Defender of the Fatherland Day () is a professional holiday for the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan (coequally known as the Turkmen National Army) celebrated annually on 27 January. It commemorates the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' anniversary of founding of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

's National Army in 1992 via the founding of the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. The event is marked by

military parades A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

, fireworks and ceremonies all around the country. The holiday is perceived to be the Turkmen analogue to the Defender of the Fatherland Day in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

celebrated traditionally on 23 February. It was previously celebrated as Army Day until President

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profe ...

changed its name in 2009.

Celebrations

The

President of Turkmenistan The president of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň prezidenti), officially the president and chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, is the head of state and head of government of Turkmenistan. The president is also the supreme c ...

typically delivers holiday greetings in his capacity as

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and Supreme Commander in Chief. The message, which is published on the government website, is also read before military formations during the morning roll call. The

traditionally organizes festive concerts and activities in military units on this day. Festive concerts by art groups are held at the military higher education establishments in

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...

and Türkmenbaşy, as well as in all the military garrisons. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary in 2012, the opening of another complex of buildings of the Military Institute and the Central House of Officers of the Ministry of Defence as well as the opening of a junior military school took place. On the armed force's 25th anniversary in 2017, the presentation of military banners to existing as well as newly created military units took place. The holiday has also been used for military-political purposes. For example, the current military doctrine was adopted on the eve of the holiday in 2016.

References

{{Reflist Armed Forces days Military of Turkmenistan 2009 establishments in Turkmenistan Public holidays in Turkmenistan

Celebrations

See also

References