Turkmenistan Tour Services
The Republic of Turkmenistan (Turkmen: Türkmenistan Respublikasy), also known as Turkmenia (Russian: Туркмения) is a country in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR). It is bordered by Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Turkmenistan's GDP growth rate of 6.1% in 2009 ranks 16th in the world, but these figures are subject to wide margins of error. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert.
Until recently it was a single-party system; this system was considered to not meet even the most basic standards of democracy. Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov until his sudden death on December 21, 2006. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was elected the new president on February 11, 2007.
In 2005 Turkmenistan had 2,440 kilometers of railroad line, most of which runs close to the northern and southern borders. The Tejen–Serakhs–Mashhad railroad, built in 1996 by Turkmenistan and Iran, has become a vital link of Central Asian, Russian, and European railroad systems with South Asia and the Persian Gulf. In February 2006, the final construction phase began on the Trans-Garagum Railway, a direct link between Ashgabat and Dashhowuz that will halve travel time between the southern and northern borders. Urban transportation systems are being upgraded in Ashgabat, Dashhowuz, and Mary.