Features of the Turkmen Model of Development in the Period 1991-2020

The article comprehensively examines the main components of the Turkmen model of development. In particular, it is noted that today Turkmenistan, compared to other post-Soviet countries, has hardly been affected by modern processes of reforming public life and economic sphere on the basis of democracy, rule of law, building a civilized market and a full-fledged civil society. The author of the article gives a detailed description of modern informal clan structures in Turkmenistan, clarifies their nature and the degree of influence on the functioning of the state and legal system of the country. In particular, it is concluded that the decisive role in the formation of the peculiarities of the Turkmen model of development was played by clan - tribal groups, which have developed here historically. The dominant role among them in public authorities today is occupied by Akhal Tekins.The period of formation of the Turkmen model of development was conditionally divided into two stages. The first stage covers the chronological framework from 1991 to 2006; it is connected with the rule of the first president of the country S. Niyazov. Characteristic features of this period were that proclaimed in the Constitution of Turkmenistan, the construction of a democratic society was replaced by the transition to a “national classless society of a fundamentally new type” at the center of which is the president with unlimited power and cult of personality. The second stage concerns the beginning of 2007 and to the present day. It is connected with the rule of G. Berdymukhamedov. Despite some attempts to democratize the existing systems of government, the activities of the new leader, as well as his predecessor, is characterized by the secrecy and family-clan nature of the ruling elite.A significant place in the article is also given to the study of the peculiarities of economic development of the country, in particular in the field of investment activities. In addition, the main factors influencing the evolution of modern Turkmen foreign policy from a policy of neutrality to isolationism are identified. The author of the article also notes the existence in the modern political system of Turkmenistan of a kind of institutional-legal vacuum, which ultimately leads to the formation of a cult of personality in the country. All this has become a significant obstacle to the process of forming a modern institutional structure in the country.