China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 8, No. 3 (2010), pp. 27-46 © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program ISSN: 1653-4212 Changes in the Political Elite in Post-Soviet Turkmenistan Slavomír Horák * ABSTRACT The article analyses the transformation of the Turkmen elite under the two last presidents, Saparmurat Niyazow and Gurbanguli Berdimuhamedow. Although the roots of the current elites are of the pre- Soviet origin, it is the Soviet legacy, strong leadership principle and the personal character of the leader, as well as the of Moscow control over Turkmen clans and politics, that have been determining the character of the Turkmen elite and, consequently, the political regime in Turkmenistan. While the first president Turkmenbashi was the main founder of Turkmenistan political cultural with its cronyism and corruption, the second president Berdimuhamedow has significantly fortified the clan loyalties, since his family ties and regional affiliation has been extremely firm. Keywords • Post-Soviet Turkmenistan • Political Elite • Political Culture • Saparmurat Niyazow • Gurbanguli Berdymukhammedov • Central Asia Introduction Research into political elites in Central Asia has recently begun to attract widespread attention in academic circles. 1 Authors have heretofore put * Slavomír Horák is research fellow at the Institute of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague. Research for this paper was made possible thanks to the support of the Research Intent of the Faculty of Social Science, Charles University, No. MSM0021620841. 1 Edward Schatz, Modern Clan Politics: The Power of “Blood”. Kazakhstan and Beyond (Washington: University of Washington Press, 2004); Sally Cummings, Kazakhstan: Power and Elite (London: I. B. Tauris, 2005); Kathleen Collins, The Logic of Clan Politics in Central Asia: Its Impact on Regime Transformation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).