50 Manat The chairmanship in the CIS

Turkmenistan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States at its founding in 1991 but maintained one of the most isolationist postures of any member state throughout the following decades, a tension never fully resolved before the country shifted to permanent neutrality status. This commemorative was issued during the year Turkmenistan held the rotating CIS chairmanship — a largely ceremonial role that the Berdimuhamedow government nonetheless treated as a diplomatic platform worth marking in gold.