Shared Joy
Jedi Council Member
What a symbol of self aggrandizement!
_http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/25/horse-turkmenistan-president-statute-berdymukhamedov
quote
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov gallops ahead in race to construct a cult of personality bigger than his predecessor’s, the late dictator Saparmurat Niyazov
Cast in bronze and covered in 24-carat gold leaf, the statue of Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov soars over 20 metres from the ground and is perched on an outcrop of white marble cliff.
Berdymukhamedov, who has run the country since 2006 and is accused of presiding over one of the most pervasive personality cults in the world, is widely known as Arkadag, or the patron.
The composition was unveiled in Ashgabat on Monday, to cheers of “Glory to Arkadag!” from assembled students, as white doves and balloons were released into the sky, Reuters reported.
Officially, the monument was commissioned after public clamour.
“My main goal is to serve the people and the motherland. And so, I will listen to the opinion of the people and do as they choose,” said Berdymukhamedov in 2014, in response to the proposal to honour him with a statue.
His image is ubiquitous in the desert nation, with huge portraits adorning billboards and buildings across the country. The gold statue, however, recalls the reign of his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, who was known as Turkmenbashi, or leader of all the Turkmens.
Niyazov ensured that gas-rich Turkmenistan remained one of the most isolated countries in the world, ensuring no free media, allowing little foreign travel and enacting a series of decrees that renamed the days of the week and months of the year after himself and members of his family. Hospitals outside the capital were closed, opera and the circus were both banned, and all schools and universities had mandatory classes for studying the Ruhnama, Niyazov’s book. His ministers were forced to perform a gruelling annual “walk of health” through the capital. Niyazov travelled by helicopter and met them at the finishing line.
Berdymukhamedov, who was formerly a dentist and then became Niyazov’s health minister, presided over a very gradual liberalisation when he first came to power after Niyazov’s death, reversing some of the late president’s more eccentric decrees.
In time, however, Berdymukhamedov built up a personality cult that now rivals that of his predecessor.
Niyazov famously had a gold statue of himself erected in the centre of Ashgabat that rotated to face the sun throughout the day. When Berdymukhamedov took over, the monument was moved to the outskirts of the city.
end quote
I've seen this many times, but this leaders doesn't seem to understand how ridiculous they are.
FWIW
_http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/25/horse-turkmenistan-president-statute-berdymukhamedov
quote
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov gallops ahead in race to construct a cult of personality bigger than his predecessor’s, the late dictator Saparmurat Niyazov
Cast in bronze and covered in 24-carat gold leaf, the statue of Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov soars over 20 metres from the ground and is perched on an outcrop of white marble cliff.
Berdymukhamedov, who has run the country since 2006 and is accused of presiding over one of the most pervasive personality cults in the world, is widely known as Arkadag, or the patron.
The composition was unveiled in Ashgabat on Monday, to cheers of “Glory to Arkadag!” from assembled students, as white doves and balloons were released into the sky, Reuters reported.
Officially, the monument was commissioned after public clamour.
“My main goal is to serve the people and the motherland. And so, I will listen to the opinion of the people and do as they choose,” said Berdymukhamedov in 2014, in response to the proposal to honour him with a statue.
His image is ubiquitous in the desert nation, with huge portraits adorning billboards and buildings across the country. The gold statue, however, recalls the reign of his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, who was known as Turkmenbashi, or leader of all the Turkmens.
Niyazov ensured that gas-rich Turkmenistan remained one of the most isolated countries in the world, ensuring no free media, allowing little foreign travel and enacting a series of decrees that renamed the days of the week and months of the year after himself and members of his family. Hospitals outside the capital were closed, opera and the circus were both banned, and all schools and universities had mandatory classes for studying the Ruhnama, Niyazov’s book. His ministers were forced to perform a gruelling annual “walk of health” through the capital. Niyazov travelled by helicopter and met them at the finishing line.
Berdymukhamedov, who was formerly a dentist and then became Niyazov’s health minister, presided over a very gradual liberalisation when he first came to power after Niyazov’s death, reversing some of the late president’s more eccentric decrees.
In time, however, Berdymukhamedov built up a personality cult that now rivals that of his predecessor.
Niyazov famously had a gold statue of himself erected in the centre of Ashgabat that rotated to face the sun throughout the day. When Berdymukhamedov took over, the monument was moved to the outskirts of the city.
end quote
I've seen this many times, but this leaders doesn't seem to understand how ridiculous they are.
FWIW
