The past Emblem of  the USSR	The past flag of the    Türkmen  SSR	The past Emblem of the   Türkmen SSR

I lived in the Soviet era and when I was young I recognized and felt my people’s lack of trust in justice and their hopeless view of the future. Our people were not only unable to understand what they were experiencing but also unable to judge their daily life. There was this kind of belief among our people: “Day belongs to the poweful, and kawurma belongs to those who have canines” They used to belive that whatever you do, you cannot prosper. 

(13-14.) 

Within the last two hundred years the Turkmens have been accused of being robbers, raiders, and pillagers, and from the 1930’s this was changed to invaders. These are only the accusations of those who wish to raid and invade the Turkmen land and of those who cannot find any other excuse to do so. My High and Beloved People, we should learn to take lessons, to draw morals, from the past. For this to be so, the Ruhnama in your hand will support you!  

More than 900 thousand Türkmens were deported between 1917 and 1930 because they were wealthy. Some 4 million Türkmens had to leave the country in the same period. Countless numbers of people were killed and sent into exile on the grounds that they were nationalists, enemies of the public and terrorists. Their number cannot be known precisely because people were seized secretly from villages, towns and cities. People were afraid to learn about what happened to those seized. The Türkmen nation lived in a state of moral discontent.

(296.) 

Where are the mountain-like valiants who rose against the black mountain?

Alas, sorrowing are the stately valiants that fought against 
the bad lot !

Many heroic and wise fell martyred, so that I was left 
behind lonely, abandoned,

Even the dessert bent double with pain, moaning. Can you hear, Jygalybeg ?

The prosperous wealthy men were collected, suffered, and sent to exile in Siberia,

The lion-hearted brave fell as martyr in the fight and 
already became graves,

Your orphan cried bitterly, left all alone, no strength, patience, endurance,

All my land weep and my folk bewailed, the country in disorder, Jygalybeg !  

(30.) 

Thanks to the achievements of the 60s and 70s, fulsome praise became a fashion: many persons and institutions were praised. Exaggeration and delusion became common. This was a social disease and it demonstrated the heartbreaking condition of society. To tell the truth it is impossible to show a single healthy period during those 74 years. Political thought became dominant and people forgot how to think freely. They became accustomed to toadying and to delivering speeches praising the party. The individual had no significance, and in the social context the status of the individual was completely destroyed. Social ideas were praised but individual responsibility was ignored; the administrative system was established according to this principle. In this way these principles were presented to people as the successes of Soviet democracy. However all the things cited were nothing but worthless developments. These slogans became part of our society’s character and they became a social disease.

O Türkmen! You almost lost your native tongue during the Soviet era. You were not admitted to schools and you could not find employment if you did not know Russian. You forgot about your religion, tradition and values. You lagged economically. Our nation lived under terrible conditions in villages and towns. It is essential that our old tell the young about all this.

Türkmenistan contributed revenue of US$10 to 18 billion from the production of oil, gas, cotton and chemicals to the Soviet Treasury, and less than US$1 million came back. Because of this, moral values ceased to exist, and immorality, lack of trust, infidelity and fraud became widespread.

(296.) 

There were attempts to insert needless foreign words into our language in the Soviet era.

(175.) 

O Türkmen! You almost lost your native tongue during the Soviet era. You were not admitted to schools and you could not find employment if you did not know Russian. You forgot about your religion, tradition and values.

(296.) 

In the communist Soviet Union, which was founded at the beginning of the 20^th century by force, torture and blood, from 1987 on conflicts occurred between various parts of society. Conflicts between the different nations and injustice reached an unbearable level within the state, and so government and its rule failed, and order tended to disappear. In this historical period I felt that the politico-economic position of the Soviet Union was deteriorating. On 22 August 1990, I made a declaration that we would establish Türkmenistan as an independent, sovereign stable state having equal rights and status and independence in foreign relations with other countries as all the world states.

Within the two preceding months, our relations with the Soviet Union’s systems had almost ceased, and we saw that life necessitated further new improvements. It became obvious that we could not go far or progress and make our people happy and prosperous within that existing Soviet System with a status independent within its borders but dependent on the Soviet System.

(45-46.)