Turkmenbashi the Insane

I really want to like Saparmyrat Niyazov, the president of Turkmenistan. You may also know him as Turkmenbashi the Great, his self-designated title as Turkmenistan's first post-Communist leader. (FYI: "Turkmenbashi" means "leader of all Turkmen")

In Lutz Klevemann's excellent book on the politics of oil interests in Central Asia, he titles the chapter on Turkmenistan "Stalinism Goes to Disneyland." I really want that to be true. Niyazov has one of the greatest personality cults of all time, on par with that of Stalin or Mao or Reagan.

Beyond the usual self-flattering iconography and ridiculous, massive monuments (a 300-square meter rug dubbed "The 21st Century: The Epoch of Great Saparmyrat Turkmenistan" anyone?), we have some good old-fashioned indoctrination. Schoolchildren recite a daily oath of allegiance to Turkmenbashi (no different than our pledge of allegiance, eh?). University pupils are required to attend lectures with titles such as "The Domestic and International Politics of Turkmenbashi." (Mao Zedong thought anyone?) Still, he's seen a comparatively benign as a megalomaniac, despite the ubiquity of the secret police.

But you really have to think he's gone off the deep end. He wants to build a palace of ice in Turkmenistan. You know, a desert country that's one of the world's hottest. Granted, he wants to construct it in the mountains outside the capital of Ashgabat, which should help, but it'll still be difficult to get the ice to stay frozen even there.

What a nutter.