when one considers the huge numberof books: it is not possible to find Turkmens alone in thesebooks. It is also surprising that in the works of historians,and other intellectuals, the bits and pieces of Turkmen history are very different and sometimes controversial. If youbelieve in one of these, Turkmens are nomadic or seminomadic peoples and according to another they are a pastoral people and deal with farming. According to another, theyare urban people and live in castles and established somemajor civilizations. Yet another says from a political viewpoint hardworking, another says humble, even lazy.Where does this controversy and confusion come from?No one was able to see the Turkmen nation as a whole sinceit is a very great nation. This historical confusion remindsus of a short story by our great poet Jalaleddin Rumi: A24group of blind men wonder how an elephant is. Those whofeel the elephant’s legs decide that it is a hard column, thosewho feel its trunk think that it is a weak tree. Likewise eachwriter saw Turkmen according to his own view and perceptions. From such a perspective, it is not possible to see thereality; only semi-reality can be seen. It is obvious that semireality is worse than a lie. Individuality is the biggest trapof our era’s way of thinking.For that reason, anew spiritual approach is required toencompass the whole Turkmen nation and history. Of coursesuch an attempt may not include all historical details. That isthe duty of historians. As Isaid before, we need a measure todecide on unity inside. The spiritual analyses and descriptions of the content of the unrepeatable amount of the coincidences, similarities and differences of the history are needed.In this discourse, unifying and generalizing philosophies playa role.* * *Rukhnama is the veil of the Turkmen people’s face andsoul. It is the Turkmen’s first and basic reference book. It isthe total of the Turkmen mind, customs and traditions, intentions, doings and ideals. It will be our legacy to the futureafter drawing lessons from the past! One part of Rukhnamais our past that the existing knowledge at present could notenlighten and the other part is our future! One part ofRukhnama is sky, the other part is earth.We wrote the first pages of Rukhnama during the firstten years of our independent and permanently neutralTurkmenistan, while we improved our working places, established the infrastructure and changed our life.25In those ten years of Turkmenistan’s independence andpermanent neutrality we wrote the Rukhnama for the soul andmind of Turkmens with enlightening words and with hope.Where does the greatness of human beings come from?The greatness of the human being begins with his discoveryof his own, that is, with his discovery of his inner world. It iseasy to know or measure others, but the real difficulty is toknow oneself! For that reason our wise ancestorssaid: “Thosewho know themselves become the saints.”Dear Turkmen!Be your own ruler. If you succeed in managing yourself,then you can overcome all difficulties.My Citizens! The Turkmen of today and tomorrowshould know himself. He should know his weakness and hisstrength, through and through! The doctor who knows theproblem can easily solve it. The people who can judge theirproblems can avoid the problems! Rukhnama istheTurkmen’sbook about himself.Rukhnama is not only our book! Rukhnama is also thebook of our brothers and other nationsthat rejoice at our happiness and are proud of our successes and with whom we aretogether creating our Golden Age in these lands.Rukhnama is also the book of our near and far brothersand neighbours. You become friends after you get to knowsomeone. The foreigners who read Rukhnama will know usbetter, became our friends faster, and the far and the foreignbecomes closer to us on our path to being accepted in theworld.Turkmenistan which has been the centre of many greattransformations and a centre of development and progress,had a very special place in the history and expansion of26Islam into the world. Turkmen people have made unlimitedcontributions to the world.If one wished to create a flag of beauty and perfection,then this flag would be a Turkmen carpet.If one wants to create a model of endurance, beauty andpurity, then one should take the Akhalteke horse as an example.* * *Dear Citizens!In a short time, we have established our excellent stablestate and taken the first step in our progress. The second stepliesin our mind, heart and blood. We shall establish this greattransformation with this book entitled Rukhnama.We have sacred territoriesthat will open the eyes of thosewho became blind from weeping for their lost lands. We havewonderfulsongsthat open deaf ears. We have beautifulsmelling springs that make silence burst into song. We are theowners of these beautiful lands.Without looking to the opportunities and sources at theirhands, Turkmens did not hesitate to go to war, and fightinghead-to-head, they won or lost their battles. If this territoryfalls into danger, we have courageous young men who puttheir lives into danger, like Gorogly, to fight! We have oldpeople like Gorkut ata who will advise on keeping unityamong people. We have diamond-standard, wise people likeMakhtumkuli. In such a country and with people like these,can we not turn the 21st century into the Golden Age of theTurkmen? It would be a shame if we could not change thisterritory into a heaven and establish a wonderful golden society when we have our people who devote their love, effortand sincerity to the task.
Our Respected Leader Great Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy’s copy
of the scripts of Rukhnama.
Allah the Almighty created us as humans, we came intothis world as humans, and it is our duty to make of our peoplea noble and trustworthy people, to establish an era of wellbeing and found a good society.* * *My Dear People!I feel proud of myTurkmen territory and Turkmen land.This sacred land inspires my heart like a poet’s.This land is Turkmen territory in which Hydyr walks inbeautiful deserts, Kowus walksin shadowymountains, Kyyaswalks on the shrinking shore of the sea.Turkmensseek refuge in itsterritory,so like a laden table.This territory is called Turkmen land which has been madeof pearls, diamonds and gold! Its soil is its treasury, its subterranean resources are its treasury, its mountains and its seaare its treasury. We produce crops in this land in all seasons.They are harvested, their seeds multiplied by thousands andreturned back to the soil.This Turkmenistan is trustworthy like the Turkmen’spromise, high-ranking in honor, sacred like the Turkmen’shome, miraculous like the Turkmen’s belief.In the blue sky of this land white geese and cranes prepare for wedding days, beautiful springs and summers comefrom the sky of this magical land, and clouds with rains andthunderbolts make the Turkmen homeland very green andcontented.The happiness of the Turkmen Spring cannot fit into aTurkmen’s soul and the land and sky tell its story, the rosesbloom from the stones.29We say welcome and open our arms to those who cometo these lands. World travellers, our gate and soul are open.Come and visit us! Come and travel in the lands of OguzKhan, Gorkut ata, Seljuk Khan, Alp Arslan, Melikshah,Soltan Sanjar, Gorogly and Makhtumkuli.My fellow countrymen, though you are not travellers,you visit this territory, touch the soil on which many valuedpeople, rulers and your ancestors lived.This land is a sacred and miraculous land.Rukhnama is a visit to this land. Rukhnama is a visit tothe past of this territory and a visit to the future of this territory. Rukhnama is the visit made to the heart of the Turkmen.Rukhnama is a sweet spiritual fruit grown in this territory.* * *No human being who has not experienced what I livedthrough can understand me.Your father who issupposed to support you in hard timesis dead in an unknown, foreign place!Your dear mother is lying with your two brothers underground. You are alone in Leningrad. You have no one behindyou who is asking about you and writing letter to you.I was sick and asked my supposedly close relatives totake care of me. They wrote to tell me that they had forgottenabout me, let alone helping me.There was no one other than The One, Allah Almighty,to seek refuge in and no one to ask for help other than myAllah. The whole country was crying that there is no Allah.Oh, Allah!I used to remember Gorogly at that time. His enemies30took his head and went away. They did it in order to preventthe Turkmens from ever uniting again under a leader. ButJygalybeg is alive. There is no place in the whole story thatsays that Jygalybeg died. Perhaps Jygalybeg has been waiting until now for a courageous young Turkmen to come tolife. We need courageous, lion-like, tough young men to takecare of enslaved Turkmens. We need Gorogly Beg.I tried to express my feelings, which I could not supressin myself, which became knot on knots on my throat, whichbrought me almost to the edge of frenzy, maddness, in thefollowing poem:I have powerful Turkmen thoroughbred, would yougroom it Jygalybeg ?I have also a broken and uneased heart, would you groomit, Jygalybeg ?My bowers are shackled, my Chandybil is a grievedcountry now,And our ill-fortune never awakens, unless you, unlessyou…, Jygalybeg!Where are the mountain-like valiants who rose againstthe black mountain?Alas,sorrowing are the stately valiantsthatfought againstthe bad lot !Many heroic and wise fell martyred, so that I was leftbehind lonely, abandoned,Even the dessert bent double with pain, moaning. Canyou hear, Jygalybeg ?The prosperous wealthy men were collected, suffered,and sent to exile in Siberia,31The lion-hearted brave fell as martyr in the fight andalready became graves,Your orphan cried bitterly, left all alone, no strength,patience, endurance,All my land weep and my folk bewailed, the country indisorder, Jygalybeg !I have powerful Turkmen thoroughbred, would yougroom it Jygalybeg !I have also a broken and uneased, heart, would you groomit, Jygalybeg !Lend me Gorogly’s curved sword and your spear to me,Jygalybeg !No fear! I shall fight to death. Give me your own crown,Jygalybeg !...Attractive surroundings and a good view are wonderfulbut if there is someone who understands you, then home isbetter. Heaven-like places are good and pleasant but yourown homeland, your fatherland is more appealing and attractive. Run away from that who opens his door but shuts hisheart to you. However, forgive that who opens his heart butshut the door to his home because he might have some excuses.* * *I was born on 19 February 1940 in Ashgabat. My dearfather went to fight in the Second World War. He struggledagainst the fascist invaders in Caucasia.After fighting for two years, in 1943, six Turkmen, including my father, in a Russian troop were captured by enemyforces at a village, called Thcikola, WladiKavkaz of the capi-32tal city of the Northern Osetia. I learnt the tragic fate of thehostages after 18 years by chance. Then I was a second yearstudent at the Polytechnic Institute in Leningrad. All the students went home during summer time. Dormitories and classeswould remain empty for some time. I was missing my motherland, language and Turkmen song since I had not been toTurkmenistan for the last two years. I also missed my schoolfriends and other friends. If you do not have parents and relatives, then there is no one watching over you, and caring foryour health, sentiments and wishes. The false concern ofsomepeople does not convince an orphan. You have to make yourown decisions and decide on critical situations regarding yourfate. Your only friends are your ideals and yourspiritual world.I have thanked God a hundred thousand times since Iwas five years old that I inherited honor, nobility, patience,highness of spirit and objectives-ideals from my parents inmy body and soul. My character has not been weakenedthrough times of both success and failure but rather strengthened. This become a fountain that will never dry up for myTurkmen people, my sacred land, my motherland, for thepast and present, for its future generations, which started asa spring but turned into a river.* * *When I was studying at the institute, I used to go to thelibrary. I read not only books about my lessons, I found rarebooks about Turkmen history and read them patiently.Once I was reading a book in the library. An old Russian, wearing glasses, stared at me from both my left andmy right.I did not pay attention and thought that he was confusing33me with someone. But he came near to me and looked again.I am usually a calm person but his stare disturbed me.“Father are you confusing me with someone else?” Iasked politely.“I thought you resembled someone, my son. Howevermy eyes are not good enough.”I waslooking at this old person and even though I do notforget anyone even if I have only seen them once, I could notremember having seen him before. I learnt much about thisman on a train journey later.The old man said: “If I am mistaken, my heart will break.If I am not mistaken, then my heart will also break. May Godhelp me!” He tried to calm down and raised his right hand:“Whoever you are , you must be the son of AtamyratAnnanyyaz.”I felt like a bucket of hot water had been thrown overme. I felt waves run inside me on hearing my father’s namefrom a stranger.Then we introduced ourselves and talked. This professor, Iwan Semyonowich, had been my father’s friend duringthe war and they had fought shoulder to shoulder against theenemy forces and even shared their last food when they wereat the front. We talked a lot about the problems and the tragedies of that period and the wartime.He said that he had written two letters to Ashgabat andasked for information after my father’s death. In responseto the letters, he had received the reply that Atamyrat Annanyyaz’s wife and children had died during an earthquake. Hewas surprised and delighted to see me alive.3. Rukhnama34“Your father was tall with high cheekbones. Your appearance and movements are likeAtamyrat’s. When the fighting was not heavy, we used to gather around your father whenhe sang. He was able to play all instruments and was a verygood conversationalist, and when he danced he was the master of the dance. He astonished the Caucasians.My Dear Saparmyrat, your father was like a bullet firedfrom a rifle. He was sometimes braver than necessary. WhenI said to him ‘Atamyrat you have children, so take care ofyourself,” he used to answer, “And if I save myself, who willsave my children?” He fought like a lion.The old man also told the whole story about the tragicend of the troops that were captured by the enemy forcesduring the war.We had to surrender. We did not decide on this but ourcommanders ordered us to do so. In the war this kind of situation occurred. This was not the fault of the soldiers. Eventhough this was so, it is still not possible to describe yourfather as a prisoner of war. He was immediately shot as acommunist. He did not lose even the smallest part of his courage. Betrayed by his countrymen he went his death, like Christsold to his enemies by Judas.Your father was a hero, a real hero. I wrote a piece abouthis courage. I am not a writer but I could not prevent myselffrom doing this. I wrote it since I wanted to tell my friend’sstory to the world. Since I felt obliged to do this, I sent it toa friend of mine in the Moscow cinema for his consideration. He liked it and said at the last moment:“We should make the hero a Georgian because if we donot do this, no one will know who this Turkmen is.”35Iwan Semyonovich took a breath. He cleaned his glassesand continued:“I understand them... It was the Stalin era. But I refused the change of hero and withdrew my script. DearSaparmyrat, my son, your father was a real hero, learn abouthis fate in war and his heroism.”* * *My fellow citizens, there are so many people who haveheld these high spiritual values since Turkmen people entered the historical arena. I am only one among those, sincethese sentiments are widespread among Turkmen people, andthe Turkmen nation is stable and lasting.In 1963, Imissed my homeland and went toTurkmenistanvia Moscow. At that time, I met with another person who hadknown my father closely. My fate gave me a surprise, and Imet a friend of my father’s from the military after 18 years.It happened like this. At that time, the Ashgabat-Moscow train would wait for some time at each station.There are some people who do not like train travel. However, it is a particular pleasure to enter the world of ideas andto get to know new places.The conductor on the train was Chary aga, who wasfromYalkym village near Ashgabat. He was a courageous and hardworking Turkmen and we met on our way to Turkmenistan.Human beings are different from each other. Somepeople you feel close to, you want to meet and know thembetter. Sometimes you see a person and decide to stay awayfrom that person. I learnt something certain about Turkmenpeople in my early chilhood, that Turkmens like to be askedquestions. Chary aga was a curious man:36“My nephew, some people feel uneasy if you ask a fewquestions. They say, “Who are you, a prosecutor or a judge?”Our Turkmen said that humans know each other throughspeech, animals recognize each other through smell. We hada very big village but it disappeared during eras of the civilwar and the Bolsheviks. When repression increased, manypeople fled to other places. If you ask carefully the Turkmenpopulation was fairly small, and each and every one alwaysknew one the other, a fact which is well-known.I learnt that Chary aga had known both my father andgrandfather.“Dear Saparmyrat, you should only be surprised if youmeet someone who did not know your grandfather,Annanyyaz Artygy. There was no one who did not knowAnnanyyaz Artygy in Gypjak, Gokje, Bagyr, Herrikgala,Yalkym and Buzmeyin. Annanyyaz Artygy was an able manwho used to invite others to eat at his table. They sent yourgrandfather into exile in 1932 since he had a private placeand shop and had workers working on a salary.The reason that I know these facts in detail is that mymother and uncle were neighbours of Annanyyaz aga.”“Chary aga, did you meet my grandfather?”He smiled with pleasure.“We had so much in common. I met him in many different places, village, markets, town center, you name it. Once Itook two bags of barley and went to the city. I was very young.At that time, on Sundays, the city was very crowded and itwasn’t possible to find a place for donkeys, horses, camels andvehicles. At that time we did not have vehicles that we havenow and there were a limited number of Turkmen in the city.37I was walking with my bags and there was a poor man infront of me riding on a donkey. The idle young people of thecity were hitting him with sticks and he was close to fallingoff. The poor man was not sure what to do and was shoutingand cursing at the kids. Their parents were on both sides of theroad and were watching heedlessly the kids’ attacks. A manwearing a special black Turkmen hat (silkme telpek) came rapidly and ran into the street. He began to whip the people standing heedlessly around and these people ran away because ofthe sharp lash of the whip. Then an old man said to the crowd:—You struck the right people, Turkmen, you struck true.If a child does something wrong, then his parents are guilty.—Yes, Dear Saparmyrat, I remember when your grandfather Annanyyaz Artygy became chief of the village for thesecond time. When my father heard this he said:— The people of Gypjak did not do the right thing; thegovernment did not arrest people like Annanyyaz Artygy sincethey are rich! The government is afraid of Turkmens likeAnnanyyaz Artygy.Fate brought him a bad day in August 1937 when hewas accused of committing a crime. He was declared an enemy of the people and sent to death row in prison. Your grandfather knew that such an end would come. But he did notrefuse the ordinary people’s demand.Dear Saparmyrat, when your father entered the city bothyoung and old would look at him. He rode his horse withpride. He was very good looking and created a very goodimpression. He was like a beg or khan. He always lookedfor the goodness in others but these kind of people wereannihilated in the Stalin era.”38Chary aga walked around for a while and directed atrain out of the station. He came back to my side.“Our relations were good with your father. He was threeor four years older than me. I was living in Yalkym nearAshgabat and used to visit my uncle frequently. They sentyour grandfather into exile in 1932. If they would send evenyour 53 year-old grandfather into exile, no one could feelsafe. His friends advised your father Atamyrat to move toanother area. He moved to Kerki city in this way, where heworked as a teacher. Later he lived in the village of Gokdepefrom 1935-36. In 1937, he bought a house in Ashgabat andsettled there and began to work there. At that time we werereally close friends. Saparmyrat, I remember your father’sface; he was always a pleasant, attractive, forward-thinking,patient and fine-manly person.”I did not led him go on but asked: “When is the last timeyou saw my father?”From 1941 onwards we fought against the German invaders in the same troop. Another day I will tell you how wesaved our country. There is no such thing as a sweet war and,indeed, in this bloodywar, there were times we won and timeswe were defeated. In 1943, near to Wladikavkaz in NorthOssetia after an intense battle, we were taken prisoner by theenemy. The Germans were trying to control the situation andshouting to each other while holding the automatic weapons.Russian soldiers were collected in one place after throwingaway their weapons. There were six of usfrom Turkmenistan,five Turkmen and a Russian. At that time, a friend of ours,took out a piece of tobacco and wrapped it with old newspaper. We were taking it in turns to smoke it. When the cigarette came to Atamyrat, there was a Russian on his right, and39a Turkmen friend said “Atamyrat do not give it to the Russian. The Germans are going to kill us now. Give it to meand I will have a smoke before dying.”– No, friend, this friend also fought with us and put hislife in danger to save the country. He should smoke when histurn comes. There is God and we should not lose our hopeeven to our last breath.Then a German began announcing something over aloudspeaker and another translated into Russian, “Line up”and over a hundred captured soldiers lined up. Then theyannounced:“Any communists present, step forward”.In front of the line, there were German soldiers withautomatic weapons at every ten paces. All of a sudden I wasstartled when a Turkmen near to me said: ‘Can’t we pushforward that Atamyrat who gave the cigarette to communist?’(implying that you prefer giving cigarette to a Russian ratherthan to us so you are also like him, a communist then, so youshould step forward).They grumbled: “Now do you understand who youshould have given that cigarette to?” A German soldier whohad heard and seen this event came running up and then theytook away Atamyrat by poking him with their guns, fifteenpaces away to the edge of a hollow. Then, having gatheredseveral more men, in front of our eyes, they executed themby shooting them by a machine gun and threw the dead inthe hollow.”Chary aga added, ‘May Allah full their graves with Divine Light’ and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief takenfrom his pocket. He looked at me quietly. No, he made no40mistake; there was no tear in my eyes. He did not see mysadness. He guessed that I had not believed what he hadsaid. “My son, at that time Hitler ordered that whenever theGerman soldiers took a communist captive from among theSoviet soldiers then they were to execute them there andthen. There was permission for the exchange of other captives for German captives. I, like all the others, benefitedfrom the exchange of prisoners and I returned rightly to myhomeland,” he said and again stared at my face.“Chary aga, thank you very much for what you havesaid. These are matters of fate,” I said and I stared out of thewindow of the train. Through the window it looked as if greysand was flowing past. The train passed Turkmenabat andwent on towards the Repetek Desert. It was as if my dearfather, straight and brave, was visible in front of my eyes inhis last appearance to me. Moreover, his pure thoughts: “No,I do not die. I have three young sons and their beloved mother,my Gurbansoltan, living in my homeland and they are mydescendants.” His words were in my ears.I am pleased with the fact that neither my grandfathernor father left any inheritance to me. In fact they left me instead something as valuable as a great inheritance. Everybody who knew my father and grandfather praised them:“Your father was a very great man.” Like this, they extolledand glorified them and these expressions filled my heart withjoy. What greater wealth can there be than that?Many years later on, I wondered what had happened tothe men who had shared the cigarette. They had been freed inan exchange of prisoners and the three of them had returnedto their villages. But, they encountered many troubles intheir fate. Two of them were from the villages in the area41around Ashgabat. In the 1950’s, the first one had a stroke,lost his mind and tongue and died. The second one committed suicide by hanging himself at home. The third was fromthe village of Gokdepe. After the war he had committedsuicide by throwing himself on the railway.We sometimes say that there is no need for you to settleyour accounts in this world. Whatever you have done, theworld will settle your account for you.War, look at it! Such horror! The 20th Century has been abloody and brutal century in which mankind, in his lifespan burdened with disasters, has rendered many losses and sacrificedmany lives. There have been two World Wars, and tens of borderwars and inter-state wars have occurred. Our Turkmen citizenshave participated in those wars too. Sometimes it was againsttheir will and sometimes voluntarily. In the Second World Waralone, 740,000 Turkmens died at the hands of the German invaders. Tens of thousands of men were injured and maimed. Tomeasure the loss of our citizens materially and financially isimpossible. We have given the name of the hero of the Turkmenstate to all the martyrs in this war. May their place be in theheavens and their graves fulled with divine light!The war ended, the veterans returned to their homeland and it was as if a bright light had been ignited in thehearts of the people. But, it was not to last. God once moretested the Turkmen province. On the night of 6th October1948 Ashgabat was devastated by an earthquake which leftour beautiful city in ruins. In one night, out of a populationof 198,000 people in our capital city, 176,000 were martyred3,the majority of the rest were injured or disabled. Our fam3 because those who are killed in such disasters are recognized to be martyrs in Islam42ily also suffered in that disaster. When we went to our beds,there were four of us. My dear 33 year-old mother, my 10year-old elder brother Nyyazmyrat, and my 6 year-oldyounger brother Muhammetmyrat all were martyred thatnight. The next day, when I broke down and wept over theruined house, although I had not yet completed 8 years old,I knew I was alone. In this way, I sat through 6 lonely daysand nights. On the seventh day, they came and carried awaymy dead mother and dear brothers to bury them in YmamKasym graveyard.In those six days, I had understood that this was the endof my childhood. My tears dried up for ever. The last time Ilooked upon my dear family and the places where they layunder the ruins, in their presence I vowed to myself silently:“My Dears, your spirits and that of my dear father willlive in my heart for ever. They will lend me effort and powerto achieve my aims and on your behalf I will realize yourpurposes and the dreams which you were not able to live out.May Allah help me!* * *Our Ancestor Oguz Khan is the forefather of theTurkmen people, whom Turkmen people assume to be aprophet. From the ancient civilized heritage of Turkmensoil and from the Oguz Khan era, Golden Cow sculpturesand many other valuable relics have been found.You cannot convince Turkmen people that Gorkut atais a man without saintly miracles (karamat)!Turkmens in history founded the great Parfiya State.Arsak Shah established relations with the Romans. Duringhis era he was known as The Holy Arsak Shah. In the his-43tory of the Turkmens, there have been many men who havebeen believed to be like prophets and described as godly,holy. We have never tried to force other people to believethat these are men who have prophecy, however, we do believe that those were not ordinary people but worked saintlymiracles (karamat), which we do not let others abuse ourbeliefs, either.Dovletmammet Azady said: “The richest of all richnesses is sagacity, the most precious heritage is breeding andtraining, the most beggarly of the beggarly is regret.” For us,the heritages derived from our ancestors, Oguz Khan, Oguzs,persians,seljuks and harezemshahs are unsurpassable honoursand priceless treasures.The beauty, fineness, of the human being liesin the truthfulness of his words. Unfortunately, it was not reallythatsomesections of the Turkmen society were corrupted and derailed.Between the 14th and 16th centuries, because of internal conflicts within the Turkmen nation, it ceased to prosper. Theprincipalities and the Hanates could not agree and made greatwars among themselves, a prelude to the perishing of theTurkmen themselves. The esteem, power, strength and spiritual credit of Turkmen was in decline.Brave Turkmen! In this world, in the history of humanity there is nothing true and eternal except our Exalted, Eternal, Allah. Within the Seljuk State, after the 14th Century,because of the central state, we began to be divided intokingdoms, Hanates and principalities. The Turkmen dynasties of Akgoyunly (Whitesheep) and Garagoyunly(Blacksheep) had started to fight among themselves.After the 17th century, following the Russian expansion44around the Caspian Sea, and the establishment of relationsbetween Russia and Persia, the Turkmens were excluded, theirsettlements decreased. History witnesses that external forcessettled and regulated the tribal conflicts of Turkmen people,and their territorial and water disputes with neighbouring countries. Between 1879 and 1881, theTurkmen nation’s economic,political, and social life was destroyed by the harsh impact ofthe Gokdepe Wars. For this reason the Russian state was ableto establish a pro-Russian puppet authority that expanded itscultural and religious propaganda in Turkmen lands.This is not a history book. Though if we do not knowthe past, then the destiny of our future generations will lie inobscurity or darkness. In addition, their spiritual belief willdiminish and Turkmens will lose their fundamental principles.Therefore, it is necessary to be cognizant of these things.Between the 17th and 19th centuries, some states diffusedwicked propaganda in pursuit of their own national interests.They falsely represented the nation of Turkmens as pillagersand mercilessslaughterers, and described them as a wild community who kill each other, living in tents, an ignorant, uneducated and nomadic nation.These kinds of unjust and aberrant assertions are the political tricks which aimed to erode the legendary past ofTurkmen people and their contribution to the history of thedevelopment of the world through many centuries, to justifytheir invasion of its land and to take the Turkmen nation captive. In fact, these sorts of untruthful and fallacious statementsseverely degraded the place and the honour of Turkmens inworld history. For the sake of God, it is necessary to say thatfor 74 years under Soviet rule we lived as if we accepted thoseopinions, Dear Turkmen, whoever thought differently was de-45clared the enemy of the people. For this reason, hundreds ofthousands of our citizens were executed, and millions of themwere expelled or migrated to foreign countries.The remaining three million Turkmen citizens, in theirhomeland, mislaid their identities by saying that we wereSoviet people. Not only that, they started to forget their language, religion, nation, national feelings and emotions. Inciting and provoking differences and conflicts between thetribes, polarization, diversity, and promotion of anarchy werethe basic, systematic, methodical games our enemies playedagainst us.My dear Turkmen, look back in the history take heedand also repent. Because of commands and ideas of othersnation should one renounce his own core, self and identity?In fact, there are 24 clans and more than 40 tribes ofTurkmen.My wish from the Great Allah is to convert the Turkmento his essence or main identity! Beginning from Oguz Khan, tothe end of the medieval age with the solidarity and unity, thecourage, the patriotism, the equity, the indulgency, the religion, the language, the culture of the people known for theirgreat spiritual belief, on into the 21st century, may you givecontinuity to my unique nation, my one and great God! Preserve and save us, Allah, so each Turkmen shall win again theethics and customs of our ancestors who were on the true path!In the communist Soviet Union, which was founded atthe beginning of the 20th century by force, torture and blood,from 1987 on conflicts occurred between various parts ofsociety. Conflicts between the different nations and injustice reached an unbearable level within the state, and so46government and its rule failed, and order tended to disappear. In this historical period I felt that the politico-economic position of the Soviet Union was deteriorating. On22 August 1990, I made a declaration that we would establish Turkmenistan as an independent, sovereign stable statehaving equal rights and status and independence in foreignrelations with other countries as all the world states.Within the two preceding months, our relations withthe Soviet Union’s systems had almost ceased, and we sawthat life necessitated further new improvements. It becameobvious that we could not go far or progress and make ourpeople happy and prosperous within that existing Soviet System with a status independent within its borders but dependent on the Soviet System.Dear Turkmens, it was the point in history that our ancestors had longed for. At that time, together with my colleagues, it was necessary for me to work to establish an independent state by day and night without tiring, and troubleswere not able to deter me. On 26th October, we called a convention of the Turkmenistan High Council. In the convention, the historical resolution of Turkmenistan, we explicitlyand definitively declared the independence of the State ofTurkmenistan. This is the content of the declaration:
THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ON THE INDEPENDENCE OFTURKMENISTAN AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE STATE
On 26 October, there was a meeting of The High Council of Turkmenistan; on the agenda of the meeting was thepeople’s notice of their will and wishes.47The Council made the essential decision to put into effect the expression of the independence of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Turkmenistan. In this resolution, certain crucial issues were resolved.1. The State of Turkmenistan, within the borders of theUSSR, is declared an independent, democratic state. The independence of Turkmenistan is based on great ideals – Toestablish the real national state of the Turkmen people, toprovide basic rights and freedoms complying with the charter of the Universal Human Rights Declarations in the Constitution of Turkmenistan, as well as the other norms of international law, to establish a humanist democratic state respecting the principles of the rule of law. It does not discriminatebetween individuals or citizens according to their nation, race,social origin, or their religion.2. The political regime of the State of Turkmenistanis a republic. In this republic, state sovereignty belongs tothe people. The republic exercises its own sovereigntythrough the direct vote and by means of representativeinstitutions.3. Inside the borders of Turkmenistan, the Constitutionand Laws of Turkmenistan are applicable.The Constitution of the Former USSR and laws areapplicable only under those circumstances in which there isno explicit law related to the matter within the Constitutionand Laws of Turkmenistan; and it is valid until the completion of the reform and regulation of state relations and legalrelations in the legislation process.4. The borders of Turkmenistan within the borders currently drawn are inviolable and indivisible.485. The state sovereignty of Turkmenistan is executedby means of the division of powers into legislative, executive and judicial powers.6. Complying with the Constitution of Turkmenistan,the High Council of Turkmenistan exercises the legislativepowers.7. The highest ruler of Turkmenistan is the Presidentwho is the Head of State. The President of Turkmenistanalso holds the rank of Chairman of the Executive.8. The courts of Turkmenistan are independent and subject to the law.9. Inside the borders of Turkmenistan, Turkmen citizenship applies. The constitution and law of Turkmenistan regulates the matters pertaining to the laws on obtaining citizenship of Turkmenistan and citizenship relations with othercountries. Turkmenistan protects and assists its citizens inside and outside its borders.The constitution and laws of Turkmenistan, in accordance with interstate treaties, recognizes the rights and freedoms of foreign citizens and stateless persons inTurkmenistan as in the norms of international law.10. Within the borders of Turkmenistan the surface andunderground resources, air zone, water and natural resources,sea and continental shelf are the people’s national wealth andproperty, which all serve as material bases of Turkmenistan’sindependence.On the general possessions of the USSR, there is theshare of Turkmenistan in the USSR’s diamond, foreign exchange and gold reserves.4911. Turkmenistan, in its economy, establishes a functioning free market economy. It controls state possessionsin all their forms and equally protects them.12. Turkmenistan independently determines its fiscal andmonetary system; the state determines the structures of banks.13. Turkmenistan recognizes the independence of theadjoining repub