1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Hmm, what's ringing my bells? I am Robert Evans. This 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: is Behind the Bastards, the show where every week I 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: try out a new introduction. This one got so Pie's approval, 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: so that's good. It's also a show where we talk 5 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: about the worst people in all of history, tell you 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 1: the things you don't know about them. My guest today 7 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,959 Speaker 1: is David Christopher Bow. Hello. How you doing, Dave? I 8 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: am well. I almost hit a man with my car 9 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: on the way here. Oh sweet, did he have it coming? Yeah? 10 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: Actually he was jaywalking. Well the fuck him? Yeah that's 11 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: what I thought. Yeah, yeah, that's that's good. I'm gonna 12 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna share a little bit of your personal business 13 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: day because it makes me laugh. Your parents came here 14 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: from the the blighted hellscape that is the East Coast 15 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: to escape the snow. Yes, that's true. They're very old, 16 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 1: so they do what old people do, and they went 17 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: to a warm climate during the winter, and then Los 18 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: Angeles got its first snow in sixty something. Here. Sure, 19 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: they are very bummed out because when it's not snowing, 20 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: it's been raining that stop. We've had our first winter 21 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: in decades, which has been delightful. It's been great for 22 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: the people who live here. It's nice. Yeah, especially after 23 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: the summer, although it is a dire sign of climate 24 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,680 Speaker 1: change when Los Angeles has seasons. Yeah, the world is dying. Yeah, 25 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 1: but it's nice to get to wear a jacket, Hollywood. Yeah. Uh, well, Dave, 26 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,279 Speaker 1: today we are talking about a special fellow, very special fellow. 27 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: Have you ever heard the name saparmar Atni is of 28 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: Oh boy, oh oh boy. Now, the last show we 29 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: had you won was Momar Kadafi. Kadafi is kind of 30 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: the gold standard for just a lunatic who winds up 31 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: in charge of a country, like not like a guy 32 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: like like Hitler Stalin. People call them crazy, but they 33 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: really weren't. Like if you if you look at them, 34 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: everything they did kind of made sense, like based on 35 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: where they're coming from. Kaddafi was a fucking maniac. Uh. 36 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: And saparmar Atnia is off maybe even crazier than Kaddafi. 37 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: He might be the craziest person who's ever run a country. Uh, 38 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: But we'll have to judge that at the end of 39 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: these episodes. Before we get into that, I have a 40 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: new sparkling water beverage called Bubbly and I got it 41 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: hoping for an orange soda of some sort, but I 42 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: don't know if that's what it is or if it's 43 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: more like one of those one of those lacroix. So 44 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: I'm gonna I'm gonna learn right now. How is it. 45 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: It's actually really nice. It is on the Lacroix scale. 46 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: So it's like someone put an orange in. It's like 47 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: it's like an orange was in the same room as 48 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: some sparkling water. Um, but in this case, the orange 49 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,519 Speaker 1: talked to the water. Uh, and they reached in a chord. 50 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,239 Speaker 1: It's good. Okay, it's good. Yeah, it's like a melted 51 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: popsicle bubbly. I'm gonna have to try it if you 52 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: want too. Yeah, report in your lacroix. All right, Here 53 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: we go over the over the equipment. This is we're 54 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: reaching across the table. Oh Jesus sorry, it's good. Has 55 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: it mixed with that? But I'm going to keep drinking it. 56 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: So that's a little bit of science for you listeners 57 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: at home. Do not mix passion fruit lacroix with orange bubbly. Uh. 58 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,359 Speaker 1: Not a good idea. All right, speaking of bad ideas, 59 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: let's talk about saparmar At Niyazov, the lunatic god king 60 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: of Turkmenistan. I'm so psyched. So today we're talking about 61 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: a guy who was at one point probably the most 62 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: powerful crazy person on planet Earth. He was the absolute 63 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 1: ruler of a nation of five million people. So parmar 64 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: At Niyazov was the dictator of Turkmenistan. And I think 65 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: you're going to enjoy him, Dave, Although Turkmenistan did not um, 66 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: I am extremely ignorant of the world. So where is Turkmenistan. 67 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: It's like near Afghanistan and in in in the old 68 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: Soviet Union. It's one of those little chunks of the country. 69 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: It was like when Genghis Khan started doing his thing 70 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,119 Speaker 1: when they like left China and started conquering his way 71 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: towards the Middle East. They were like the first empire 72 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: he ran into on his way out of China. Yeah, 73 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: and he had to, yet he sucked him up pretty bad. 74 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: Uh So, Turkmenistan the actual country did not exist as 75 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: a political entity until nineteen twenty four. Like, it wasn't 76 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: a thing anyone had ever thought about as like an area. 77 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: It was just a place where a bunch of like 78 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: it had been a bunch of different kingdoms, but like 79 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: no one had called them Turkmenistan or whatever. They wound 80 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: up under Russian control during the era of the Csars, 81 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: and not much was done with them. They were a 82 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: little bit of a backwater, so they pretty much just 83 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: stuck to themselves and did Turkmen stuff, which mainly meant 84 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: outdoor picnics, fantastic wine and horseback riding. Oh good for them, yeah, yeah, yeah. 85 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,159 Speaker 1: It seemed to have that, seemed to have their ship together. Yeah, 86 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: and there's just like, no one's noticing us. Yeah, let's 87 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,160 Speaker 1: just have a great time. Let's just chill out. They 88 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: like falcons, big, big falcon people doesn't Who doesn't love 89 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: a good falcon. They got great horses, and uh, they're 90 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: one of those pieces of the Muslim world where everybody 91 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: drinks still because they became Muslim, but they've been growing 92 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,239 Speaker 1: wine since before they were Muslims. They were like, well, 93 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: let's just ignore that trunk earlier than we've been. It's 94 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: kept grandfathered into the religion. Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Uh. 95 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty four, the brand new Union of Soviet 96 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 1: Socialist Republics decided this chunk of the world and its 97 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: people needed an official designation and borders. The Turkmen SSR 98 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: was considered to be the backwatery ist backwater in the 99 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: entire Soviet Union. Uh say, maybe some of those chunks 100 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: of Russia that were too cold for anything, but Gulags, 101 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: an American diplomat told New Yorker author Paul Thiou that quote, 102 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,279 Speaker 1: it was the sleepiest, most remote, least favorite of the 103 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: USSRS republics. So they don't get much love. Yeah, but 104 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: I mean I want to live there. Yeah, if you're 105 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: going to live in the Soviet Union, you want to 106 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:43,840 Speaker 1: live in the place that like Stalin doesn't think about ever. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 107 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: And they were they were basically the Soviet Union's gas station. Uh. 108 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: They had like have like either the third of the 109 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: fifth largest natural gas reserves in the world, and so 110 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union just kind of took all of their 111 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: fuel and and didn't really give them money for it. 112 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: And that that was kind of what happened for like 113 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: seventy years or so. So they were they were doing fine. Uh. 114 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: Suparmarat Niezov was born into this quiet region of the 115 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: world in nineteen forty. His father was Attaya Niyazov, a 116 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: farmer and His mother was Gurbon Sultan. They lived in 117 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: the town of ghip Jack, a small village six miles 118 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: from the capital, Ashgabat. If you know much history, you're 119 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: probably aware that nineteen forty was not a great time 120 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: to be born in the Soviet Union. The Nazis invaded 121 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: before Subparmarat was one, and in nineteen forty two his 122 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: father died in battle fighting the Wehrmacht. So not the 123 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: best start so far, das he's really fun things up 124 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: for this kid and twenty million other people. Yeah. Uh. 125 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: This prompted Subparmarants mom to move them into the capital, 126 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: where they all lived together until nineteen forty eight, when 127 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,159 Speaker 1: a massive earthquake struck the city and killed a hundred 128 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: and ten thousand people, including Suparmarat's entire family. Okay, see, 129 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: he's just having none of the luck, none of the luck, 130 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,720 Speaker 1: really really bad first eight years of his life. Yeah. Yeah, 131 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,919 Speaker 1: rough rough start, um, fair to say so. Young Saparmat 132 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: grew up in a Soviet orphanage until the government found 133 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: a family member he'd never met for him to go 134 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: live with. Uh. In spite of the rough start, he 135 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: did pretty well, winning a place in Leningrad Polytechnical Institute 136 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: and graduating with a degree in power engineering in nineteen 137 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: sixty six. Uh he got a job at a power 138 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: plant near the capital, And UH do you like he 139 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: was just going to be a normal Soviet dude. So far, 140 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: so good, So far, so rough start, But he's getting 141 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: his life on track, getting his life on track working 142 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: as an engineer. If I know anything about engineers is 143 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: that they never turned into power krazed maniacs. Yeah, that's 144 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: that's for sure, something about engineers that we know. Uh 145 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: Saparmarat joined the Communist Party back in nineteen sixty two, 146 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: and his ambitions immediately extended beyond just working at a 147 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: power plant. Throughout the late nineteen sixties and the nineteen seventies, 148 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: he steadily rose the ranks in local politics, due largely 149 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: to the fact that he was a member of the 150 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: largest Turkmen tribe in the region. The techie now uh 151 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: saparmar at Yezov was named the first Secretary of the 152 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: Communist Party of Turkmen by Mikhail Gorbachev and nine eight 153 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: five he was put in power because his predecessor, a 154 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: guy named Gapasov, had been incredibly corrupt. Uh and and 155 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: stealing huge amounts of money from, you know, the republic. 156 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: So that's that's his predecessor. Now. The good thing about 157 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: Gapisov is that he'd almost completed construction of the world's 158 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: longest aqueduct during his term, so it was like a 159 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: couple of weeks away from being finished when he got 160 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: ship can't And then Niyazov comes to power and he 161 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: immediately takes credit for building the aqueduct, which good, solid. Yeah. 162 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: So Gorbachev promised that Niyazov's promotion meant the dawning of 163 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,199 Speaker 1: a new age of corruption free governance in Turkmenistan. This 164 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: would prove to be about as wrong as a statement 165 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:42,119 Speaker 1: can be. That feels like how a lot of monsters start. Yeah, 166 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: of like the guy before them was terrible and corrupt, 167 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: and they come up and they're like, no more corruption, 168 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: no more corruption. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good pitch, like 169 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: basically how this starts. Yeah, And he he probably would 170 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: have gotten busted by Gorbachev eventually because he was really 171 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 1: corrupt too. But five years after he comes to power, 172 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: the USSR starts to fall apart, and so when the 173 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: Soviet Union collapses, he's the guy in charge of Turkmenistan. 174 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: So in nineteen ninety, the Turkmen Parliament declares its independence 175 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: during a couple of different votes, and on October nineteen ninety, 176 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: the state of Turkmenistan was officially born. It held its 177 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: first presidential election immediately afterwards. Niyazov was the only candidate 178 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 1: and he received ninety eight point three percent of the vote. 179 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,679 Speaker 1: So okay, so yeah, as everything collapsed around him, he 180 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: took It's like having it's like being the manager at 181 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: the final Blockbuster, yeah exactly, yeah, and just being like, 182 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: we're gonna do things differently around Blockbuster now. Yeah. Uh yeah, 183 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,559 Speaker 1: he is. He is that guy. Uh. So, As the 184 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: autocratic ruler of a new nation, Niazov's immediate goal was 185 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: to be as neutral as possible and make a shipload 186 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: of money. So not a bad plan at the start. 187 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: He started selling gas oil and electricity to Iran, but 188 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,080 Speaker 1: also sweet talked Saudi Arabia and flew to Mecca to 189 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: do his pilgrimage. So he's kind of trying to play 190 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: both sides of of every angle. He's trying to be 191 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: nice to Russia and be nice to the US. He 192 00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: just doesn't want anybody to funk with Turkmenistan. So reasonable, Yeah, 193 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: that's fair. He's protecting his people, protecting his people. Now, 194 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: when he came to power, most Turkmen were still dirt 195 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,560 Speaker 1: poor because the Soviet Union had basically just been stealing 196 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: their gas, like paying them, but paying them in Soviet 197 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,959 Speaker 1: money that wasn't worth anything, and being like, yeah, you 198 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: guys are getting a fair market value for this. Feel 199 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: like it was. It was a free gas station for 200 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union. But now that they were an independent nation, 201 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: these guys had like a shipload of money at like 202 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,080 Speaker 1: something like five billion dollars a year coming in in 203 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 1: uh in fuel money. And there's only five million people. 204 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: So in a fair and equitable system, everyone in Turkmenistan 205 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 1: could be really rich, like like they are in Kuwait 206 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: or something. Of course, I assume that's what's going to happen. Yeah, 207 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: that they all get taken care of really well, and 208 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: then that's it. Well you can find us on Twitter 209 00:10:53,600 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: and Instagram and at Bastards pod day. No. Uh So 210 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: that was what a lot of people hoped for, that 211 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 1: like the economy will be reformed and they'd all get 212 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 1: some of this sweet sweet gas money. But Niyazov was 213 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: worried about what might happen if he reformed the economy 214 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: too much. He thought it might be too much change 215 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,840 Speaker 1: for people in too short a period of time. Right, 216 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: you got to protect the people from progress for money, 217 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: change money. So what those people to have, who knows 218 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: what they'll spend it? Are exactly houses? Food? Yeah, you know, 219 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: you don't want to risk that. So he promised that 220 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: he would eventually add in some free market stuff, but 221 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,120 Speaker 1: in the short term, he decided that he really needed 222 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: absolute power to get stuff started for good foot you know. Yeah, 223 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: makes sense, understandable. I just need a little I just 224 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 1: need a little absolute powerst a couple of years. Absolute power. Yeah, 225 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: I swear I will. I'll give it up. Yeah, like 226 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: all the times people have given up absolute power in 227 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: the past. Uh. So he got his wish when Turkmenistan's 228 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 1: new constitution was drafted. It declared that power is held 229 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: by the president, who was elected by the people, which 230 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: seems reasonable until you realize that, once elected, the president's 231 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,839 Speaker 1: power was essentially infinite. Uh, and then included the power 232 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:07,079 Speaker 1: to determine how elections were held in the future. Yeah. Perfect. Now, 233 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: under the constitution, citizens did have the right to form 234 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: political parties as long as they could get a thousand 235 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: other people together. That was like the minimum threshold you 236 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: can make a political party. So several citizens did this. 237 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 1: They created political parties, They kept in line, scrupulously followed 238 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: the law, they avoided any calls for violence, they filled 239 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: out all the required forms of petitions, and their parties 240 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,439 Speaker 1: were immediately banned. Um. Since the state controlled all media, 241 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: no political parties were allowed in any airtime. So yeah, 242 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 1: that's that's uh, that that's what nias sort of starts 243 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: off U tagging Jumakov, a journalist working for a state 244 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: paper that was essentially owned by nias Off explained, quote, 245 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: at this time, there is no need for a multi 246 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: party system. Many problems have to be solved, social problems, 247 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: and we must raise living standards. When our living standards 248 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: are high and we are economically independent, then we can 249 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 1: have a multiparty system. But if this happens now, there 250 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: will be anarchy. It feels like there's a lot of putting, 251 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: putting it off, putting, a lot of like, you know, no, 252 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: it's a great, it's great, we'll do that at some point, 253 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: but right now we really can't. Yeah, I'll clean up 254 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 1: my room after yeah, finished stealing all this natural guess 255 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: I'll clean my room, But first I got to do 256 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,920 Speaker 1: this cocaine, and that'll help me clean up. I can't. 257 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: I can't make my bed with all this cocaine on 258 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 1: the table. Exactly what have I what am I knocked 259 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: the cocaine off the table? Exactly? Yes, yeah, he has 260 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: that that that that logic is it? Exactly how Niazov 261 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: justifies what he does. So At a People's Council in 262 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: December nine, Niazov estimated it would take ten years for 263 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: Turkmenistan to achieve the prosperity it needed for people to 264 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: be allowed to vote. After the constitution was ratified, Niasov 265 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: ran for president again winning. Yeah. He's he's very pop 266 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: very popular, very also the only candidate, uh. He was 267 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: the only Central Asian head of state to continue to 268 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: govern after the USSRS fall. So, of of the guys 269 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,199 Speaker 1: who are in charge when like the Soviet Union falls part, 270 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,959 Speaker 1: he's the only one who manages to hang on to power. Um. Now, 271 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,559 Speaker 1: Turkmenistan had never been a country before, not in the 272 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: modern sense of the world, and Niazov knew he had 273 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:10,839 Speaker 1: to do something to bind all of his people together, 274 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: so he held conferences using sketchy history to claim that 275 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,199 Speaker 1: all Turkmen were part of the same ethnic group, the Tehran, 276 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: which was essentially just an ancient Persian word for the region. 277 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: He also announced, to great fanfare that his name was 278 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: now Turkmen Boshi, which means first among Turkmen's. He created 279 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: an ethnic group, yeah, kind of okay, he just said 280 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: we're all this thing. Yeah. He didn't want the tribalism 281 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: to get in the way, so he said, we're all 282 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: part of the same thing. Now, all right, Yeah, you 283 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: got to invent stuff if you create a country. His 284 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 1: full title was Serdar Turkmen Boshi, Great Leader of all Turkmen. Now, 285 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 1: as natural gas money started to flow into the country, 286 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: Turkmenistan found itself with money for the first time and ever. Really, 287 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: Turkmen Boshi, a man who had promised his people prosperity, 288 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: knew what he had to spend his windfall on. Wait 289 00:14:55,480 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 1: what do you mean? It was, Oh god, I I 290 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: don't know what do you what do you think you 291 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: spent the billions of dollars That is the first money 292 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: is country has ever gotten on. I mean, this could 293 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: go in so many ways. It could be like war um, 294 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: but I feel like it's like a clown party or 295 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: something like that's not super far I watched, I listened 296 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: to another show, and to not make too many predictions, 297 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: he spent it all on statues. Oh, of course, of course, 298 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: of course, why do oh man? That's I think there's 299 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 1: something in our DNA where we want to It's just 300 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: a natural thing we want to do is make statues. 301 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: If you give me, if you gave me a million dollars, 302 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: I'll be like, Okay, well the statue, um, and then 303 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: I'll get a nice apartment. I guess a second RoboCop 304 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: statue in Detroit would make sense. Yeah, yeah, let's do 305 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 1: that first, and then another rocky statue in Philadelphia, all 306 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: slightly bigger, slightly she like drive the statue by homeless 307 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 1: people in the street and like statue. Uh. New Yorker 308 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: writer Paul Three visited Turkmeno STANDARDI end of Turkmen Boshi's bragin. 309 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: Here's how he described the capital city quote Ashkobat was 310 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: filled with gold statues of Turkmen Boshi. And these statues, 311 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: which had an ecclesiastical era. Boshi was el Dorado the 312 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: man of Gold, all powerful and all knowing. Statues show 313 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: him sitting, striding, waving, saluting, and smiling a twenty four 314 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: carrot smile. One even showed him as a precocious golden 315 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: child sitting in the lap of his bronze mother. He 316 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: once said to a journalist, I admit it. There are 317 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: too many portraits, pictures and monuments of me. I don't 318 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: find any pleasure in it, but the people demand it 319 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 1: because of their mentality. Guys, just give me a few 320 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: more years. Everything will be fine. We'll get a few 321 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: more statues up and then that's it. Just a couple 322 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: of more statues and love democracy promise. I swear you're 323 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: going to vote at some point. I do love that 324 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: he makes his mom bronze, but he's gold. A little 325 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 1: bit of mom shade there, it's just worth. Yeah, you 326 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,159 Speaker 1: want the baby to really pop in your in your 327 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: statue of yourself as a baby. Now, we don't know 328 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,639 Speaker 1: what the people actually demanded, because they weren't, you know, 329 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: allowed to vote, or form political parties or speak freely. Uh. 330 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: Several of them were eventually allowed to operate political parties, 331 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:17,919 Speaker 1: but these were just for show and most did not 332 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: meet the minimum number of members required in the constitution 333 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 1: was just so that Turkmen Bosha could be like, no, 334 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,200 Speaker 1: we're not a one party state. Look at all these 335 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: other parties. There's like nine guys in that one. Whenever 336 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: Turkmen Poshi got in hot water with the democratic world, 337 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: he'd sponsor a party or two and let his people 338 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: have the illusion of a tiny amount of choice, or, 339 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: to be more accurate, let the world have the illusion 340 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 1: that his people had a tiny amount of choice. Now, 341 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: Nyazov immediately started renaming parts of the country after himself. 342 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 1: It started, not crazily, at least changing the name of 343 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:51,199 Speaker 1: a major street in the capital from Lennin to you know, 344 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: Turkmen Bosh. That's fair. You know, Soviet Union's gone. You 345 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,639 Speaker 1: know when it named after Lennon. Okay, we named streets 346 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: after presidents all the time. Uh. He ran him to 347 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: collective farm in the Linen Canal with his own name. Also, 348 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: when people compared what he was doing to Stalin's personality cult, 349 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: he said, quote Stalin achieved his personality cult through repressive measures, 350 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: whereas I achieved my popularity without conflicts. So overall, I'm 351 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: just sorry. I'm thinking about his childhood and stuff. There's 352 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:24,159 Speaker 1: nothing like that messed up that happened to him and 353 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 1: the earthquake. I'm saying that there's not anything like horrible 354 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,639 Speaker 1: things happened to a lot of people. Yeah, this feels 355 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 1: like a story of like this is just like you 356 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: give someone too much power. This it feels like this 357 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,879 Speaker 1: could be anybody. It's just like, let's give him a 358 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: lot of power and then the next thing you know, 359 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:47,199 Speaker 1: they're a golden baby statue. That's possible. We'll say how 360 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: you feel at the end of this, Okay, I feel 361 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,679 Speaker 1: like he I mean, yeah, so so far, I'm not 362 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: saying what he did is understandable so far, it's just 363 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:01,640 Speaker 1: that it's I find it remarkable that his childhood isn't 364 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,119 Speaker 1: that over the top. Well, we just don't know that 365 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:05,920 Speaker 1: much about like what happened in the orphanage or what 366 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,440 Speaker 1: that's sucking. Soviet orphanage in the late forties that probably 367 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 1: wasn't the best place you can Probably you probably some 368 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: bad stuff, But I really don't know because there's just 369 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 1: not like Turkmenistan is still a very close society, so 370 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,360 Speaker 1: there's not a whole lot of information. I can't imagine 371 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 1: this guy keeping good records, know what's going on. Not 372 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: a big fan of that now. Um, Turkmenistan launched its 373 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: own currency, the man, in the late or in the 374 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,080 Speaker 1: early nineteen nineties. It's great wealth meant that the money 375 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,120 Speaker 1: launched at parody with the U. S. Dollar. So at 376 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,120 Speaker 1: the start, the Turkmenistan man is worth one U. S dollar, 377 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 1: which is great. You know. Yeah, a new country, your 378 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 1: dollar is a pretty good thing to be worth. In 379 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: the early nineteen nineties, uh Niyazov's face was, of course, 380 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: prominently printed on each and every bill. Um. Now, it's 381 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 1: not true that his popularity was without conflict. Dissidents were 382 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: punished brutally, although he was pretty popular at first. Because 383 00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,640 Speaker 1: the Turkmen had been treated like ship by the Soviet Union, 384 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: and now that were independent, uh, there was enough money 385 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,200 Speaker 1: for both ridiculous statues and social programs. So Turkmen Boshi 386 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: tripled the salaries of public employees, He heavily subsidized food, 387 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 1: and he offered free gas, electricity, and water to all citizens. 388 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: He also spent a hundred and thirty million dollars turning 389 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 1: his presidential seven sixty seven into an airborne palace. Yeah, 390 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: so a little bit for you, a little bit from 391 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: a little bit for you, a lot a lot for me, 392 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: get golden statues for me. Gasoline is basically free. Uh 393 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: so you know, I mean as a citizen at this point, 394 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: it's not the worst case and it's not the worst 395 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,360 Speaker 1: not the worst case scenario. It's just like, Okay, well 396 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: there's a bunch of just terrible statues of this, really 397 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 1: bad statues. But you know what I'm not I'm not 398 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: paying for gas. I'm not paying for gas. We will 399 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 1: see where this story goes. But speaking of not complaining, 400 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: you know what makes me not complain? I want to 401 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: say adds, yes, adds for the odd product, a couple 402 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,360 Speaker 1: of services. Okay, maybe maybe even an ad for bubbly 403 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 1: sparkling water, the only sparkling water that tastes terrible and 404 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:09,159 Speaker 1: mixed with lacroix. That is that going to get us 405 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: any money? Sovie? Alright, ads, and we're back. We're talking 406 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 1: about Turkmen boshi Uh, dictator of Turkmenistan and at this 407 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: point not doing terrible. A lot of statues, way too 408 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: much money on the plane. Gold Baby. I'm really thinking 409 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: about that gold baby thing because I think what it 410 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: is is that making a statue of yourself as an adult. Like, yeah, 411 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: that's messed up, but it's celebrating your big birth as 412 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 1: this special event. Yeah, Like there's really only the one 413 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: person that we do that with. Yeah, if someone else 414 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: is doing it, like, that's it's a bold statement. It's 415 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:53,960 Speaker 1: a bold statement. And I gotta say, Dave you really 416 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: on the right track with that, with that? Oh yeah, delight. 417 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 1: So at this point in Niazov does not seem like 418 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: the worst case scenario for a dictator. The Turkmen people 419 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,960 Speaker 1: were at least getting something while he robbed the country blind. 420 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: But Niyazov's corruption quickly took its toll on the national economy. 421 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 1: After bribing former U S Secretary of State Alexander Haig 422 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 1: to lobby on Turkmenistan's behalf, he almost succeeded in gletting 423 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: the Clinton administration to open the country up to American investment. 424 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,920 Speaker 1: The deal got to rail because Niazov demanded of all 425 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:34,640 Speaker 1: invested money go to him personally. Yeah, I can see 426 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:38,440 Speaker 1: them moving that out, but I get a third of everything. 427 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 1: I know. You don't know. Now, this turned out to 428 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: be a bad idea because most of Turkmenistan's regional trading partners. 429 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: The former Soviet states suffered economic collapses after their first 430 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: few years of capitalism. Uh They stopped being able to 431 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 1: buy Turkmenistan's fuel production fell by two thirds, and all 432 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: that sweet plane and statue money stopped coming in. Niyazov 433 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:00,920 Speaker 1: responded to this with an effort to boost the country's 434 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: internal economy. He did this by modernizing the capital, Ashgabat. 435 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:09,920 Speaker 1: According to the book Inside Central Asia by Dilip hero Quote, 436 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:14,399 Speaker 1: modernizing Ashkabat meant raising many central neighborhoods to create a 437 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: network of bulls of ards with lavish palaces of white 438 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: marble and green tinted glass, dotted with massive fountains and 439 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,640 Speaker 1: statues of Niyazov and his parents, as well as historical 440 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,600 Speaker 1: Turkmen personalities, guarded by uniform security men standing to attention. 441 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 1: The city would become the site of the largest fountain 442 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,440 Speaker 1: in the world, a multi storied shopping mall with water 443 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: gushing out of the roof and pouring down in a 444 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:35,879 Speaker 1: ring of waterfalls. Its main avenue would end up with 445 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: twenty two five star hotels where foreign guests would be 446 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: accommodated only in the rooms that were bugged. Many of 447 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 1: the displaced families did not get alternative accommodation or compensation 448 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,919 Speaker 1: as they could not prove the ownership of their homes. 449 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:54,119 Speaker 1: How modern bulldozes hundreds of houses, builds twenty two hotels, 450 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 1: and nobody's visiting Turkmenistan at this point, Like there's no 451 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: foreign visits. Yeah, but did you hear about fountain that 452 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: fucking fountains the ship. That's when I think the future. 453 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: I think, how can we make water fall in neat ways? 454 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: That is what the future is. And how can we 455 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 1: fill a city with enough gold fountains that we need 456 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: to have permanent security guards stationed to stop people from 457 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: stealing the gold because we bulldozed their houses and they're 458 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 1: all poor, solid move, solid move Now. Building a shipload 459 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: of hotels and additional statues during an economic downturn may 460 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,200 Speaker 1: not seem like a great idea, but that's just because 461 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: you and I are in economic geniuses like Turkmens. Yeah. Now, 462 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:39,159 Speaker 1: to keep the economy afloat, Turkmenistan Central Bank started printing 463 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: money like it was going out of fucking style. Inflation 464 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:44,720 Speaker 1: hit three percent and the menot went from being at 465 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 1: one to one parody with the U S dollar to 466 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: being at fifty two hundred to one parody with the 467 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:55,320 Speaker 1: US dollar. It turns out that's not a great strategy. 468 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 1: Nobody could have predicted that. No, I mean, you know, 469 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: it's the econty. Nobody knows. It's like, it's like predicting 470 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: that offering people a lot of ballooning interest rate mortgages 471 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,640 Speaker 1: on their houses and like loans and stuff would eventually 472 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:12,680 Speaker 1: lead to a massive foreclosure. Christ who could who could 473 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: have seen that come? They did all the right things, 474 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: They got the statues, they got the statues, and what 475 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: is it? Warren Buffett always says, when the economy is bad, 476 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: build more fountains. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's basic economics one 477 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:28,000 Speaker 1: oh two. At least. Now, as his entire nation suffered, 478 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 1: so did Turkmen Boshy. His doctors told him that his 479 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: arteries had hardened, probably because of his massive chronic alcoholism 480 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,400 Speaker 1: constant cigarette smoking. Uh. He would need major heart surgery, 481 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,120 Speaker 1: which he received in a German clinic. Uh. He survived 482 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: the surgery, but it seems to have wrought a change 483 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:44,919 Speaker 1: in him. Up to this point, he had been the 484 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: absolute ruler of Turkmenistan, but he was more or less 485 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: normal for like an absolute ruler, you know, banning political parties, 486 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: building tons of statues, sacred police, nothing super wild, like 487 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:01,200 Speaker 1: like it was some fun stuff, but like the dictators stuff, 488 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: as far as ruthless dictators go, this is pretty by 489 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: the book, pretty by the book. After his heart surgery, 490 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,720 Speaker 1: Niazov began to treat his nation as an extension of himself. 491 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 1: His doctor told him he had to stop smoking, so 492 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: he ordered all cabinet ministers to stop smoking too. He 493 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: banned smoking in public places and even smoking out in 494 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 1: the street. Sucks, It really sucks. Why can't we smoke 495 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:25,679 Speaker 1: outside anymore? The president's hearts turned my house into a 496 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: gold fountain. Let me smoke, Let me smoke. My house 497 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,639 Speaker 1: is a statue of you as a baby. Well. He 498 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: was rebuilding his capital in the Muslim Las Vegas and 499 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: dealing with hard issues and being a nut turkmen bosh, 500 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 1: he managed to maintain his policy of careful, stringent neutrality. 501 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,919 Speaker 1: He joined the non Aligned movement in and commemorated the 502 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,640 Speaker 1: event with a hundred and seventy foot tall neutrality arch 503 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 1: in downtown Ashgabad. It is described as an amalgam of 504 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,920 Speaker 1: a triffid Eiffels, Eiffel Tower and a marble covered base rocket. Sophie, I, 505 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: I I'll finish describing this first, but can you look 506 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 1: up the Neutrality Arch so I can show Dave now. 507 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: A few years later, after his heart surgery, turkmen Bosh 508 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,360 Speaker 1: he added another statue to the top of the Neutrality Arch, 509 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: a twenty two foot tall golden plated statue of himself 510 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 1: wearing Superman's cape with his arms extended into the air. 511 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: The statue rotates three hundred and sixty degrees every day, 512 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: so his face is always facing the sun. Turkmen Boshi 513 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: required that the statue be visible from the International Airport, 514 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,639 Speaker 1: many miles away from the city. Also, the airport was 515 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 1: named after him. Of course, of course this is now. 516 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,360 Speaker 1: This is reminded me of that Futurama episode where Benderbill's 517 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,760 Speaker 1: the giant exactly remember me, Like, didn't shoot fire out 518 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 1: of it, no, but it's it's pretty close to that. 519 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: So if he we'll have a picture up on the website. 520 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: Look at that phone. Yeah, when I think the word neutral, 521 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,120 Speaker 1: that's that's what's what I think of when I think 522 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: of neutral. Holy shi it. I love that he saw that. 523 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,840 Speaker 1: He was like needs another statue, needs another statue of 524 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,959 Speaker 1: me made out of gold wearing a cape. Oh my god. 525 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,000 Speaker 1: So turk and Boshi took his neutrality as seriously as 526 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,840 Speaker 1: he took his absurd statues and monuments. He renamed the 527 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: official newspaper from Turkmenistan to Neutral Turkmenistan. He replaced the 528 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 1: national anthem Turkmenistan with independent Neutral Turkmenistan State anthem. He 529 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: wrote both the words and the music for this song. 530 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,200 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna read the words. I'm just gonna read 531 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: the first verse because I find it funny. I don't 532 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: know how to sing this. I am ready to give 533 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 1: life for our native heart. The spirit of ancestors descendants 534 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: are famous for. My land is sacred. My flag plays 535 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 1: in the world, A symbol of the great neutral country flies. 536 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: This is why you gotta outsource, Your gotta outsarch your song. 537 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: Right dictators or tomorrow, don't think you can do anything. 538 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: It's also of the of the ways to inspire a people. 539 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: The word neutral is not one of them, like the 540 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: Swiss are neutral. It's not like the session word. It's 541 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:06,320 Speaker 1: again another Futurama reference. Oh, post surgery Turkmen Bosh. He 542 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: succeeded in getting a second chance to dance with Uncle Sam. 543 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,680 Speaker 1: He made some deals that included Unokal, an American corporation, 544 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,080 Speaker 1: helping Turkmenistan to build a gigantic pipeline. The fact that 545 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: an American company won the contract looked very good to 546 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: the White House. There was talk of okaying more investment 547 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: in Turkmenistan. But in January of that year, those Pesky 548 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: State Department bastards released their yearly report on human rights. 549 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: They noted that Turkmenistan had made basically no progress towards 550 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: democracy since leaving the Soviet Union. The Clinton administration asked 551 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 1: Nia's off to give them what Heroes book calls a 552 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 1: gesture towards democratization. In return, Turkmen Bosh would be invited 553 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: to the White House. Now, he visited the US once before, 554 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: shortly after taking power, but he'd been ignored by everybody. Uh, 555 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: And this was something Turkmen Bosh you very badly wanted 556 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: for reasons I don't understand, but probably boiled down to eagle. 557 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: He wanted pictures with the American president. It was like 558 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: his thing. So that February, Nika'sov got up in front 559 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: of Turkmenistan's high officials and promised to amend to the constitution, 560 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: giving more power to parliament and less to himself. True 561 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,600 Speaker 1: to his word, Bill Clinton invited him to the White House. 562 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: Turkmen Boshi immediately reneged on his promises now that he 563 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:13,760 Speaker 1: had the invitation, and said that any constitutional amendments would 564 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,000 Speaker 1: have to wait until the parliamentary elections in December of 565 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: What a shocker. What a shocker. You can't just be like, look, 566 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 1: you have to you have to say you'll do this, 567 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:25,320 Speaker 1: and then you can take pictures with me, Like, you 568 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: have to make sure they actually follow through, right, I mean, 569 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: if we cared about democracy, that's I don't know, if 570 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 1: we cared, They're like, look, you have to at least pretend, yeah, 571 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,240 Speaker 1: like just so we can all look good, Yeah, for 572 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 1: at least a moment, for at least a second. Yeah, 573 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: let us pretend that we care about freedom around the world, 574 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: which you know he did. He gave Americans the ability 575 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: to feel like the good guys for one last time 576 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:56,680 Speaker 1: before nine eleven. That's true, So thank you, turkmen Boshi. 577 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:01,440 Speaker 1: Sonia's off spit a fun week in the United States 578 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:04,040 Speaker 1: hanging out with Bill Clinton, and al Gore and talking 579 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:06,520 Speaker 1: about democracy uh and all the democracy that he was 580 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: totally gonna bring to his people. There were, of course 581 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,080 Speaker 1: questions from the press and outrage from people who didn't 582 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 1: like dictators. I'm going to quote from the book Inside 583 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: Central Asia here quote. In his press briefing, the White 584 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: House spokesman explained that, just as in the case of China, 585 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: the US national economic interest outweighed the administration's concern over 586 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 1: Niyazov's dismal record on post Soviet reform. When questioned on 587 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 1: the issues of civil liberties and multiparty democracy, it's such 588 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,840 Speaker 1: forms as the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, 589 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,400 Speaker 1: Niyazov repeated and not the argument that political liberalization would 590 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,000 Speaker 1: follow only after independence and stability had been consolidated. His 591 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: statement that no one had been arrested in Turkmenistan for 592 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:43,400 Speaker 1: political reasons flew in the face of the recent State 593 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 1: Department report on Turkmenistan. The opposition was repressed, with leading 594 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,720 Speaker 1: dissidents either imprisoned or committed to psychiatric hospitals. The reality 595 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: is that a roughly twenty thousand people had been imprisoned, 596 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: so it's frustratingly hard to find many stories of the 597 00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,320 Speaker 1: victims of Turkmen Bosh's regime, because again, it's still a 598 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 1: pretty close at soxiety. Uh. The imprisoned were generally tracked 599 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: by secret police after being freed to keep them from talking. 600 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: I did find one Telegraph article that interviewed a former 601 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 1: enemy of the state. Here's what he said about his 602 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:15,000 Speaker 1: time in a Turkmenistan prison. Quote. I had read about 603 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 1: the beatings and electric shock therapy, which I experienced in prison, 604 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:20,040 Speaker 1: but it was the unexpected techniques that really damaged me. 605 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 1: I was fitted with a gas mask in the airvant 606 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,760 Speaker 1: was closed. They played tapes of my relatives being beaten 607 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 1: after they were arrested. Their suffering was mine. It was terrible. Wow. Yeah, 608 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 1: that he did not mass execute people. Uh. He did 609 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 1: have some people killed, but he didn't do mass executions. 610 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,280 Speaker 1: His thing seems to be if you stepped out of line, 611 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 1: he'd arrest your whole family and beat the ship up 612 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:45,400 Speaker 1: and then tape them and creative villain. Yeah Jesus, Yeah, 613 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:47,640 Speaker 1: it is one of those one of those dictator strategies 614 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 1: that I hadn't run into yet, which is like like 615 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: obviously people's families being threatened like that specific way, it's like, okay, well, 616 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: at least you're an innovator. Yeah. Uh. He also tortured 617 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,080 Speaker 1: shiploads of people, although he did, you know, avoid the 618 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,240 Speaker 1: mass murder that like a guy like Bachar Lassad is 619 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 1: famous for Turkmen. Boshi was smart enough to avoid doing 620 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 1: anything too obviously horrible, like you know, bombing you know, 621 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 1: a dissident chunk of the city or whatever. And so 622 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:14,880 Speaker 1: he never really provoked mass outrage from the United States 623 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 1: or any of its allies. Since he only tortured and 624 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:21,160 Speaker 1: imprisoned people, our government was happy to take his money, or, 625 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:24,160 Speaker 1: to be more accurate, let major US corporations take his money. Right, 626 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,440 Speaker 1: he's staying under the radar, staying right under the radar. Yeah, 627 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:33,000 Speaker 1: smart guy, Smart guy. Elections came Une point nine percent 628 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:34,800 Speaker 1: of the country showed up to choose between a hundred 629 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:36,920 Speaker 1: and four candidates for fifty seats in the parliament. So 630 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: he kept his promise. People got to vote. Yeah, they 631 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: got to vote for parliament. Now all of the candidates 632 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: were members of the same party which he headed. Uh, 633 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 1: but it's something, but it's a yeah, you've yeah, you 634 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,480 Speaker 1: got to press a button or like write a name. 635 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:59,160 Speaker 1: Write it's democracy, twice as many choices as there were seats, 636 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,080 Speaker 1: and even they were all from It's something. Uh. The 637 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,840 Speaker 1: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe did not send 638 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:08,000 Speaker 1: out election observers, which they normally do in situations like this, 639 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: because the elections were seen as too much of a 640 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:14,560 Speaker 1: sham to be worth observing. After the election, the delegates 641 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: who had been voted in unanimously declared that Niyazov was 642 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:22,440 Speaker 1: president for life. Yeah. Democracy, So lucky for him, he 643 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:28,759 Speaker 1: really nailed it. Yeah, he must be very popular now 644 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:31,760 Speaker 1: president for life. Niazov introduced a new set of civil 645 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,759 Speaker 1: rights for his citizens. So this is seeming like he's 646 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,280 Speaker 1: making his promise. I mean he didn't. He didn't choose 647 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,719 Speaker 1: to be president. No, he the people demanded that he'd 648 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 1: be president, and he gave them new civil rights. Uh. 649 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,839 Speaker 1: He did not, however, have a great grasp on what 650 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:51,759 Speaker 1: civil rights are. So his first new civil rights was 651 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,200 Speaker 1: to cancel all internet licenses except the state owned Telecom 652 00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 1: Telecom Company, Continuing to prove that he really didn't have 653 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:01,520 Speaker 1: a good handle on the concept of civil rights. Niyazov 654 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: next band Ballet and Opera, calling them, calling them alien 655 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:10,120 Speaker 1: to Turkmen. Culture. Somewhere there's like a smoking ballet Dancer's 656 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,240 Speaker 1: just like I can't have a cigarette, I can't do ballet. 657 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:21,040 Speaker 1: Just staring at that golden baby got damn uh. Yeah, 658 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,400 Speaker 1: he ordered the country's few movie theaters shut down, but 659 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 1: he did replace the movie theaters with a single enormous 660 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:30,840 Speaker 1: puppet theater in the capital. What is wrong with him? Okay, 661 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,120 Speaker 1: don't you like puppet? What happened at that orphanage? That's 662 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 1: that's the real question with this guy. A friend of puppet, 663 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:42,759 Speaker 1: like a roll of cellulose fell out of a movie 664 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,720 Speaker 1: theater and crushed his favorite puppeteer. Yeah, this is story 665 00:35:45,719 --> 00:35:49,360 Speaker 1: to feel like he's he's trolling his country on purpose, 666 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,600 Speaker 1: Like I'm going to get rid of the movie theaters 667 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:57,240 Speaker 1: and give them puppet puppet shows. Christ. Yeah. His exact 668 00:35:57,280 --> 00:35:59,879 Speaker 1: justification was something along the lines of, like, all these 669 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,000 Speaker 1: movies made by foreign people are going to make people 670 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:05,120 Speaker 1: not like the way we talk here in Well, yeah, 671 00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:08,479 Speaker 1: if he's trying to control the internet and movies, yeah, 672 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: he's definitely trying to make people in this country not 673 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:15,200 Speaker 1: realize just how screwed they are at the moment. Yeah, 674 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,520 Speaker 1: how how not not great? It is? To not be 675 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:21,440 Speaker 1: able to fucking banning ballet, Like what subversive about ballet? 676 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: Even Stalin had ballets. Still, you could make your own movies. Yeah, ballet. 677 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,879 Speaker 1: He must have like dated a ballet dancer or something. 678 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 1: Get is heartbroken. Yeah, it all feels so personal. Yeah, 679 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,560 Speaker 1: it really does. Like that's the thing. That's the thing 680 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:37,759 Speaker 1: that's weird about this Guy's that every decision he makes 681 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,440 Speaker 1: feels like like a guy who got pissed at something 682 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,640 Speaker 1: like then banned it for the entire country. Right, But 683 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,400 Speaker 1: like cigarettes sucked up my heart, nobody gets to smoke. 684 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,880 Speaker 1: As someone who loves movies, I'm real peeved about the 685 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,839 Speaker 1: movie thing, because if you're gonna ban movies and then 686 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:55,760 Speaker 1: make better movies or something, don't replace it with puppets, 687 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:58,040 Speaker 1: because your people are going to see that and be like, 688 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:01,800 Speaker 1: I know there's something better than I know it gets 689 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:05,000 Speaker 1: better than puppets. I know this is the best we 690 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 1: can do. So in two thousand one, Present for Life 691 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:16,040 Speaker 1: and puppet Lover turkmen Boshi embarked on the next great 692 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:20,040 Speaker 1: chapter of his career as a dictator and as a luminary. 693 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: He wrote a book, Oh God, not just any book, 694 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,279 Speaker 1: His Opus, The Runama was billed by him as the 695 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:33,080 Speaker 1: most important book since the Koran. Part history text, part 696 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,759 Speaker 1: guide to life, part religious book, and all crazy. The 697 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:40,360 Speaker 1: Runama was the pinnacle of everything insane dictator literature can be. 698 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,799 Speaker 1: Here's how Turkmen Boshi described the book in his own introduction. 699 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,360 Speaker 1: Runama is a visit to this land. Runama is a 700 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:49,439 Speaker 1: visit to the past of this territory and a visit 701 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:52,320 Speaker 1: to the future of this territory. Runama is the visit 702 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,799 Speaker 1: made to the heart of the Turkmen. Runama is a 703 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:58,399 Speaker 1: sweet spiritual fruit grown in this territory. No human being 704 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:00,560 Speaker 1: who has not experienced what I have lived through can 705 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:04,840 Speaker 1: understand me. Wow, it's a little bit of emo. That special. 706 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:08,239 Speaker 1: He's a real special boy. He's a real special boy. Now. 707 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 1: The book is partly fictional, jumping between modern day and 708 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:15,720 Speaker 1: the Middle Ages, and focused around a character Saparmaratnsov, whose 709 00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:20,080 Speaker 1: birth was ordained by God himself, a character with his 710 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:24,120 Speaker 1: name who is God's profit on earth. M M. I 711 00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:30,040 Speaker 1: wonder if it's based on anyway. If you're gonna write 712 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 1: a book like this, at least do it under a 713 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:36,480 Speaker 1: different name or something, because you can't say you're God. Well, 714 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 1: God's profit on Earth, God's profit. He's not saying he's 715 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: better than Mohammed, just that he's newer than Mohammed and 716 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:44,600 Speaker 1: so should be taken more seriously than the prophet of 717 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:50,000 Speaker 1: the Muslims, right, the new cool Mohammed. Yeah, he'll let 718 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,759 Speaker 1: you drink, but you can't smoke, which I mean, I 719 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:56,279 Speaker 1: guess Actually that's a that is a help. Well, yeah, 720 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 1: this kind of a watch. Actually. Yeah. Ah. So we're 721 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:03,560 Speaker 1: going to talk about the Runama, and I'm going to 722 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:07,640 Speaker 1: read you some of it's timeless wisdom. But first you 723 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 1: know what else is timelessly wise? Oh? God, I want 724 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:17,840 Speaker 1: to say, ads, you're you're, you're, you nailed it, all right, products, 725 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:28,880 Speaker 1: we're back, all right. So, uh, we're talking about the Runama, 726 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:32,520 Speaker 1: a book in which saparmarrotnie is Off writes about himself 727 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:35,080 Speaker 1: as God's prophet. Uh. He goes on a quest to 728 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:37,759 Speaker 1: discover the history of the Turkmen's uh, and during that 729 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:41,919 Speaker 1: quest he learns that he is God's son essentially. Uh. 730 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:43,759 Speaker 1: Good for him, good for him? Yeah, he Well, he 731 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 1: was a child ordained by God and probably probably his 732 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:51,560 Speaker 1: mom was impregnated by divine will. Uh. In other words. 733 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:55,120 Speaker 1: Saparmaratniezov wrote an explicitly Turkmen themed Bible with himself as 734 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:57,080 Speaker 1: Jesus and mixed it with a self help book and 735 00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:00,279 Speaker 1: like one of those history books. Below'riley writes like, that's 736 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:02,440 Speaker 1: that's kind of the Runama in a nutshell. It's all 737 00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:06,520 Speaker 1: these red flags just smushed together. It's a lot. Yeah. 738 00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:08,799 Speaker 1: Now I'm gonna level with you all. I did not 739 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,879 Speaker 1: have time this week to read the entirety of the Runama. 740 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:14,360 Speaker 1: I may get back to it someday, because apparently reading 741 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:16,759 Speaker 1: it three times guarantees you entry into heaven. Yeah, I 742 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,120 Speaker 1: think next vacation or something. Just read it on the beach. 743 00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:23,080 Speaker 1: Read it on the beach. I did learn reading Paul 744 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:26,920 Speaker 1: throws New Yorker article that apparently you you are guaranteed 745 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:28,440 Speaker 1: a trip to heaven if you read it three times. 746 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:30,879 Speaker 1: So you know, people out there, if you're sinning, if 747 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:34,320 Speaker 1: you're if you're doing anything terrible, Uh, maybe read the 748 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:36,520 Speaker 1: Runama three times in a row. I also feel like 749 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:40,320 Speaker 1: more books should use that for marketing because it's like, well, 750 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:43,480 Speaker 1: I mean they're probably wrong, but what if they're right? 751 00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:48,160 Speaker 1: What if they're it's just three Yeah, and then you 752 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:49,839 Speaker 1: just gotta read it through just yet, you gotta read 753 00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:52,319 Speaker 1: it three times? Does it? Does it count? If you 754 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:54,640 Speaker 1: do like the thing where like kindle like where it 755 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:57,400 Speaker 1: reads the book for you. You can do it on 756 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:01,239 Speaker 1: double speed. I don't know that would trick God. Dave, 757 00:41:02,719 --> 00:41:05,600 Speaker 1: let me let me read to you where Paul Throw 758 00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:09,160 Speaker 1: learned that this was apparently what Saparmarra was saying. He 759 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:12,000 Speaker 1: apparently was told this by a cab driver during a 760 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,759 Speaker 1: visit to Turkmenistan. So I'm gonna quote from that conversation. 761 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,240 Speaker 1: He was on TV last night. My driver said, well, 762 00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:22,200 Speaker 1: he's on almost every night. Turkmen almost never said Turkmen 763 00:41:22,239 --> 00:41:24,680 Speaker 1: Boshi's name aloud. He said, if you read my book 764 00:41:24,719 --> 00:41:26,880 Speaker 1: three times, you will go to heaven. How does he 765 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:31,280 Speaker 1: know this? He said, I asked Allah to arrange it. So, yeah, 766 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:34,040 Speaker 1: so he told Allah to do so. He told God 767 00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:36,880 Speaker 1: that if you read his book three times, anyone who 768 00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:41,600 Speaker 1: he told a promo code? Yeah, exactly. He's doing with podcasters. 769 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:45,759 Speaker 1: But God, can we work something out here? Yeah? This 770 00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:49,160 Speaker 1: is the heavenly equivalent of offering a discount code on 771 00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:56,120 Speaker 1: a mattress. Good for him, working with God? Yeah, working 772 00:41:56,160 --> 00:41:59,080 Speaker 1: with God now Paul Throw, being a better journalist than me, 773 00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:01,720 Speaker 1: read the entirety of the Runama. He described it as 774 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:06,440 Speaker 1: a confused mixture of memoire, Turkmen lore, potted history, dietary suggestions, 775 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:10,719 Speaker 1: Soviet bashing, boasting, wild promises, and Turkmen Boshi's poems. He 776 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:13,360 Speaker 1: seemed to regard it as both a sort of koran 777 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:15,280 Speaker 1: and as a how to guide for the Turkmen people, 778 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:17,920 Speaker 1: a jingoistic pep talk. In fact, it is little more 779 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:20,520 Speaker 1: than a sopa for chloroform in print. As Mark Twain 780 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:23,240 Speaker 1: described the Book of Mormon, I read it once. Turkmen 781 00:42:23,239 --> 00:42:24,960 Speaker 1: Boshi would have to promise more than heaven I for 782 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,319 Speaker 1: we to read it two more times. Yeah. I think 783 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,319 Speaker 1: if you're not a dictator, we call this a manifesto. 784 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:33,120 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. This is just the ravings of 785 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,200 Speaker 1: a madman. And I do feel like in another society, 786 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:38,760 Speaker 1: Turkmen Bosh he is a guy who mails people bombs 787 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:41,040 Speaker 1: and forces the New York Times to print as manifest 788 00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:44,680 Speaker 1: And it's it's those little things that's like hidden in there, 789 00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:49,000 Speaker 1: like recipes. It's like, oh, you just want to be 790 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,960 Speaker 1: listened to. Yeah, you were just dictating this to somebody 791 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:58,120 Speaker 1: and stopped at some point string of consciousness. Now I 792 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:00,440 Speaker 1: did skin the Runama in search of some of the 793 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:03,200 Speaker 1: apparently ageless wisdom that Turkmen Boshi blessed the world with 794 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:05,959 Speaker 1: in his book. I can tell it's definitely the book 795 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:07,959 Speaker 1: of an old man who was worried about dying because 796 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:09,840 Speaker 1: he writes about time a lot. But the way he 797 00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:12,160 Speaker 1: writes about time makes no sense at all to me. 798 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:15,160 Speaker 1: Quote the devil keeps a close eye over your time 799 00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:17,640 Speaker 1: and faith, both of which are your precious belongings. Time 800 00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:19,359 Speaker 1: is your life in this world and faith is your 801 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:22,080 Speaker 1: life in the other world. Wasting time means losing one's 802 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,560 Speaker 1: life or oneself. Teach your child how to save his 803 00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:26,640 Speaker 1: time and life. All that you can save of time 804 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:29,200 Speaker 1: will belong to you. Time is a mace hit or 805 00:43:29,239 --> 00:43:34,319 Speaker 1: be hit. Huh, So you can hit time? What does 806 00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:37,880 Speaker 1: that mean? Like, I get saving time. It's valuable to 807 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,520 Speaker 1: have more time, obviously, what is time as a mase? Mean? 808 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,520 Speaker 1: How do you hit someone with time? I'm trying to 809 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:46,719 Speaker 1: I mean, I want to know. I want to know 810 00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:53,080 Speaker 1: how how do you get hit with time? Like jail? Yeah? Yeah, 811 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:57,480 Speaker 1: Like Marty McFly had this experience. Marty McFly might might 812 00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:00,239 Speaker 1: be the only person who's taken turkmen Boshi's advice get 813 00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:03,800 Speaker 1: hit by the DeLorean from did get hit by the Dolorean? 814 00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:10,040 Speaker 1: Al Right, well, we're finding some logic in this. Thinking 815 00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:11,799 Speaker 1: about this one for a while. You know, he did 816 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:13,640 Speaker 1: come to power in the mid eighties, so it's possible 817 00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:18,240 Speaker 1: he was a big back to the future. Yeah, DeLorean 818 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:22,239 Speaker 1: is it's a metallic it's yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense. 819 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:24,279 Speaker 1: Turkmen Boshi also had a lot to say on the 820 00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:28,000 Speaker 1: subject of laziness. He was not for it. Quote, laziness 821 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:30,840 Speaker 1: means being profligate and living one leaving oneself to be 822 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,080 Speaker 1: blown about by the winds of fate. Be hard working 823 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:35,560 Speaker 1: and you will generate returns in cash. Be lazy and 824 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:38,200 Speaker 1: you will get into debt. The comfort that laziness provides 825 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:40,360 Speaker 1: is like the taste of a sour cucumber. Out of 826 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:43,960 Speaker 1: mercy for yourself, work, joblessness, lack of wisdom, and laziness 827 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,439 Speaker 1: will damage you more than your enemies ever could. Time 828 00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:48,279 Speaker 1: is a wild predator, but if you train it, you 829 00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:50,400 Speaker 1: may use it to your benefit. Do not be subject 830 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:52,680 Speaker 1: to time. Let it be your subject lives, so that 831 00:44:52,719 --> 00:44:55,160 Speaker 1: you regret nothing when you die. Living does not only 832 00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:58,680 Speaker 1: mean passing time. It means reaching eternity after passing through time. 833 00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:03,280 Speaker 1: I don't think you should train time by hitting it though. Yeah, 834 00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:05,480 Speaker 1: that doesn't seem that seems like time is going to 835 00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,480 Speaker 1: grow up like abused and problems. I don't want time 836 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:10,319 Speaker 1: to turn on me. You do not want time to 837 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:13,040 Speaker 1: turn on you, although that is the one thing time 838 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:17,920 Speaker 1: does to everybody. Yeah. Yeah, also bold decision, uh, speaking 839 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:27,040 Speaker 1: out against laziness. Yeah really, really really now. The Runama 840 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:30,760 Speaker 1: also includes handy advice on how to obtain world peace. Quote, 841 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:33,640 Speaker 1: if everybody likes their own nation, then the nations will 842 00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:37,040 Speaker 1: like each other. It feels like I think that's not 843 00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:40,360 Speaker 1: how that works. Like that's the opposite of how that work. Yeah, 844 00:45:40,400 --> 00:45:45,319 Speaker 1: I think historically feel like the nation really likes itself. 845 00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:50,960 Speaker 1: The first problem, that's the first step to other nations 846 00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:54,759 Speaker 1: ceasing to exist, is one nation really liking itself, likes 847 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:57,840 Speaker 1: itself so much. It's like, guys, you gotta try this nation. 848 00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:02,040 Speaker 1: You gotta try being Germany. It's pretty sweet here in Germany. 849 00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:04,200 Speaker 1: Oh you don't want some, now, come here, come here, 850 00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:06,719 Speaker 1: come here. You're gonna try. You're gonna take some Germany. 851 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,680 Speaker 1: You'll love it. You'll love it. Turkmenistanard like that's what 852 00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,640 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union did to them, Just like, right, this 853 00:46:12,719 --> 00:46:17,120 Speaker 1: is going so well, we're just gonna keep going now. 854 00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:20,120 Speaker 1: The Runama also includes handy advice. Oh sorry, already read 855 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:23,719 Speaker 1: that part. I didn't edit this, which is unusual for 856 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:26,120 Speaker 1: me because I'm a hacking of fraud. So everyone should know. No, 857 00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,239 Speaker 1: this is raw. We're going, we're raw dogging. It is 858 00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:36,080 Speaker 1: punk rock where we are talking raw talking. That's one 859 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:38,800 Speaker 1: of my favorite terms. It's just so visceral and gross 860 00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:42,799 Speaker 1: re It's just the nastiest way to describe that. I 861 00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:46,800 Speaker 1: love it. Okay, So are you wondering, Dave, how Niyazov 862 00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:50,160 Speaker 1: defined the concept of a nation. Oh, yes, yeah, well, 863 00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:53,720 Speaker 1: nation is the transformation of human groups in the context 864 00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:57,680 Speaker 1: of certain spiritual foundations. A nation is shaped materially according 865 00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:03,200 Speaker 1: to these spiritual foundations. You get what I need statues? 866 00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:06,600 Speaker 1: Is that where he's going, you got to have, like, 867 00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:08,400 Speaker 1: you're not a nation unless you have, like I don't know, 868 00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:11,160 Speaker 1: ten or more statues. Yeah, I mean way more than 869 00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:16,200 Speaker 1: ten statues. Right, that's a minimum? That is that a minimum? Yeah? So? Uh? 870 00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:19,640 Speaker 1: In the Runama, Turkmen Boshi credits the Turkmen people with 871 00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:23,080 Speaker 1: many great historical innovations, including the invention of robots, the 872 00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:25,480 Speaker 1: invention of white wheat, and the invention of the wheel. 873 00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,879 Speaker 1: What ye, robots and the wheel? How did he? How 874 00:47:29,880 --> 00:47:32,959 Speaker 1: did robots get into that? I do not know, Dave. 875 00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:36,160 Speaker 1: I could see, like anybody can kind of claim the wheel, 876 00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:38,279 Speaker 1: because it's like, who's going to prove them? Who's going 877 00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:40,280 Speaker 1: to prove you wrong? Yeah, it might have been Turkman. 878 00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:42,880 Speaker 1: I don't know. Yeah, for all we know, but robots, 879 00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:45,520 Speaker 1: I feel like we have that written down, Like we're 880 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:50,880 Speaker 1: pretty clear on robots. Yeah. So I cannot say that 881 00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:53,040 Speaker 1: my limited reading of the Runama has led me to 882 00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:55,840 Speaker 1: any staggering revelations about my place in the universe. But 883 00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:59,520 Speaker 1: Nazov was adamant that his people needed to read this book. 884 00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:02,400 Speaker 1: He acquired anyone entering a Moscow or a church to 885 00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:05,040 Speaker 1: kiss a copy of the Runama before going into worship. 886 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:08,920 Speaker 1: And Yeah. In a different New Yorker article by Macy 887 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,520 Speaker 1: halford I found one possible explanation of Niyazov's motivation in 888 00:48:12,560 --> 00:48:15,440 Speaker 1: writing the Runama. The person who provided it is just 889 00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:18,200 Speaker 1: described as a scholar. I think because they're a person 890 00:48:18,239 --> 00:48:20,680 Speaker 1: from Turkmenistan who doesn't want to have their family tortured 891 00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:24,200 Speaker 1: fair enough. Yeah, quote, Niyazov was somewhat illiterate. He couldn't 892 00:48:24,200 --> 00:48:27,440 Speaker 1: read or write Turkmen or Russian properly. People who have disabilities, 893 00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:30,040 Speaker 1: for example of literacy want to be seen as geniuses. 894 00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:33,319 Speaker 1: That's probably what got him started. I don't know about 895 00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:37,600 Speaker 1: that logic either, but it's funny that he can't read. 896 00:48:38,239 --> 00:48:42,959 Speaker 1: I mean, it's definitely most dictators are compensating for things, right, Yeah, 897 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:45,520 Speaker 1: that part seems in It probably starts with like a 898 00:48:45,560 --> 00:48:48,239 Speaker 1: profound lack of confidence, where it's like, you know, just 899 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:50,239 Speaker 1: you're you're fine, man, you're fine. You don't have to 900 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:53,440 Speaker 1: build this many statues and and hear of your people 901 00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:57,200 Speaker 1: or bulldoz or houses or whatever. Yeah, like it's all right, 902 00:48:57,239 --> 00:49:00,239 Speaker 1: you're fine, you're fine, You're doing great, buddy. We were 903 00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:02,920 Speaker 1: all impressed when you were an engineer. Yeah, you didn't 904 00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:05,279 Speaker 1: do the rest of this. Great career would have been 905 00:49:05,280 --> 00:49:09,160 Speaker 1: a great career. We would have done so much good things. 906 00:49:09,239 --> 00:49:11,960 Speaker 1: Is that just as an engineer keeping the lights on, 907 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:15,200 Speaker 1: not building golden baby statues? You think that's where it started. 908 00:49:15,239 --> 00:49:17,239 Speaker 1: As an engineer, he was like, you know what I 909 00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:22,319 Speaker 1: really need want to like engineer is statues, statues. That's yeah, 910 00:49:22,719 --> 00:49:26,600 Speaker 1: closer than yeah, it's comfortable. So once it was published. 911 00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:29,279 Speaker 1: Once the Runama was published, Turkmen Boshi did everything in 912 00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:31,800 Speaker 1: his power to make it a central part of turkmenistan life. 913 00:49:32,160 --> 00:49:36,000 Speaker 1: According to the book Inside Central Asia, Niazov erected a 914 00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:39,200 Speaker 1: commemorative complex in his home village of gip Jack, conceived 915 00:49:39,239 --> 00:49:41,439 Speaker 1: as a symbol of the rebirth of the Turkmen nation, 916 00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:44,080 Speaker 1: which included a mosque whose walls carry quotations from the 917 00:49:44,160 --> 00:49:49,239 Speaker 1: Koran as well as the Runama. Yeah, that's bold. The 918 00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:51,960 Speaker 1: Turkmen government ordered a prominent display of the Runama, not 919 00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,560 Speaker 1: only in bookshops and official buildings, but also in mosques 920 00:49:54,560 --> 00:49:57,200 Speaker 1: and churches, sharing its place with the Koran or the Bible. 921 00:49:57,400 --> 00:50:00,239 Speaker 1: The colossal pink statue of the Runama and Ashkabat was 922 00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:03,280 Speaker 1: too conspicuous to be missed. Another decree extended the book's 923 00:50:03,320 --> 00:50:05,439 Speaker 1: presence to libraries and schools and made it a part 924 00:50:05,440 --> 00:50:07,880 Speaker 1: of the curriculum. To be able to recite passages of 925 00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:11,040 Speaker 1: the book became a badge of honor. Next, civil servants, 926 00:50:11,080 --> 00:50:13,120 Speaker 1: teachers and doctors were required to pass a test on 927 00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:16,080 Speaker 1: its teachings. Then this requirement also became part of the 928 00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:18,960 Speaker 1: driving test. The Runama was lauded in songs, and the 929 00:50:18,960 --> 00:50:22,000 Speaker 1: state run media regularly broadcast or printed excerpts from it. 930 00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:25,800 Speaker 1: Criticizing the book even in private was tantamount to criticizing Niyazov, 931 00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:29,360 Speaker 1: an offense punishable with a five year jail sentence. Niyazov 932 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:32,960 Speaker 1: redesigned the educational system, reducing the compulsory schooling from two 933 00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:35,959 Speaker 1: years to one uh in higher education by three years 934 00:50:35,960 --> 00:50:38,840 Speaker 1: down to a mere two Inexplicably, he reduced the college 935 00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:41,760 Speaker 1: and university enrollments to ten percent of the then current figure. 936 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,200 Speaker 1: He banned the teaching of foreign languages and decreed that 937 00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:47,200 Speaker 1: the exceptional history and culture of Turkmen must be stressed 938 00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:50,600 Speaker 1: with his Runama to act as the load star. The 939 00:50:50,640 --> 00:50:53,759 Speaker 1: worst part is this book sounds terrible. It's a terrible book. 940 00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:58,719 Speaker 1: And then he bans other languages and cuts like, reduces 941 00:50:58,760 --> 00:51:01,600 Speaker 1: school by a half so that nobody has any education, 942 00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:04,760 Speaker 1: so that presumably they'll find his book more compelling. Exactly, 943 00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:07,080 Speaker 1: you can of these people reading other books. No, Yeah, 944 00:51:07,080 --> 00:51:09,799 Speaker 1: it's like it's like if Neil Breener Tommy Wise, Oh 945 00:51:10,239 --> 00:51:13,439 Speaker 1: opened a theater and had like Citizen Cane posters next 946 00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:15,560 Speaker 1: to the room. Yeah, and it was just walled with 947 00:51:15,600 --> 00:51:17,759 Speaker 1: that and like started a film school where they're like, look, 948 00:51:17,760 --> 00:51:20,920 Speaker 1: we're just going to focus on the room, on the classics. Yeah, 949 00:51:21,239 --> 00:51:24,520 Speaker 1: but gradually they phase out Citizen Kane for just exactly 950 00:51:24,960 --> 00:51:28,520 Speaker 1: he's trying to create. He's basically lowering the bar as 951 00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:31,560 Speaker 1: much as he can to make his book the best 952 00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:37,080 Speaker 1: thing around. Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly what's happening. That's infuriating now. Uh. 953 00:51:37,239 --> 00:51:39,680 Speaker 1: You may have noted from from that passage. I read 954 00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:43,319 Speaker 1: a little note about a statue of the Runama that 955 00:51:43,400 --> 00:51:45,520 Speaker 1: was put up in the capital. Oh. I have a 956 00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:48,759 Speaker 1: video of that statue day uh and and it'll be 957 00:51:48,840 --> 00:51:50,640 Speaker 1: up on our side behind the Bastards dot Com. But 958 00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:52,080 Speaker 1: I've got to show it to you, and I'd like 959 00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:54,719 Speaker 1: you to describe it to our listeners because most of 960 00:51:54,760 --> 00:51:57,279 Speaker 1: them are probably jogging or driving or shopping at the 961 00:51:57,320 --> 00:51:59,880 Speaker 1: moment and can't get a video. I hope they're pooping 962 00:51:59,920 --> 00:52:04,520 Speaker 1: to Okay, I'm not sure what I'm seeing right now. 963 00:52:05,280 --> 00:52:08,680 Speaker 1: There's like cool, very cool, it's very cool music. I've 964 00:52:08,719 --> 00:52:11,200 Speaker 1: seen a lot of colors. I feel like it should 965 00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:15,560 Speaker 1: be high. Um. Oh wow, it's a book. It's a 966 00:52:15,719 --> 00:52:18,680 Speaker 1: very colorful book. Is this a statue? Is a statue? 967 00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:24,160 Speaker 1: It's opening? Oh my god, it is a giant sly 968 00:52:24,239 --> 00:52:28,480 Speaker 1: opens every night in Ashgabaty. It opens every night. This 969 00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:31,680 Speaker 1: is like a Disney attraction in this Like this should 970 00:52:31,719 --> 00:52:34,080 Speaker 1: be like the Story of snow White opens the New 971 00:52:34,160 --> 00:52:39,880 Speaker 1: Coral's Old Spiritual Guide for the people. It's an interact. 972 00:52:39,960 --> 00:52:42,960 Speaker 1: It's like a moving Is that a per chance? There's 973 00:52:43,040 --> 00:52:46,759 Speaker 1: of course, there's fastest children are expected to learn. Wow, 974 00:52:47,239 --> 00:52:50,560 Speaker 1: he loves his book, so as anyone who wants to 975 00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:54,680 Speaker 1: get a driver's license. But what is the point of 976 00:52:54,719 --> 00:52:56,680 Speaker 1: that he made you memorize bits of it to get 977 00:52:56,680 --> 00:53:01,360 Speaker 1: a driver's license? Yeah? Why? Okay, there's so much to 978 00:53:01,440 --> 00:53:04,960 Speaker 1: unpack here. So first of all, that he loves his 979 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:07,080 Speaker 1: books so much that you made a giant statue that 980 00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:11,080 Speaker 1: just opens, a statue that opens, Yeah, just like celebrating 981 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:18,000 Speaker 1: the act of opening his book. Okay, so the driver's license. 982 00:53:18,840 --> 00:53:22,759 Speaker 1: What in the book helps with driving? Well, you gotta 983 00:53:22,800 --> 00:53:24,840 Speaker 1: know how to use time as a mace dave, otherwise 984 00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:27,600 Speaker 1: you're gonna get hit. So back to the delrium ba. 985 00:53:29,719 --> 00:53:33,799 Speaker 1: See it all ties together, the internal logics consistent. I mean, 986 00:53:33,800 --> 00:53:35,759 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be honest. After writing a book I was, 987 00:53:35,960 --> 00:53:38,799 Speaker 1: I'm pretty proud of it, right, But I don't think 988 00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:41,560 Speaker 1: I would build a giant statue of my book A 989 00:53:41,600 --> 00:53:44,560 Speaker 1: Brief History of Ice. I would build a statue of 990 00:53:44,600 --> 00:53:46,720 Speaker 1: your book. But see, if you build it, it's fine, 991 00:53:46,719 --> 00:53:51,480 Speaker 1: It is fine. Yeah, exactly. I should note that reading 992 00:53:51,520 --> 00:53:54,040 Speaker 1: my book will not help you pass the driver's test. 993 00:53:55,480 --> 00:54:01,960 Speaker 1: You never know. Don't sell yourself short, don't presume what 994 00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:05,480 Speaker 1: people will take away from your book. I learned how 995 00:54:05,480 --> 00:54:09,319 Speaker 1: to merge from you. But this is this is a 996 00:54:09,400 --> 00:54:12,440 Speaker 1: running theme with like Kadafi with that astronaut thing, with 997 00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:17,600 Speaker 1: the death of the dictators are like brutal and do 998 00:54:17,680 --> 00:54:19,200 Speaker 1: all these things, and then they're like, but you gotta 999 00:54:19,239 --> 00:54:21,440 Speaker 1: read my stuff, you gotta read my book. It's just like, 1000 00:54:21,440 --> 00:54:23,839 Speaker 1: why don't we start with that, Like, let's all read 1001 00:54:23,880 --> 00:54:26,879 Speaker 1: their your brook first and we'll praise you and then 1002 00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:30,279 Speaker 1: you don't have to hurt everybody. It's it's it's you 1003 00:54:30,320 --> 00:54:32,360 Speaker 1: know what it is like. And someone has a post 1004 00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:35,280 Speaker 1: go viral on Twitter unexpectedly and they link their SoundCloud 1005 00:54:35,360 --> 00:54:37,480 Speaker 1: or something it's the v But if you're in charge 1006 00:54:37,480 --> 00:54:41,560 Speaker 1: of a country, right, yeah, oh god, I'm in charge everybody. 1007 00:54:41,600 --> 00:54:47,000 Speaker 1: Look at this, so many follows. I didn't expect this, guys, 1008 00:54:47,080 --> 00:54:50,759 Speaker 1: didn't expect this. Guys, here's my PayPal. Oh wait, I'm 1009 00:54:50,800 --> 00:54:53,200 Speaker 1: in charge of where all the oil and gas money goes, 1010 00:54:53,239 --> 00:54:56,080 Speaker 1: so it just goes right to my bank account. Uh 1011 00:54:56,120 --> 00:54:58,120 Speaker 1: So that's all we're gonna talk about in part one 1012 00:54:58,280 --> 00:55:00,239 Speaker 1: of this episode. But when we come back, we're going 1013 00:55:00,320 --> 00:55:03,320 Speaker 1: to talk about Turkman Boss. He's post two thousand one career, 1014 00:55:03,760 --> 00:55:06,200 Speaker 1: and trust me, Dave, it's going to go even further 1015 00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:08,879 Speaker 1: off the rails. Turns out all the craziness we've talked 1016 00:55:08,880 --> 00:55:13,760 Speaker 1: about so far was just a dress rehearsal. Oh yeah, yeah, 1017 00:55:13,960 --> 00:55:15,640 Speaker 1: So you got any plug double as you want to 1018 00:55:15,680 --> 00:55:18,319 Speaker 1: plug before we uh we head out. I guess So 1019 00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:22,359 Speaker 1: I have a I have a podcast network that run 1020 00:55:22,400 --> 00:55:26,000 Speaker 1: with Tom Ryman called Gamefully Unemployed. You can check us 1021 00:55:26,040 --> 00:55:29,000 Speaker 1: out at patreon dot com slash gamefully Unemployed. We have 1022 00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:33,480 Speaker 1: a new show called Fox Molders a Maniac. It's exclusive. Yeah, 1023 00:55:33,520 --> 00:55:36,160 Speaker 1: it's uh, it's our behind the bastards, but just for Fox. 1024 00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:39,760 Speaker 1: Fust for Fox molders, so check it out. Yeah, donate 1025 00:55:39,760 --> 00:55:43,400 Speaker 1: to gamefully Unemployed fantastic podcasts Tom and Dave two the 1026 00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:46,600 Speaker 1: funniest guys I know. Please please give them your dollars, 1027 00:55:47,040 --> 00:55:54,720 Speaker 1: give them your sense, uh, mail them your your really anything? Yeah, shirts, pants, yeah, 1028 00:55:54,719 --> 00:55:58,640 Speaker 1: oh god, yeah, pop tarts, uh, severed heads of horses, 1029 00:55:59,320 --> 00:56:02,359 Speaker 1: all of those things. You're appreciated. And look up this 1030 00:56:02,400 --> 00:56:06,600 Speaker 1: podcast Behind the Bastards dot com on the Internet, and 1031 00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:09,040 Speaker 1: uh you find the sources for this. You can find 1032 00:56:09,080 --> 00:56:13,200 Speaker 1: us on Twitter and Instagram and at Bastards pod. Uh 1033 00:56:13,200 --> 00:56:15,239 Speaker 1: T shirts we we do, we have a we have 1034 00:56:15,320 --> 00:56:18,600 Speaker 1: a we have a brand new uh do crimes Save 1035 00:56:18,719 --> 00:56:21,600 Speaker 1: Lives Robal Wallenberg shirts. Uh. If you're a fan of 1036 00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:23,960 Speaker 1: our episode on Rule Wallenberg, you can get those from 1037 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:29,920 Speaker 1: t public Behind the Bastard shop. So help us help 1038 00:56:29,960 --> 00:56:33,160 Speaker 1: ourselves to the money that we get from T shirt sets. 1039 00:56:33,400 --> 00:56:36,640 Speaker 1: Also mail them horsehead also mail us horse sets any 1040 00:56:36,719 --> 00:56:40,440 Speaker 1: kind of head really Yeah, No more Commodo dragon heads, 1041 00:56:40,440 --> 00:56:44,200 Speaker 1: we have gotten too many of those. Uh old Commoto 1042 00:56:44,320 --> 00:56:49,040 Speaker 1: dragons are still welcome, very very appreciated. Name. I'm Robert Evans. 1043 00:56:49,120 --> 00:57:01,919 Speaker 1: This has been Behind the Bastards. I love you. Eight