VZCZCXRO5965
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0383/01 0870955
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270955Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0501
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2357
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000383 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, ECA, IIP, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SCUL KPAO TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  WESTERN CULTURE RETURNS 
 
REF:  ASHGABAT 0002 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  To enforce his vision of "positive neutrality" in 
Turkmenistan and the uniqueness of Turkmen culture, former President 
Niyazov severely limited public expression of international culture, 
including the Russian (Soviet) culture many Turkmen grew up with. 
President Berdimuhamedov, however, has reopened the country to the 
world heritage of literature and music.  The Ministry of Culture and 
Broadcasting appears to give precedence to cooperation with the 
United States.   END SUMMARY. 
 
THAT WAS THEN 
 
¶3. (SBU) During President Niyazov's era, Turkmenistan became known 
for grand monuments; golden Niyazov statues; the president's "book 
of the soul," the "Ruhnama"; and a sad and destructive isolationism. 
 Partly as an attempt to promote nationalism and partly due to his 
paranoia, Niyazov insisted the Turkmen and their culture were so 
unique they had no need for cultural influences from abroad.  New 
Years was no longer widely celebrated, the circus was closed, and 
opera was no longer permitted.  But President Berdimuhamedov, who 
came to power in February 2007, is changing that and allowing 
international culture once again to flourish. 
 
THIS IS NOW 
 
¶4. (SBU) International cultural elements are being allowed into the 
Turkmen cultural space at a higher rate than possible under Niyazov. 
 Along side Niyazov's "Ruhnama" (in English, Hungarian, Russian, 
Chinese, Thai, and many other languages) on the bookshelves of the 
state-run book stores sit, modestly, President Berdimuhamedov's two 
books on medical reform undertaken while he was Minister of Health. 
At least one bookstore has started to display Russian translations 
of Western self-help and business books.  While news broadcasts are 
still Niyazovian in content, American and other international films 
(without broadcast rights) are frequently shown on state TV. 
Everything from the claymation film of "Chicken Run" to "Seabiscuit" 
to classic John Wayne Westerns have been broadcast with Turkmen 
dubbing.  Similarly, celebration of International Women's Day was 
returned to its Soviet-era prominence with broad media coverage of 
the holiday and events; and Turkmen celebrated this most recent New 
Years Day, the most important popular holiday in Soviet times, with 
great enthusiasm and even extravagance (reftel), after years of 
official discouragement under Niyazov. 
 
WIDENING THE CULTURAL SPACE 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In Niyazov's last years, cultural events and art were 
becoming more and more limited to expressions of praise for the 
President or manifestations of "Ruhnama" themes and verses.  In 
contrast, Berdimuhamedov has modestly widened artistic expression 
across the full range of cultural life, from art, music, books, 
theater, and performing arts to TV and radio, film, and national 
holidays.  Schools now allow students to study and perform plays by 
English and French playwrights, including Shakespeare's "Romeo and 
Juliet."   We have heard of one school where there was a student 
performance of rock music. Whereas Niyazov worked to limit Russian 
cultural influence, Berdimuhamedov accepted a $20 million grant from 
Gazprom to build the Pushkin Russian-Turkmen High School, a 
show-case building now under construction at a prestigious and 
highly visible location. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Further examples of cultural change include once again 
allowing the publication and broadcast of book and cinema versions 
of Govshudov Kerbabayev's "Decisive Step," a love story based on 
traditional Turkmen courtship rituals Niyazov had banned as "too 
primitive."  Folk painter Kamil Veliadhmedov won the President's 
Distinguished Medal for the Arts from Berdimuhamedov for his 
canvasses depicting the beauty of Turkmen Ahal-Teke horses and 
village life.  There was open talk on state television of renaming 
the Music Conservatory after the late Turkmen composer, Nury 
Halmamedov (vice Turkmenbashi or Berdimuhamedov), and recently the 
Ministry of Culture announced a design competition for new 
sculptures and monuments for public places in Ashgabat, with a 
strong emphasis on historical figures, not contemporary presidents. 
In January 2008, President Berdimuhamedov announced the return of 
 
ASHGABAT 00000383  002 OF 002 
 
 
forbidden cultural fruit:  the National Opera, the Turkmen Circus, 
and cinema multiplexes in Ashgabat and around the country (all of 
which were forbidden or closed by Niyazov).  He also ordered the 
building of new film theaters.  Newspapers and television cover 
neutral or "fluff" news items from abroad, in stark contrast to the 
near silence on international stories before Niyazov's death. 
 
WESTWARD LEANINGS? 
 
¶7. (SBU)  The Ministry of Culture is approaching Western diplomats 
to assist in implementing President Berdimuhamedov's reforms for 
media.  Deferring offers of assistance from Uzbekistan, Iran, and 
Russia, Ministry officials have turned to Post with requests for 
assistance in raising standards in broadcast journalism, identifying 
a Hollywood studio to partner with TurkmenFilm to revive the film 
industry, and training their theater companies in set design, 
direction, and staging.  Ministry of Culture contacts have 
specifically noted that American media and entertainment have unique 
and significant experience that Turkmenistan should learn from. 
Other western missions have offered assistance in the field of media 
that the Turkmen have accepted with varying degrees of enthusiasm. 
But to post's knowledge the United States is the only country 
receiving focused requests for assistance in this area.  In a 
remarkable example, the Ministry of Culture and the U.S. Embassy 
co-sponsored a Navruz spring holiday concert at the prominent 
Matamguly Theater.  Eldar Hudiyev, an award-winning graduate of the 
Boston Conservatory of Music, performed a Western classical violin 
program, including John William's "Theme from Schindler's List," to 
a standing-room-only audience. 
 
WHAT'S THE MOTIVATION? 
 
¶8. (U) President Berdimuhamedov may have multiple motivations for 
changing Turkmen cultural life and expanding cultural opportunities. 
 In part, he might be motivated by Soviet nostalgia or simply a 
Soviet paradigm.  Berdimuhamedov came of age in the Soviet Union, in 
which the state provided cinema, opera, and circuses - exactly the 
cultural forms he's re-introduced.  Although some of the rhetoric 
reveals a continued state command of the economy and cultural space, 
the president has also demanded a new national "ethos" of "the state 
for the people," and has called for greater creativity in culture 
and media.  Combined with an emphasis on foreign languages and 
exchanges, these seem to reveal an additional motivation for 
modernizing Turkmenistan and learning from the rest of the world. 
 
¶9. (U) COMMENT:  To the casual observer, Turkmenistan's cultural 
space still appears limited.  However, beyond the monuments and 
statues of Niyazov and the portraits of Berdimuhamedov, culture in 
Turkmenistan is evolving in significant ways.  In cultural affairs, 
President Berdimuhamedov is moving towards something more open, and 
ultimately more international in character - at the very least, a 
restoration of the finer cultural aspects of the Soviet Union. 
Change comes slowly like in other areas, and a top-down, 
anti-innovation psychology held over from the Niyazov era still 
stifles creativity and independent decision-making.  However, the 
United States has a real opportunity to support our goals by taking 
advantage of Turkmen calls for assistance in developing news media 
and cultural programs.  Even though they are well aware of many 
other offers from both friendly and not so friendly countries 
interested in the region, the Ministry of Culture has asked 
specifically for U.S. experts and cooperation.  We want to be as 
responsive as possible.  END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND