President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov, a former bureaucrat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, has ruled Turkmenistan since 1985, when he became head of the local branch of the Communist Party. He retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. The president’s party, the Democratic Party (the former Communists), is the only one legally permitted. Turkmenistan is dominated by an all-pervasive cult of personality extolling President Niyazov as Turkmenbashi (”Leader of all Turkmen”).

His face adorns almost everything in Turkmenistan, from banknotes to bottles of vodka. The logo of Turkmen national television is his profile. The two books he had written are mandatory readings in schools, motorclubs, and homes. Institutions that cannot be named after him are named after his mother. All watches and clocks made must bear his portrait printed on the dial-face. A giant 15-meter (50 feet) tall gold-plated statue stands on a rotating pedestal, so it will always face into the sun and shine light onto the capital city. In reality, Niyazov is a very short person, barely taller than 150 centimeters (5 feet).

A slogan popular among Turkmens is “Halk! Watan! Turkmenbashi!” meaning “People! Motherland! Leader!”. Niyazov renamed the week days after members of his family and wrote the new Turkmen national anthem-oath himself, including phrases that say people who defame the motherland or the Turkmenbashi should lose their arms.

Foreign companies seeking Turkmenistan’s vast natural gas resources have had to cooperate with Niyazov since he also controls access to the natural resources. His book Ruhnama, revered in Turkmenistan almost like a holy text, has been published by foreign industrialists in all major languages, including Croatian, Polish, Hungarian and Bantu, exactly for this reason.