Turkmenistan: Russians Said "Panicked" About Leaving

Russian Presidential Press Office/kremlin.ru

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and President Dmitry Medvedev in Dushanbe in September 2011

Veteran Russian Central Asia correspondent Arkady Dubnov has a feature in Moscow News this week about the growing crisis for Russians in Turkmenistan with dual passports. As we noted, chrono-tm.org reported last week that notices have begun appearing in travel agencies that starting in 2013, tickets to Russia can only be purchased if a Turkmen passport and a Russian visa are shown.

Russians have been under pressure for some time to give up their Russian passport if they wish to receive the new Turkmen passport.

As Dubnov notes, the chief advantage for dual passport holders has been the ability to easily travel back and forth between Russia and Turkmenistan -- the average Turkmen would not find it anywhere near as easy to travel abroad.

Dubnov cites "informed sources" in Ashgabat that told him of a "new wave of panic" seizing Russians still left in Turkmenistan. The sources said, citing a registry in the Russian consulate, that there are about 120,000 people with dual Russian and Turkmen passports remaining in Turkmenistan. Prices on apartments have reportedly fallen by 30 percent, because people are trying to get out quickly and are selling their homes for a lower price. Parents who sent their children to kindergarten this fall found that they were required to indicate if they had Russian citizenship, and that fueled worries as well.

Rashid Meredeov, Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister, is rumored to have said to those in his close circle that "Russia has already ceased to be a factor in Turkmen foreign policy," Dubnov reports.

Ashgabat is still forced to deal with Russia in a variety of ways, from buying vehicles and machinery and food to still selling at least some gas and discussing some international projects. But clearly the Turkmen leadership doesn't feel any pressure any more to accommodate Russians in Turkmenistan or in the Kremlin. And Moscow isn't saying anything publicly about the problem, and seems to be letting its citizens fend for themselves.

The semi-official news service turkmen.ru announced yesterday, citing the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, that President Berdymukhamedov will visit Moscow on December 23.