Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. It is one of the six independent Turkic states. With a population over 7 million, Turkmenistan is the 35th most-populous country in Asia and has the lowest population of the Central Asian republics while being one of the most sparsely populated nations on the Asian continent.
Turkmenistan has long served as a thoroughfare for several empires and cultures. Merv is one of the oldest oasis-cities in Central Asia, and was once among the biggest cities in the world. It was also one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, Turkmenistan figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1925, Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic(Turkmen SSR); it became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It does remain an important part of the ‘Soviet Sphere’ due to its natural resources including oil and natural gas. It is a country the consistently ranks as one of the worst governments in terms of human rights.
The national flag of Turkmenistan(Turkmen: Türkmenistanyň baýdagy) features a white crescent and five stars representing the five regions of the country and the Five Pillars of Islam. Placed upon a green field is a symbolic representation of the country’s famous carpet industry.
While no official explanation has been given for the symbolism of the flag’s colors or white symbols, there are several leading theories. Some such as the Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry claim that the green field stands for life, land, grass, prosperity, and peace, while the crescent moon symbolizes the clear sky above Turkmenistan’s people. They claim the stars represent the five provinces(welaýatlar) of Turkmenistan: Ahal, Balkan, Daşoguz, Lebap and Mary. Soon after the flag was adopted, multiple newspapers gave their own explanations of the flag’s symbolism, claiming that the color green was chosen to resemble banners historically used by the Turkmen people, and the color white was chosen to represent the brightness of life. They also reported that the five points on the stars represented the five states of matter, solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and crystal, while the number of stars represented the five main preconditions of life, light, sound, taste, smell, and feeling. The newspapers stated that stars and crescent moon together symbolized the belief in a bright future.
Here is what caught my attention. The five symbols running down the red box near the hoist are carpet ‘gulls’ or symbols woven into the rugs famously produced in Turkmenistan. They stand for the five tribes of the country. I can’t think of another country’s flag that includes carpet samples.
Independence Day of Turkmenistan (Turkmen: Garaşsyzlyk baýramy, Гарашсызлык бaйрaмы) is the main state holiday in Turkmenistan. This date is celebrated in Turkmenistan annually on September 27.
The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic participated in the referendum held in March 1991 in an attempt to preserve the Soviet Union as a renewed federation called the Union of Sovereign States, a referendum in which 98.26% of voters approved.
Following the events of the failed coup that took place in August, the Supreme Soviet of the Turkmenistan decided to adopt the law “About Independence and Bases of a State System of Turkmenistan”, effectively declaring its independence on 27 October 1991. After disintegration of the USSR, the Turkmen SSR became one of the last republics in the former Soviet Union to proclaim state sovereignty. In 2018, the government of Turkmenistan voted to move the date exactly a month back to September 27.
An example of a small country that at one time was part of Russia, but has remained sovereign without warfare. It is difficult to determine why this is so, but others (Ukraine) have not faired so well.
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