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Monument of Neutrality ( tk, Bitaraplyk arkasy) is a monument originally located in
/ref> was tall and was built in 1998 on the orders of the president of Turkmenistan, Saparmyrat Nyýazow, to commemorate the country's official position of neutrality.The Times: 'Father of all Turkmen' toppled under orders of successor
/ref> It cost $12 million to construct. The monument was topped by a tall gold-plated statue of Nyýazow which rotated always to face the sun.BBC News: Turkmenistan ex-leader Niyazov's arch to be removed
/ref> The arch was located in central Ashgabat where it dominated the skyline, being taller than the nearby Presidential Palace. The statue was illuminated at night. The arch featured a panoramic viewing platform which was a popular attraction for visitors.
On 18 January 2010 Nyýazow's successor as president,
/ref> There were reports that the arch would be dismantled as early as 2008, but the president did not approve the move until 2010. The dismantling was officially said to be a move to improve urban design in Ashgabat but is seen as part of Berdimuhamedow's campaign to remove the excesses of the
10000 manat. Türkmenistan, 2000 b.jpg, 10000 manat
5 manat. Türkmenistan, 2012 b.jpg, 5 manat
The Neutrality Monument – Polimeks
{{Coord, 37.8822, 58.3333, type:landmark_region:TM, display=title Buildings and structures in Ashgabat Buildings and structures completed in 1998 Monuments and memorials in Turkmenistan Saparmyrat Nyýazow 1998 establishments in Turkmenistan
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 lies ...
, Turkmenistan. In 2010, it was moved to the suburbs.
The three-legged arch, which became known locally as "The Tripod",Radio Free Europe: Turkmen Leader Orders Predecessor's Statue Removed/ref> was tall and was built in 1998 on the orders of the president of Turkmenistan, Saparmyrat Nyýazow, to commemorate the country's official position of neutrality.The Times: 'Father of all Turkmen' toppled under orders of successor
/ref> It cost $12 million to construct. The monument was topped by a tall gold-plated statue of Nyýazow which rotated always to face the sun.BBC News: Turkmenistan ex-leader Niyazov's arch to be removed
/ref> The arch was located in central Ashgabat where it dominated the skyline, being taller than the nearby Presidential Palace. The statue was illuminated at night. The arch featured a panoramic viewing platform which was a popular attraction for visitors.
Removal
On 18 January 2010 Nyýazow's successor as 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 profes ...
, signed a decree to begin work on dismantling and moving the arch.Financial Times: Turkmenistan to end personality cult/ref> There were reports that the arch would be dismantled as early as 2008, but the president did not approve the move until 2010. The dismantling was officially said to be a move to improve urban design in Ashgabat but is seen as part of Berdimuhamedow's campaign to remove the excesses of the
personality cult
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
that Nyýazow had created in his two decades at the head of one of the world's most totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...
regimes. Nyýazow also named cities and airports after himself, ordered the building of an ice palace
An ice palace or ice castle is a castle-like structure made of blocks of ice. These blocks are usually harvested from nearby rivers or lakes when they become frozen in winter. The first known ice palace (or, rather, '' ice house'', ледяной ...
and a tall pyramid, but the gold-plated statue has been described as the most notorious symbol of his legacy.
Berdimuhamedow moved the "Monument to Neutrality" to the suburbs. The president appointed Turkish construction firm Polimeks
Polimeks İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş. is a Turkish holding company based in Istanbul. Polimeks, established in 1995 and grew to become one of the world’s leading construction companies, in recent years transformed into a global investment holding ...
, which had initially constructed it, to carry out the dismantling and movement of the arch. The removal of Nyýazow's golden statue was completed on 26 August 2010,
although it was then placed back after the monument was moved. The statue no longer rotates, but the viewing platform is still usually open for visitors. There are elevators inside the "legs" of the monument.
Symbol of the country
See also
*De-Stalinization
De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...
References
External links
The Neutrality Monument – Polimeks
{{Coord, 37.8822, 58.3333, type:landmark_region:TM, display=title Buildings and structures in Ashgabat Buildings and structures completed in 1998 Monuments and memorials in Turkmenistan Saparmyrat Nyýazow 1998 establishments in Turkmenistan