I suppose one should be thankful for anything resembling normality in Turkmenistan. While I don't think I would much trust my dentist to remove a benign tumour from behind my ear, I think that the people of Turkmenistan can be thankful that their current President, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a trained dentist, did so as the inaugural operation for a new cancer hospital in Ashgabat. It's definitely better than, say, building a golden statue of yourself that always faces the sun, as the former president "Turkmenbashi" did. Who knows, perhaps this goes some way to reversing the decision five years ago to close all hospitals and fire all medical professionals in Turkmenistan.
The calendar has reverted to its original names, rather than using the names of Turkmenbashi's family. There still seems to be some dispute as to whether the Ruhnama is still official reading in Turkmenistan. Once Turkmenbashi's book is no longer used both as a means of entering paradise and as a required test for all drivers licensing exams, then I think it will be safe to say that Turkmenistan has become just another poor, hydrocarbon-rich, repressive state in Central Asia. Ruhnama text, courtesy of the government of Turkmenistan here.
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