Turkmenistan Drops Propaganda Exam

An education ministry official in Turkmenistan has confirmed that for the first time in a decade, school-leavers will not have to sit an examination in the Ruhnama, a book by the late president Saparmurat Niazov that was assigned near-sacred status.

The Ruhnama, a somewhat rambling compendium of Niazov’s thoughts on Turkmen folklore, history and mythology, became mandatory reading for schoolchildren, students, civil servants and others, reflecting the personality cult which grew up around him until his death in 2006. Copies and images of the book were visible everywhere, and it was constantly cited, especially in the state-monopoly media.

Niazov’s successor Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov has attempted to dismantle the legacy of the personality cult, but only slowly, as the preservation of Ruhnama tests until now shows.

At the Medical University in Ashgabat, a lecturer expressed no regret that the Ruhnama was being phased out, even though she runs courses in it. She suggested lessons in social sciences would be more valuable.

A student expressed scepticism that the book would actually be phased out. At his college, he said, Ruhnama classes were dropped last year, but students were still obliged to study the book.

"Even if the exam is dropped, examiners can still ask questions on any subject," he said.

Not everyone will be happy to see the Ruhnama go. A teacher-training specialist at the education ministry said, “"I'm sorry for the people who’ve spent their lives studying and teaching this book. It doesn’t teach our children anything bad."

A specialist Ruhnama teacher in Ashgabat added, "So much effort had gone into it. I think it’s a sagacious book that shouldn’t be abolished, since it contains a lot of wisdom that we try to impart to young people.

Others predicted that the Niazov book would simply be replaced by some new tract that better reflected the vision of the Berdymuhammedov administration.

"Something analogous to this book is likely to appear soon," a historian said.

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.