worthy of recognition by the world. As our great thinker Magtymguly Pyragy once said, “Look at your future, do not forget your past, utter polite speech, restrain your anger. If you are able to speak, please say pleasant things; the public has suffered much from bad things.” I can see happy days in the future. I believe that nothing is able to damage our happiness today and in the future and I am always proud of our statute of impartiality.

* * *

Independence has changed the fate of the Türkmen nation completely and has brought it to the point of perfection because the nation state is the clear evidence that idea of the existence of the nation is not only an imagining or a sweet desire. A nation is constructed only by the existence of a nation state. Thus, being a nation is different from being a people. A people is a community whose future is uncertain because it is deprived of the state which implements the values of the people in real life by means of a political movement. Since the future of that community is uncertain, this means that it is possible for that people either to survive or to disappear. There is only one way to sustain the existence of a people and that is to become a nation. To be a nation means to have a nation state.

Looking at history we can see that nation-building among Türkmens is not just a recent process. The historical fate of this nation is very complex; it does not only include progress and development, but also includes decline and underdevelopment. Marxism defines history as linear and only records forward progress. According to its understanding, firstly tribes emerge, then these tribes transform into peoples and these peoples transform into nations. However, history