Cover of Inside Central Asia

Book · 2011 · History

Inside Central Asia

A Political and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Iran

by Dilip Hiro · Recommended by 1 person on 1 podcast

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Here's the book inside Central Asia. Inspired by what he believed to be a semi- divine revelation. He decreed that the life of a Turkman consisted of nine stages of 12 years each.
Robert Evans · Behind the Bastards · Mar 2019 Listen at 11:44

Why people recommend it

Inside Central Asia by Dilip Hiro is a comprehensive geopolitical history tracing the modern development, political transitions, and distinct cultures of the region's nations. On Behind the Bastards, Robert Evans cited the book extensively across a two-part series on Saparmurat Niyazov, the eccentric dictator known as Turkmenbashi who ruled Turkmenistan with absolute authority. Evans relied on Hiro's work to describe the dictator's grandiose and bizarre modernization projects in Ashgabat, which involved demolishing central neighborhoods to construct lavish white marble palaces, green-tinted glass structures, and massive monuments dedicated to Niyazov and his parents. Furthermore, Evans used the book to explain Niyazov's bizarre ideological decrees, including his pseudoscientific division of human life into distinct twelve-year stages inspired by supposed semi-divine revelations. The text also provided crucial context regarding the commemorative complex erected in the dictator's home village of Gipjack, which featured a mosque inscribed with quotations from both the Quran and Niyazov's own spiritual guide, the Ruhnama. Finally, Evans turned to Hiro's concluding analysis to summarize the ultimate legacy of the autocrat, pointing out that his sudden death from heart failure was ironically viewed as a positive development for the nation.

Every mention

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Robert Evans Here's the book inside Central Asia. Inspired by what he believed to be a semi- divine revelation. He decre… 4
Discussed
“Here's the book inside Central Asia. Inspired by what he believed to be a semi- divine revelation. He decreed that the life of a Turkman consisted of nine stages of 12 years each”
Discussed
“Here's how the book inside. It was a wise choice. It was really the thing I've agreed with the most that he's done is dying of heart failure. Uh, here's how the book Inside Central Asia sums up his legacy.”
Discussed
“According to the book inside central Asia by Dilipiro, quote, "Modernizing Ashkabbat meant raising many central neighborhoods to create a network of boulevards with lavish palaces of white marble and green tinted glass dotted with ma massive fountains and statues of Nazov and his parents”
Discussed
“According to the book inside central Asia Nazav erected a commemorative complex in his home village of Gipjack conceived as a symbol of the rebirth of the Turkman nation which included a mosque whose walls carry quotations from the Quran as well as the Runama.”