The mass media in Turkmenistan are among the world's most tightly controlled. The press is controlled by the government, which funds nearly all newspapers, criticism of the president is forbidden, and state licensing policy effectively eliminates all outlets not reflecting official views. To avoid reprisal, domestic and foreign journalists engage in self-censorship.
The only domestic news agency is the State News Agency of Turkmenistan. The Anadolu Agency of Turkey maintains an office in Ashgabat, and TRT has a representative there. Agence France Press, Associated Press, Reuters, and ITAR-TASS receive reports from stringers. 57 correspondents of foreign media, accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. [1]
Broadcasting is under the full control of the Turkmenistan Television Broadcasting Center, which operates seven national television channels. Little recent information on radio stations is available. [2]
Reporters Without Borders' 2022 Press Freedom Index ranked Turkmenistan 177th out of 180 countries surveyed, ahead of Iran, Eritrea, and North Korea. [3] It has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of most measures of press freedom since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Twenty-two newspapers (2 privately owned) and 14 magazines (none privately owned) are published in Turkmenistan. Content of the state-owned newspapers differs little to not at all, consisting of republishing of copy from the state-owned news agency. They are very expensive by Turkmen standards, with the most expensive newspaper costing $0.50. A one-year subscription equals one month minimum wage. [4] Some domestic online newspapers have been founded, notably Turkmenportal and Orient. [5] [6] Russian magazines and Uzbek newspapers are sold in some kiosks.
Electronic copies of most state-published newspapers may be downloaded from the website of the State Printing Office.
In Turkmenistan, satellite TV from Russia, Turkey and Uzbekistan is popular. Viewers subscribe to Cable TV and IPTV, which are generally available for a monthly fee of 10 manat per month. [10]
Turkmenistan broadcasts 8 public television channels (7 of them on the territory of the whole country, and 1 only in Ashgabat). All broadcast in the Turkmen language with the exception of the Turkmenistan news channel, which broadcasts in 7 languages. They do not differ from each other in news content. These sources of information are an ideological mouthpiece of the ruling regime in the country. Any opinion or idea that differs from that of the President of Turkmenistan cannot be broadcast, nor can criticism of the country (except if the criticism is made by the president himself). The chennels also present informative and entertaining domestic programs and movies, as well as sports events in which Turkmen athletes participate. Sometimes Altyn Asyr broadcasts popular movies dubbed in Turkmen in the evenings. Turkmenistan Sport regularly broadcasts Formula 1, [11] football matches of Serie A, La Liga, [12] Bundesliga and other sports thanks to an agreement with the Irish company Setanta Sports. [13] Only state companies and institutions advertise on Turkmen television.
Private company Alem TV [21] offers 125 [22] international pay-per-view satellite TV channels for Android smart TVs. [23]
The state-owned enterprise Turkmen Telekom operates cable TV activities in the country. The service is not a brand.
There are four radio stations in Turkmenistan:
TR1 broadcasts on longwave, medium wave, OIRT FM, and CCIR FM; TR2 and TR3 broadcast on medium wave and OIRT & CCIR FM; and TR4 broadcasts on CCIR FM. All four stations also broadcast on DAB+ in Ashgabat and can be heard online globally via Radio Garden. [24] [25] [26] There are no local or regional radio stations in the country.
Turkmenistan has a state-controlled press and monitored communication systems. Turkmenistan's telecommunications services are considered to be the least developed of all the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Overall, the telecom market in this predominantly rural country is relatively small but has been trying boldly to expand in recent years. The state-owned Turkmen Telecom has been the primary provider of public telephone, email and internet services, and through a subsidiary has been operating a GSM mobile network in competition with a private mobile operator, BCTI.
Ashgabat is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km away from the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city has a population of 1,030,063.
Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. It is one of the six independent Turkic states. With a population over 7 million, Turkmenistan is the 35th most-populous country in Asia and has the lowest population of the Central Asian republics while being one of the most sparsely populated nations on the Asian continent.
OJSC Turkmenistan Airlines is the flag carrier and only airline of Turkmenistan, headquartered in Ashgabat. It operates domestic and international passenger and cargo services mainly from its hub at Ashgabat International Airport.
Balkanabat, formerly Nebit-Dag and Neftedag, is the administrative centre of Balkan Province, the largest province in Turkmenistan. It lies at the foot of the Balkan Daglary mountain range. Balkanabat is about 450 km west of Ashgabat and 160 km east of the seaport city of Türkmenbaşy. The city layout is a grid of apartment blocks called kvartal (quarters). The main streets are Magtymguly, Pervomayskiy and Gurbansoltan eje şaýoly.
Ashgabat International Airport, formerly known as Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy International Airport, is one of five international airports in Turkmenistan. It is located within the city limits of Ashgabat (Ashkhabad). The old airport, with its air traffic control tower and a 3,700-metre-long (12,000 ft) precision approach runway (12L-30R), opened in 1994 and was named after the country's first president, Saparmyrat Niyazov. The new airport terminal opened in September 2016, after being completely redesigned and rebuilt and after the south runway was moved and lengthened to parallel the north runway.
The Ministry for National Security or MNS is the secret police agency for the government of Turkmenistan. It is composed largely of the remnants of KGB organs left over after the collapse of the Soviet Union; its functions remain largely the same as well. The MNB and the national police force are under the direction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Until 2002, it was known as the KNB.
Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, also known as Türkmenbaşy, was a Turkmen politician who led Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan from 1985 until 1991 and supported the 1991 Soviet coup attempt. He continued to rule Turkmenistan as president for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The list of Turkmenistan-related articles is below
Altyn Asyr CJSC is the state owned mobile operator in Turkmenistan. The company uses the TM CELL brand as its trade name. In September 2017, it had more than 5,5 million subscribers. It is headquartered in Ashgabat.
Turkmen State Medical University named after Myrat Garryev is a Turkmen medical university. Founded in 1931, it is the only medical university in Turkmenistan with more than 3,000 students. It is located in Ashgabat. The university reports to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan. The current rector is Nargozel Myratnazarova.
Archabil Avenue is a motorway in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The eight-lane motorway has a length of 25.5 kilometres, and contains a dividing strip of more than 30 metres width.
In Turkmenistan, television has been operating for over 50 years and is subject to vigorous state censorship. Notorious for a totalitarian control on media, Turkmenistan has consistently occupied one among the last three spots of the annual Press Freedom Index since its inception in 2006.
Amangylych Ovezovich Kochumov or Amangylyç Owezowiç Koçumow is a Turkmen football coach and a former Soviet footballer. Current head coach of Nebitchi.
The Turkmen Independence Day Parade is one of the main events celebrating the Independence of Turkmenistan from the Soviet Union in 1991. Independence Day is the main holiday of Turkmenistan. The parade is held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan every year and is the largest and most frequent military parade in Central Asia.
The Turkmen Ground Forces is the army branch of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. The ground forces include the 2nd, 3rd, 11th, and 22nd Motor Rifle Divisions as well as smaller units consisting of various types of troops.
The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan currently funds 2 high ranking educational institutions: The Military Academy of Turkmenistan and the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan. Aside from those two schools, there are several military schools around the country, specializing in the training of personnel of a branches of service. In the early 1990s when the armed forces were rapidly being developed, many officers were trained in the Russian Federation's Ministry of Defense, while at least 300 officers were sent to schools in Turkey. On 3 October 1992, the Turkmen State University created the first Turkmen educational department. This article lists institutions of the Turkmen Armed Forces based on its respective agency and service branch.
Turkmen State Border Service Institute is an educational institution that specializes in the training of personnel of the State Border Service of Turkmenistan and the Turkmen Border Troops. The institute is one of many Turkmen military academies based in Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan is the only remaining sovereign country in the world that has not reported any cases of COVID-19. There were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Turkmenistan, with the totalitarian government being proactive in censoring relevant information. It is however suspected to have spread in the country unreported; specifics are difficult to ascertain and confirm in absence of independent media.
Arkadag is a city in southern Turkmenistan. It became the regional capital of Ahal Province effective 20 December 2022. It is a largely greenfield development started in 2019 with an initial budget of $1.5 billion. The city was named in honor of former President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is officially entitled Arkadag. Uniquely among Turkmen cities, Arkadag is by law designated a "city of state importance".