Senate Square SocietyRelationship with Moscow
3 / 5 · Balancing
Hedging between Moscow and other powers; neither aligned nor opposed.
Moscow Lens Project · Introduction
Three decades after the Soviet Union’s dissolution, Russia still shapes the political choices of the countries that emerged from it, whether through alignment, wariness, or open conflict. This project attempts to provide a brief overview of each post-Soviet state, besides Russia and Ukraine, which are better known generally, and whose relationship is defined by the Russian invasion and Russo-Ukrainian War. The Moscow Lens Project examines each state’s national politics and its relationship with the Kremlin, giving readers the background knowledge to understand the region as a whole. Information is current as of October 2026.
National Political Overview
Turkmenistan is a central asian country home to around 7 million people. The former first secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party, Saparmurat Niyazov, transitioned into the leader of the new state. He took the title “head of the Turkmen” and consolidated control of the country through the government and a personality cult. He was made president for life, with no competitive political environment. He has been described as one of the most repressive and egocentric dictators, bending the country to his will. He renamed the months and days of the week, made his autobiography Ruhnama a required reading in every school and government office, and closed every hospital and library outside of the capital city of Ashgabat. The country was ruthless to any form of protest or dissent, cracking down on civil liberties and violating human rights.
After he died in 2006, deputy prime minister Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow took power, rolling back some of the more eccentric decrees while maintaining an autocratic system of government. In 2022, during a March election, his son Serdar Berdimuhamedow became the new president. The elder Berdimuhamedow remains deeply influential behind the scenes. The last elections were deemed neither free nor fair, as Turkmenistan continues to be a deeply undemocratic and repressive state. Political opposition, independent media, and unapproved religious or civic gatherings remain strictly prohibited. Its economy relies on exporting natural gas to China and trade with Russia.
Stance on Russia
Since 1995, Turkmenistan has pursued permanent neutrality, which the United Nations has recognized. Turkmenistan maintains relationships with Russia through organizations like the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an intergovernmental organization of former Soviet states in Eurasia, and through forums and dialogues on the Caspian Sea. They maintain trade relations, with Turkmenistan exporting agriculture while importing machinery and industrial equipment. Of the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, it is the least tied to the Kremlin, being more in the Chinese sphere of influence than the Russian one. At the October CIS summit, Russia stressed the importance of closer ties between the two states, showing a path forward for closer collaboration. While not close to the Kremlin, Turkmenistan is clearly not opposed to it.
The Moscow Lens scale
- 1AdversarialOpenly opposed to the Kremlin; firmly in the Western camp.
- 2StrainedTense relations and pushing away, though Moscow retains leverage.
- 3BalancingHedging between Moscow and other powers; neither aligned nor opposed.
- 4AlignedA Russian ally, economically and militarily tied to Moscow.
- 5SubordinateMoves in lockstep with the Kremlin; an extension of Moscow.
Sources
- BBC News — www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16094646
- Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2025 — freedomhouse.org/country/turkmenistan/freedom-world/2025