The New Yorker's (small hint as to my politics) David Remnick (who knows a little about Russia) writes amusingly about Turkmenbashi - the leader of all Turkmen's. (Or was that David Remnick's New Yorker?) And there is plenty to be amusing about.
My first investing success came from a company whose principal asset was, and is, based in Turkmenistan. (oh the hours camped outside minister's offices, plof and my first introduction to Armenian Brandy - see Churchill was a genius.) I bumped in to the CEO (F. O' Blarneystone) on a flight to Moscow recently and asked if life had got worse. His take was that for most it was a lot better. Which when you are starting from close to zero is not hard - a mathematician would suggest that it is infinitely better.
When you compare this with the horror stories that the author of this FT story tells about Kazakhstan (better offline than on) maybe not all that bad. Dick “Duck Hunter” Cheney, who according to my del.icio.us feed on Russia, said some bad things about Russia, but not about Kazakhstan, seems to think that Turkmens and Russians are bad and Kazakhs and (boil me) Uzbeks are OK.
Can we please have some intelligence for a global foreign policy?
It is a beautiful country - I love the mountains rising to the Iranian border and the beauty of the “Persians.”
[composed and posted with ecto]
Technorati Tags: Energy, Gas, Turkmenistan, Russia
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