Hubris

The President of Turkmenistan has proposed to his countrymen that January be renamed after himself.

Other months are to be given names such as “The Flag,” “Independence” and “Rukhnama,” the title of a quasi-religious spiritual guide written by Mr. Niyazov and published last year. Names of national heroes and poets will also be used.

But April will be called “Mother” in an apparent reference to Mr. Niyazov’s own mother, who died when he was a child. Statues of her have appeared across Ashgabat in recent years, although they are far outnumbered by monuments to her son.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: