- the above image from here is of a 39-foot tall golden statue of Saparmurat Niyazov, the former President of Turkmenistan; the statue, which rotates so that it always faces the sun, sits on top of a 246-foot tall, rocket ship-like monument
- according to this story, the current President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, has ordered the removal from the centre of the capital, Ashgabat, to its southern outskirts of the entire structure, erected in 1998
- also according to the story:
The [current] president had already reversed Niyazov’s order renaming the days of the week and months of the year in honor of himself and his family. He had also ended the bans on opera, ballet and the circus, which Niyazov had decreed un-Turkmen, and lifted restrictions on the Internet.
- lest you think that President Berdymukhammedov doesn’t understand the importance of providing the Turkmen public with uplifting national symbols, you’ll be pleased to hear that he’s already arranged for the issue of coins with his own portrait on them
——
![the above image from here is of a 39-foot tall golden statue of Saparmurat Niyazov, the former President of Turkmenistan; the statue, which rotates so that it always faces the sun, sits on top of a 246-foot tall, rocket ship-like monument
according to this story, the current President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, has ordered the removal from the centre of the capital, Ashgabat, to its southern outskirts of the entire structure, erected in 1998
also according to the story:
The [current] president had already reversed Niyazov’s order renaming the days of the week and months of the year in honor of himself and his family. He had also ended the bans on opera, ballet and the circus, which Niyazov had decreed un-Turkmen, and lifted restrictions on the Internet.lest you think that President Berdymukhammedov doesn’t understand the importance of providing the Turkmen public with uplifting national symbols, you’ll be pleased to hear that he’s already arranged for the issue of coins with his own portrait on them——](http://media.tumblr.com/mSIbwfieM8md7e6ncFTQ004D_500.jpg)
