republic in Central Asia, bordered on the north by Kazakstan and Uzbekistan, on the east by Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, on the south by Afghanistan and Iran, and on the west by the Caspian Sea. It was formerly the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Turkmenistan is the southernmost of the former Soviet republics. Its land area totals 448,100 sq km (188,460 sq mi). Ashgabat is its capital and largest city.
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Population
With an estimated 4,254,000 inhabitants in 1993, Turkmenistan is the least populated republic of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. Settlement is concentrated along rivers, canals, and other waterways. Ashgabat, the capital and largest city with 517,200 inhabitants in 1993, is supplied by the Garagum Canal. Other important cities include Chärjew (also spelled Chardzhou), with 166,400 inhabitants in 1991, and Dashhowuz, with 114,000 inhabitants in 1990. Although Turkmenistan is one of the most urbanized former Soviet republics in Central Asia, more than half of the population still lives in rural areas. The population is growing at a rate of about 2.5 percent per year. Infant mortality is greater than 50 per 1000 live births-the highest rate in the former USSR.
Turkmenistan is the most ethnically homogeneous former Soviet republic in Central Asia. Turkmens (or Turkomans), a Turkic-speaking people with a Sunni Muslim religious heritage, are the largest ethnic group with 73 percent of the population. Russians constitute about 10 percent of the population, and Uzbeks constitute the third largest ethnic group with 9 percent. Other ethnic groups include Kazaks, Tatars, Ukrainians, Azeris, and Armenians. In contrast to most of the other former Soviet republics, Turkmenistan has not suffered a massive emigration of minorities, as the Turkmen government has tried to recognize the rights of all minority groups.
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History
Although Turkmens have lived in the area of present-day Turkmenistan for centuries, a Turkmen political entity was formed for the first time in the 1920s. Over the course of its history the area was invaded by various conquerors, including Persians, Macedonians, and Arabs, who converted the local population to Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. Its oases of Tejen and Mary were prominent agricultural and trade centers during ancient times. The predecessors of the Turkmens, the Oghuz, invaded and settled the area in the 10th century. The Turkmens themselves became a distinct ethnic group by the 15th century. The region was included in the Mongol empires of Genghis Khan in the 13th century and Tamerlane in the 14th century. The last Central Asian territory to come under Russian control, the Turkmen stronghold of Gökdepe fell in 1881 with the loss of some 150,000 Turkmen lives.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Turkmens briefly achieved independence from Moscow. They resisted the Bolshevik armies until 1918, when they were incorporated into the Turkistan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR). With the help of British forces, Turkmen nationalists overthrew the Bolsheviks and established a brief, independent state. The area was soon reconquered and reincorporated into the Turkistan ASSR. In 1924 it was converted into a constituent republic of the USSR, which it remained until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It joined the United Nations (UN) as the independent republic of Turkmenistan in 1992. Elections to the new Majlis, held in December 1994 seated 50 deputies, 49 were unopposed in the election. In January 1996 Turkmenistan eased tense relations with neighboring Uzbekistan by signing a package of agreements on border disputes and the sharing of the waters of the Amu Darya. In March Turkmenistan and Afghanistan held talks on building a pipeline through Afghanistan to Pakistan to facilitate the export of Turkmenistan's gas and oil. Since independence Turkmenistan has strengthened its ties with neighboring Iran; a rail line between the two countries opened in May 1996. Turkey has also increased in importance as a trade partner. Turkmenistan agreed to sell about 15 billion cu m (about 530 billion cu ft) of natural gas to Turkey, beginning in 1998.
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"Turkmenistan," Microsoft ® Encarta 98 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.
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