October 28, 2025
BNE Intellinews - Ruling family’s ‘palace in the sky’ cruel sight for Turkmenistan’s poor souls down below
Depending on one’s financial means, when flying there is a choice of economy, business or first-class. But for three people in Turkmenistan, there is the ultra-luxurious “Berdi-class”.
Turkmenistan is a country rich in natural gas, but with painfully high unemployment and a climbing poverty rate. Recent revelations of the special fleet of planes available to the Chairman of Turkmenistan’s Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) and self-styled "Leader of the Nation" Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, his son, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and his eldest daughter, Oguljahan Atabayeva, again underscore the great disparity between Turkmenistan’s people and the ruling family.
Read the full article on BNE Intellinews.
Bruce Pannier is a Senior Fellow at the Turan Research Center.