On the night from Wednesday to Thursday from sudden cardiac standstill President of Turkmenii Saparmurat Niyazov died. It was informed by the State TV of Turkmenii in an extra news sport in which information appeared earlier was officially confirmed.
The president was 66 years. Saparmurat Niyazov had headed Turkmenii in 1985 as the first secretary of Republican Communist Party. In 1990 he was elected the president of Turkmenii. In December, 1999 National Council of Turkmenistan made a decision on Saparmurata Niyazov's lifelong presidency. In 2002 National Council one more time made a decision on necessity to make Niyazov's presidential term lifelong, however, Turkmenbashi officially declared that elections of the leader of the country would nevertheless take place after 2008.
The city of Turkmenbashi (former Krasnovodsk), a significant amount of streets, factories, collective farms, schools were given the name of Saparmurat Niyazov. Among decrees of the president are: prohibition to use a make-up to the broadcasters, prohibition of an opera and ballet, prohibition to carry long hair to the youth and to have golden teeth (2001), closing of local libraries (2004), dismissal of 15 thousand medical workers and closing of many hospitals outside of capital (2005), prohibition to execute nonconventional music on TV, radio and in public places (2005), etc. In August 2002 Turkmenbashi took a decision to rename the names of months and days of the week: January into “turkmenbashi”, April – “gurbansoltan-edje (his mother’s name).
The most probable sucessor on the post of the President of Turkmenii local analysts name Niyazov’s son – Murad 39 years old. He has graduated from Law Department of LSU, worked as investigator in public’s prosecutor office in Moscow, then have graduated from Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the RF. At the present moment he has own business.
