Back in 2022, Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich ceded the post of President of Turkmenistan to his son Serdar, but it is difficult to forget his outstanding fleet of vehicles. Moreover, after leaving the post of president, he headed the upper house of the Turkmen parliament, and in this status last year he visited Kazan, where he drove a Mercedes-Maybach from the “zero” years, with white gold trim.
A Maybach 57S limousine and two Lincoln Navigator SUVs were delivered to Kazan from Ashgabat. Moreover, in the motorcade of the National Leader of Turkmenistan, the pre-restyling version of the Maybach, produced until 2002, and the first generation Navigator, which were also assembled before 2002, were used. The cars are painted white, Berdymukhamedov’s favorite color, and the Maybach bumper grilles are inlaid with a material similar to white gold.
Maybach 57
Sergey Ilyin
In 2021, a few months before leaving the presidential post, during a solemn week in Ashgabat, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received a military parade, standing in a snow-white Mercedes-Benz Gelandewagen convertible. The car, stripped of its roof for ceremonial purposes, is decorated with national Turkmen ornaments.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan
The signature three-pointed star on the radiator grille gave way to a medallion with a thoroughbred Akhal-Teke horse – one of the symbols of Turkmenistan. After listening to a report from the Secretary of the State Security Council Charmymyrat Amanov and making a detour in a Mercedes-Benz SUV, Arkadag (from Turkmen “patron”, Berdymukhamedov’s official title) made a lap of honor riding a stallion named Garashsyz – “Independent”. The event ended with the presentation of the Brave Turkmen medal to the head of state.
And in the spring of 2019, during the celebrations of Novruz Bayram, Berdimuhamedov, after participating in the celebrations, sang to his ministers from the car window.
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Berdymukhamedov Sr.’s garage resembles a museum exhibition, where hypercars, sports cars, vintage cars and heavy SUVs are mixed. Back in 2012, he came to the race track in Ashgabat driving a Bugatti Veyron hypercar, Newsru.com reported.
Also in 2012, Arkadag won a car race in Ashgabat, in which he unexpectedly decided to participate. He got behind the wheel of a Turkish Volkicar sports car and started the race at the judge’s command, eventually getting ahead of all his rivals. He donated the racing car to the Ministry of Sports of the Republic.
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The national leader of Turkmenistan has been interested in fast driving since his youth, and has repeatedly demonstrated his drifting skills. Several years ago, at the republic’s Ministry of Internal Affairs race track, he put a Nissan 370 Z sports coupe into a controlled skid.
In October 2020, the head of state visited the motorsport center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Ashgabat and again demonstrated his drifting skills. Driving a BMW 3 Series racing coupe with a roll cage and racing seats, he made several laps in a controlled drift on a paved area.
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Russian and Soviet cars are also in Arkadag’s sphere of interest. In 2019, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov personally picked up Dmitry Medvedev, who was then Prime Minister of Russia and arrived on a visit to Ashgabat, at the hotel in a rare Volga GAZ-21.
Ekaterina Shtukina/RIA Novosti
The head of Turkmenistan gave the guest a tour of the center of Ashgabat, lavishly decorated with white marble. The head of the Russian government told Berdymukhamedov in detail about Aurus cars, and the head of Turkmenistan expressed a desire to buy the entire model line of the Russian premium brand.
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The snow-white Aurus Senat in an armored version appeared in Turkmenistan only in 2022, when Arkadag’s son, current President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, took the presidency following the results of early elections.
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“The Republic of Turkmenistan purchased the first Aurus Senat Limousine. It was on it that the President of Turkmenistan traveled as part of his visit to the Russian Federation. This type of car has the highest level of ballistic protection in the world and is the safest vehicle,” the TASS agency then quoted a source close to the Turkmen government.
Many cars from the fleet of the former President of Turkmenistan could not do without tuning in oriental style. Even the executive Volkswagen Phaeton, with its initially laconic design aimed at European politicians and businessmen, received a massive plastic body kit with large foglights in Turkmenistan.
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The two-tone paint job with a white top and green bottom was typical of many cars from the presidential garage. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has repeatedly demonstrated not only his driving skills. In 2018, state media reported that he personally “designed” and assembled a racing SUV based on his drawings.
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The head of state ordered to strengthen the safety cage, re-assembled some parts and changed individual parts. He personally tested the car at the Darvaza gas crater.
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A fire has been burning there continuously since the early 1970s: from the moment Soviet geologists decided to ignite the gas coming to the surface to avoid poisoning people and livestock.
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In the same 2018, when there was a race at a gas crater in a modified SUV, information about the purchase of a rally Mini for 520 thousand euros was leaked to the press.
A leader’s aesthetic preferences have long grown into generally binding norms. Since 2018, cars of any color other than white have been unofficially but strictly prohibited in Ashgabat.
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When this measure began to be implemented, cars of other colors began to be evacuated to impound lots. Car owners were forced to give receipts promising to repaint the car white, and the price of painters’ services skyrocketed.
Another informal initiative concerns women driving. There is no written law, but it is almost impossible for Turkmen women under 30 to get a license: instructors directly warn that applicants will not pass the exam.
Girls drive illegally, learn from their mothers on deserted outskirts and register cars in the names of relatives. Those over 30 require a certificate from their place of work and a marriage certificate to register a car.
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