The Ruhnama — a two-volume spiritual and philosophical text authored by Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan's self-styled president-for-life who ruled under the name Türkmenbaşy — was made compulsory reading in schools, government offices, and even driving examinations after its publication in 2001 and 2003. Niyazov commissioned multiple coin series celebrating the book, effectively minting state propaganda in silver. He died in December 2006, the same year this piece was struck, and his successor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow quietly dismantled much of the Ruhnama cult within a few years of taking power.
The Ruhnama — a two-volume spiritual and philosophical text authored by Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan's self-styled president-for-life who ruled under the name Türkmenbaşy — was made compulsory reading in schools, government offices, and even driving examinations after its publication in 2001 and 2003. Niyazov commissioned multiple coin series celebrating the book, effectively minting state propaganda in silver. He died in December 2006, the same year this piece was struck, and his successor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow quietly dismantled much of the Ruhnama cult within a few years of taking power.