Muhammetnazar Gapuroviç Gapurov (Turkmen Cyrillic: Мухамметназар Гапурович Гапуров; rus, links=no, Мухамметназар Капурович Капуров, Mukhammetnazar Kapurovich Kapurov; 15 February 192213 July 1999) was a Turkmen politician who has served as the
First Secretary of the
Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR
The Communist Party of Turkmenistan (russian: Коммунистическая партия Туркменистана; tk, Türkmenistanyň Kommunistik Partiýasy) was the ruling communist party of the Turkmen SSR, and a part of the Communi ...
from 1969 until 1985. He spent his entire career in the
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
and Communist Party apparatus, becoming the republic's most influential politician for almost two decades in the
Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1 ...
era.
Early life and career
Gapurov was born in a small village close to Charjou, Charjou Oblast (now
Türkmenabat
Türkmenabat ( tk, Türkmenabat, Түркменабат), formerly and since medieval times Chardzhou, (russian: Чарджоу, ''Chardzhou''; tk, Çärjew, links=no, ) ( fa, چهارجوی 'čahârjuy', meaning 'four brooks') and in ancient ti ...
,
Lebap Province
Lebap Region ( tk, Lebap welaýaty/Лебап велаяты from the Persian ''Lab-e āb'') is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its capital is T ...
). In December 1941 he was drafted into the army, serving as the commander of a gunners section in the
88th Separate Rifle Brigade
The 88th Separate Rifle Brigade (, , ), also known as the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces Teaching Brigade or the 88th International Brigade, was an international military unit of the Red Army created during World War II. It was unique in t ...
of the
Central Asian Military District
The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...
. From 1941 to 1944 he was on active duty in the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 1948 Gapurov joined the Communist Party ''nomenklatura'' as head of the Propaganda Department at the district level in Charjou oblast and gradually climbed the party ladder. He graduated from the Pedagogical Institute in Ashkhabad in 1954. From 1951 to 1955 he worked as first secretary of the Komsomol organisation, and later he held various party posts before assuming the republic's leadership.
Leadership of Turkmenistan
In 1969, he was appointed first secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR. During his time in office, the republic received considerable investment in its modernisation of the gas and oil sectors, and living standards rose significantly for the general population. However, excessive centralised control over economic development and macroeconomic mismanagement led to a stagnation of economic growth in most sectors of the republic's economy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Gapurov's era also witnessed further growth in nepotism, regional rivalries and corruption.
In 1985, incoming General Secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
removed Gapurov from his post due to a cotton-related corruption scandal and sent him into retirement.
Later life
He never returned to the political arena and held several minor positions in the late 1980s. He authored several books and articles during the Soviet era, mainly on Communist Party and Turkmenistan development issues. In the 1990s he began writing his memoirs but left them unfinished when he died on 13 July 1999. He was known to have one son, Batyr who died in September 2015 at the age of 61 of cardiac arrest.
References
Sources
*Abazov, Rafis. ''Historical Dictionary of Turkmenistan'', p. 64-5. Scarecrow Press, 2005, .
External links
Rulers of Soviet Republics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gapurov, Muhammad
Soviet military personnel of World War II
1922 births
1999 deaths
People from Türkmenabat
First secretaries of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Sixth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities
Seventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
Eighth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
Ninth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
Tenth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
Heads of government of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
People's commissars and ministers of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic