Turkmenistan is an independent neutral state, located in Central Asia. It lies between 35'08" and 42'48" north and between 52'27" and 66'41" east to the north of the Kopet-Dag mountains, between the Caspian Sea in the West and Amudarya river in the East. At its longest point, Turkmenistan spans 1,110 kilometers from east to west and 650 kilometers from north to south.
Turkmenistan shares borders to the north and east with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and to the south with Iran and Afghanistan. The sand deserts of the Turan lowlands, the Central, Zaunguz and Southeastern Karakum Deserts, make up 80 percent of the country's territory. In the south, the deserts give way to the foothills and mountains of the Kopet-Dag range and to the Paropamize mountains (including the peaks of Badkuz and Karabil) in the southeast. The right bank of the Amudarya is covered by the Sundukli sands. To the east of the Caspian Sea lies the Western-Turkmen seaside lowland, covered with saline soils and loosely-fixed sands. In the extreme east, the Kugitangtai branch of the Gissar ridge extends into Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan covers 488.1 thousand square kilometers and had a population of 4.46 million at the beginning of 1996 (45.1 percent live in urban areas and 54.9 percent in rural areas).
Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan. There are five administrative-economic regions (velayats) in the territory of Turkmenistan: Akhal, Balkan, Lebap, Mary and Dashkhovuz, in the composition of which 20 towns and 46 etraps are included.
The climate of the lowland territory of the country is severe-continental and extremely dry. Average annual air temperature varies from 11-13 degrees Celsius in the north to 15-18 degrees in the southwest. In January, the coldest month, average temperature ranges from -6 to +5 degrees. The temperature is highest in July when it averages from 27 to 30 degrees. In the seaside regions August is the hottest month. Average annual rainfall in Turkmenistan ranges from 76 millimeters (on the Garabogazgol coast) to 398 millimeters (at Koine-Kessir in the Kopet-Dag mountains).
In 1868, the western part of Turkestan, the current territory of Turkmenistan, was colonized by the Romanov Russia. After the Soviet Revolution in 1917, Turkestan continued to be governed by Moscow.
Current territorial border was established, and the Turkmen SSR was established in 1924 under the supreme sovereignty of Moscow. On October 27, 1990 in open nationwide voting, Saparmurat Nijazov was elected the first President of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic.
In a meeting on October 27, 1991, Turkmenistan, the state, was formed as a result of the will of the people and the Parliament made the decision on independence. On June 21, 1992 in the second presidential election, that also dealt with the adoption of the Turkmenistan Constitution, S. A. Nijazov received 99.5 percent of the votes of electors.
After the achievement of independence and the formation of new sovereign states in the region, the geopolitical position of Turkmenistan was strengthened. With adequate development of infrastructure, the country is becoming a major center of Central Asia. Toward this goal, active construction of railroad tracks and highways that will link European countries to the countries of Asia is underway.
Reconstruction and strengthening of the state system
In accordance with its Constitution, Turkmenistan is a democratic, legal, secular state, that has absolute power within its territory and the prerogative to implement its internal and foreign policy. Governance in the state of Turkmenistan is realized in the form of a presidential republic. The president is the head of state and executive power, the supreme official of Turkmenistan. He is the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity, and observance of the Constitution and international laws. He provides for the economic, social and cultural development of Turkmenistan and executes other duties in accordance with the Constitution.
The supreme representative body of national power is the Khalk Maslakhaty (National Council) of Turkmenistan. The Khalk Maslakhaty considers and takes decisions regarding the following issues: adjustments and amendments to the Constitution; national referenda; recommendations on the basic direction of economic, social, and political development of the country.
The Medjiis (parliament) serves as the legislative body of Turkmenistan with the following responsibilities: adjustments and amendments to the Constitution; passing and interpreting laws; setting the dates of Parliamentary and Presidential elections; approving the programme and activity of the Cabinet of Ministers; ratification of the budget of Turkmenistan and monitoring its execution; ratification of state awards and other questions. Presently, fifty deputies work in the Medjiis on a continual basis. The deputies of the Medjiis collaborate with academicians and specialists to create the legislative foundation of the government of Turkmenistan.
A number of public institutions function actively including the "Council of the Elderly", the Youth Council, the Humanitarian Association of Turkmens of the World, the Religious Council, and others. These public institutions serve actively in the implementation of political and economic reforms. The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan has become the leading organization and it plays a direct role in the development of society.
During the five years since independence, the substantial task of integrating Turkmenistan into international society has been carried out. Domestic and foreign policy, conducted by the President of Turkmenistan, as well as the geopolitical position of the state, attract the attention of well-known foreign statesmen.
Turkmenistan has chosen its own path for the economy and for the democratization of society. In accordance with this, these transformations are perceived through the prism of the historical, political and social characteristics of the Turkmen people and supported by the reality of modem life. Namely, with this approach, the democratization of society is not reduced to endless political debates and verbiage.
In Turkmenistan, economic reforms have a higher priority than political reforms. However, economic reforms can be successfully realized only when accompanied by political stability in society. The economic model selected by Turkmenistan envisages the preservation of strong state power. This not only guarantees government macroeconomic regulation of the economy, but also the creation of all conditions from the government's side for the successful realization of all reforms. Toward this goal, Turkmenistan has quickly built its power structures and strengthened its material and technical base. Under the President of the country, the enforcement systems have been established to implement adopted decisions and laws.
Turkmenistan recognizes the equality of all the forms of property and strives to create a developed mixed economy. A mixed economy implies the implementation of Turkmenistan's own model of economic management. In this scheme, it is important to note the rational combination of vertical and horizontal systems of management. On the one hand, this increases the rights of commodity producers in the organization of the production process and sources of material-technical supply, on the other hand, it reinforces their responsibility to partners and to higher structures of management.
The initial conditions for the formation of the national model of the economy are marked by both the presence of large potential in natural and industrial resources and stocks to draw upon for industrial production on the one hand, and the lack of needed investments to execute structural transformations, on the other hand. In this connection, the effectiveness of the mechanisms for mobilizing the financial resources of enterprises and persons into savings and for attracting foreign investments into the sectors that provide technological impetus in production processes are of important significance.
Special attention should be given to the development of sectors such as transport, communications, hotel management and others that facilitate the successful integration of Turkmenistan into the world economy.
With respect to agriculture, the government acts out of the need for a rational combination of liberalization of economic relations and state protection. In the agroindustrial complex, priority is given to the development of food industries and to the integration of the activities of different levels of industrial producers.