President for Life

One quick question, what country is ruled by one weird man? North Korea? Yes I expected that but try again. Libya? Hmm nice one. Cuba? Ditto. The answer I wanted you to speak up is Turkmenistan. Huh? You're frowning and ask is there such country that seems to be a fusion of Turkey and Afghanistan. It is one of the former Soviet republics annexed towards the early 1920s and gained its independence in 1991 when Soviet Union crumbled. Unlike many nations fighting for independence, Turkmen would have second thoughts of gaining freedom as standards of living declined steeply after the Russians crossed the border. And the culprit is the self-proclaimed Turkmenbashi or Father of Turkmen, Saparmurat Niyazov who elected himself as President for life in 1985.

Going back to the question, why is he weird when the previous paragraph apparently depicts him in the same rank as Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler and to lesser extent his distant relative, er, North Korean President Kim Jong Il. He is praised by his countrymen as the savior and will provide them with better lives despite a hungry majority, unable or unwilling to express their dissent.

The reasons for calling him weird is enumerated as follows:

1. He is an author of a book called Rukhnama which contains many of his quotes, some of which are kinda weird for the conventional wisdom. Other books include 'May The Turkmen People be Blessed' and 'The Five Centuries of Turkmen Spirituality'. It is a compulsory reading for schoolchildren and adults must read it on Saturdays.
   
2. He ordered the closure of all hospitals in the country except those in the capital city of Ashgabat. "Why do we need such hospitals?" he said. "If people are ill, they can come to Ashgabat." Last year he sacked 15,000 health workers.
   
3. He ordered the closure of the country's rural libraries saying that village Turkmen people cannot read anyway.
   
4. He glorified himself by building a huge mosque complex by a French company Bouygues worth $100 million.
   
5. He forbid men from keeping long hair or beards. It should not be uncommon in Turkmenistan, a Muslim country to wear such features.
   
6. He ordered the construction of an ice palace in the heart of his country, among the hottest spots in Asia. "Let us build a palace of ice," said President Niyazov, "big and grand enough for 1,000 people." "Our children can learn to ski," Mr Niyazov eagerly explained, "we can build cafes there, and restaurants."
   
7. If cows are sacred in India, Turkmenistan reveres melon. "This godsend has a glorious history that goes back centuries," it said, adding that its advantages were the product of Turkmenistan's "blazing sun, mild weather, productive land and tasty water, as well as peasants' kindness". Enough said.
   
8. In a more sane statement, he disallowed smoking in the country. He himself once was a smoker but has quit since he underwent surgery.
   
9. Avoid wearing golden teeth. "I watched young dogs when I was young. They were given bones to gnaw," he told the audience at Tuesday's ceremony. "Those of you whose teeth have fallen out did not gnaw on bones. This is my advice," he said, according the Interfax news agency.
   
10. He redefined youth age. Childhood ends at age 12. Adolescence ends at 25. Youth ends at 37.
    
11. He replaced the month January with the name Turkmenbashi while the rest will be named after Turkmen poets and writers.
    
12. He legalized polygamy as a Muslim country which used to be ran by the Soviet Union.