Turkmenistan's Leader Adds to Achievements by Penning Novel
Turkmenistan's authoritarian president has added to his already long list of achievements by turning to novel-writing. State television in the energy-rich Central Asian nation reported Monday that Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's novel, "The Bird of Happiness," tells the life story of the leader's father. Berdymukhamedov, a trained dentist, has been working on the novel since childhood, the report said. "Events the Turkmen president's father lived through during those years of hardship and his enormous achievements and selflessness are examples of great heroism. Tales of early maturation, unselfish love for the motherland and people, hard work, high spirituality, national traditions and customs, moral and ethical values of the Turkmen people [...] became for the head of the Turkmen state, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a school of courage and maturity," Turkmenistan’s State News Agency (TDH) said. Berdymukhamedov has authored several books, including tomes on traditional medicinal herbs and Turkmenistan's much-admired Akhal-Teke horse breed.
Sources: The Moscow Times, eurasianet.org