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2 Stories That Explain Turkmenistan's Absurdity
2 Stories That Explain Turkmenistan's Absurdity
2 Stories That Explain Turkmenistan's Absurdity
CROSSROADS ASIA
By Catherine Putz
August 11, 2016
Credit: Screenshot
“
media, detailed the president’s musical pursuits:
”
Moreover, the President is also working to complete a piece
of music which still has no lyrics.
The real gem is the video, showing Berdimuhamedov (in what can
be best described as a Hawaiian shirt) and his two grandsons
tinkering with various muscle instruments, DJing and dancing.
While I have not been able to track down the original story, a visit to
the Turkmen State News Agency revealed a similar fluff piece
posted as news: “President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov took a
bicycle ride.”
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”
Gas workers in this province have not received salaries or
have been forced to take unpaid leave.
These two stories, held next to each other, are nothing short of
sledgehammer-style satire, Ashgabat’s absurdities laid bare. The
president plays in a pristine white room with a baby grand piano
and an array of keyboards and DJ-gear–while the country’s citizens
scramble at the grocery store to stock up on flour. Leaders around
the world are ridiculed by their opponents for their frivolities, but
reporting on U.S. President Barack Obama’s golfing doesn’t come
with a possible prison sentence.
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AUTHORS
STAFF AUTHOR
Catherine Putz
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TAGS
Turkmenistan politics