Undercover in Turkmenistan | Full Documentary | TRACKS
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2018
- Deep in the heart of Central Asia lies one of the world’s most secretive countries - Turkmenistan. Run until recently by a crazy dictator whose megalomania spawned a personality cult to rival that of Chairman Mao, this unlikely desert republic has earned itself a grim reputation as ‘the North Korea of Central Asia’. But since no one is usually allowed in or out, the truth about Turkmenistan is impossible to separate from the rumours and the legends. Until now.
In this quirky and highly entertaining documentary, well-known critic Waldemar Januszczak journeys to Turkmenistan to investigate the myth of the now deceased Turkmenbashi the Great who retained absolute control over the country, forbidding photography, reporters, dogs, cinemas, circuses, car radios and ballet!
Posing as a tourist who goes to Turkmenistan for a stag weekend, Januszczak goes undercover in this bizarre country to separate the facts from the fiction. And he’s taken his camera with him…
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From "The Happy Dictator"
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Isolated and cut off countries have a habit of building hotels for literally no one.
Barry Baz
No.
@Barry Baz BS, it's hard as hell to get a visa even if you are a citizen of a bordering country. And even if you do have a visa, they have a habit for arbitrary border closures for no apparent reason every so often.
Marko Zlotov $200 a day isn’t too bad. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. And $1500 for a trippy week in some obscure dictatorship plus plane tickets is alright. My last trip in the US, I spent more a day on hotel, Uber rides and drinks and tickets to things to see.
@@sloppynyuszi I don't know how you are travelling but you have to know that if you change money on the black market rate in Turkmenistan you get 16 TMT for 1 USD instead of the official 4 TMT which makes everything hilariously cheap. For 4 days there I've spend ~100 USD including hotel, a trip to the Gate to Hell in Darvaza by Bus and Jeep and a train ride to the Uzbek border while dining in restaurants every evening. The flight was 40 USD Berlin - Moscow (Aeroflot) and 120 USD Moscow - Istanbul - Ashgabat (Turkish Airlines). I returned by land (train where possible) back to Germany throw UZ, TJ, KG, KZ and RU. Also, I've spent ~1500 USD for a 4 weeks trip throw USA and Canada in 2018 including flights from Germany so it also depends on the travel style I guess.
@@zlot555 it used to be even cheaper for locals as they had government subsided shops where they had limited choice of goods, yet everything was outlandishly cheap. Like a kilo of flour would cost something less than 10cents. Now these shops have constant shortages and market prices are out of reach for many people.
me: "mom, I want DPRK!"
mom: "we have DPRK at home"
dprk at home:
?
FRIENDLY JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN a joke about North Korea. The kid wants an item they have at home (North Korea) but the mom says they already have it at home. At home they have a different but usually worse version of the product, in this case (Turkmenistan.) That being said and despite the monarchy in place the people of this country seem very happy and healthy. Unlike DPRK or North Korea the people actually seem well fed and the normal citizens actually seem content.*
every time I read "DPRK" without fail, I *always read it as "koreurrrrr" in the voice of the North Korean that's giving commentary over state propaganda from Shane's guide to North Korea documentary!*
no idea why that's what has stuck with me the most from that documentary, but it is, and I'll forever hear "koreurrrrr" in my head each and every. single. time..
lmfao
@Alex Hendel Same here 😆.
Should be the other way around lol.
I lived there for 2 years for work in Balkanabat from 2009 to 2011. Interesting country. Nice people, troubled government.
Jack de Gier I bet the rooms are nice there
The women are quite attractive
Got the opportunity of flirting with women?
metfan099 I knew a girl in school who was Turkmen. She was very pretty.
@@daniellopez9622 i talked to one online, they are both beautiful amd great women
im surprised he didnt change the flag to his face...
Lmao
:DDD
A narcissist I supposed. Only a dictator would understand his mindset.
He was replaced by his dentist , because he thought his son is not good enough.
I thought that was good thinking on his part.
Barry Baz
I’ve got some real bad teeth ,
Mycel
No ! I was generous with the nicotine rather.
He did not even get nepotism right...
@@itmkoeln
Well ,apparently his relatives were all idiots, so no need of any of that
the dentist believed to be his son too
They look happier and healthier than the people in North Korea.
I have to say the Turkman women are beautiful.
They probably are healthier, but they are just as oppressed
Not sure if y'all heard that part about free water, almost free utility bill and super cheap gas..
They may not make much money or get to play loud music in their car or getto go to ballet..
But I'd sacrifice that as long as my basic necessities are met and live in a community of relative equality...
USA has a huge income disparity gap and sadly the majority of the super wealthy realize money doesn't buy happiness... Only content to a certain extent
they look happier and healthier than the people in America
North Korea doesn't set the bar very high.
He's got every reason to smile - he owns the country.🤔
And before he became a dictator he was a dentist, so he has to show off those pearly whites.😆
@@AviationNut No. This is Turkmenbashi. Not the current president.
He died in 2006…
Lukashenko: 🤭🤭
@@tomaszzalewski4541 Lukashenko: Why can't I do this in my country?
5:33 I feel kind of bad for the soldier, who almost dropped his weapon, was filmed doing so, and even unknowingly showed his face to the camera 😨.
Who knows its a part of intentional comedy! ;)
@Nick 111 Could be 😆.
Rest in F, the SKS, dropped by some guard who just tripped lol
@@bmhater1283 The Guard: 💀
I went to Turkmenistan for a vacation back in 2018, & none of the Niazov-era restrictions mentioned in this video still existed. It's undoubtedly still an authoritarian state, but there are no real restrictions on tourists.
Of course the Niyazov era restrictions didn't exist since his sucessor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow erase the restrictions (although it's still authoritarian) , this happened after 2006, the year when Niyazov died and I think this was recorded 2006 or before that.
Can u permanently live there if ur a US citizen
bs go say somethings againts berdimuhhamdow you will end up in jail for ever
@@bijikurdistan6962 nope they will send you to turkey
I smell a filthy rat
This is very fascinating. This is a country that you don’t often hear about, and it’s nice to learn about it.
This must be from 2006. The football shirt he is wearing is the Reading shirt from 2006-07 campaign, and Niyazov died in december 2006, which means it has to be from fall 2006.
Indeed, today the nation has a new Great Leader, a former dentist now playing dictator.
Revolutionary Socialist Media
Yeah, that just another oblivious zionist puppet.
of course it is because he doesn't mention the president's death, which was in 2006
@@awesome220the last few seconds of the program mention that he died a few months after filming
@@NG-cf7zh and it took a while after that for the English speaking world to confirm whether or not it was a hoax right when this first came out.
Since 2006, Turkmenistan is ruled by The Dentist.
Revolutionary Socialist Media what do you mean?
@@Oikofugix IT IS LITERALLY RULED BY FORMER DENTIST
John Oliver did a programme (Last Week Tonight) on this ex-Dentist a few years back. What do you think of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow?
Free electricity, water, petrol 2 cents, now that's what a dictator should be like.
Viktor Yep!
Fascinating. I found it odd that so many people speak English.
Benefits of a free education system
yeah I guess so, but they're quite keen on keeping as good of a global standing as possible, so I'm assuming part of the reasoning behind everyone speaking fairly good English is because 'they' think that if they're able to speak to the worlds biggest geopolitical players in English, that'll help ease any sanctions/bad feelings directed towards them due to how poorly they're treating their populous.
again, it's just a hunch & not really based on any hard facts. as hard facts about this country are much like the case with the DPRK; nigh impossible to actually obtain any facts about what they're like and, at the very best, you're going to get incredibly shaky and unreliable intel about the ongoings in-country.
(at least at the time it's gotten slightly better information wise with the death of Niyazov but really, not all that much better if at all really. still not liked by the rest of the world and they're still stupidly insanely secretive! perfectly unbalanced: as all modern era dictatorships should be!!!
@@unfortunately_fortunate2000 free housing, free education, free electricity, free water, gasoline at 2 cents a liter and you think they are treating their population poorly?
One in millions
Only in a capitol. No Russian or English in rural area.
"The one thing he doesnt like is foreign journalist that record his country without telling, thats exactly what we are going to do."
*T H U G L I F E* 🚬😎
I really wish the filmmaker had blurred out the faces of some of the people showing him around. I'm sure it didn't go well for them when this came out.
Agreed.👍
My thoughts exactly
@ETOPS Proof?
@ETOPS You probably should research the meaning of the word "definitely". It does not mean what you think it means.
yea
North Korea's stoner brother.
Were you aware marijuana is legal in North Korea?
*Gay brother
@@topixfromthetropix1674 how progressive, medical marijuana for north Koreans. By the way meth is legal there too
Did you know , the government give free houses to the people of Turkmenistan ??
Do you know there is no homeless in Turkmenistan but you can see lots of homeless on the streets of western countries !!!!
Do you know a pint of beer coats 2 pence in Turkmenistan but you have to pay £6:50 !!! and also you heard Gaz, water, electricity are free in Turkmenistan but in your countries , in the winter the people sleep under 5 duvets because they can't afford to pay their utility bills.
Alec cayebi turkmenistan is honestly a good county, besides a few strange things.
That female guide at the museum/ art gallery was really pretty. And for all the criticisms levelled against Turkmenbashi we must also credit him for keeping out radical Islam and keeping alive Turkmen culture.
None of the central Asian countries other than Tajikistan have radical islam
@@sbm1994 No... because the more repressive you are, the more counter-reaction you will get. For example, Ataturk did good, but he failed to provide an alternative interpretation of Islam... thus he was viewed as unIslamic. Instead of repressing, Muslim governments should provide an alternative interpretation to radical Islam. As to your second question, I am sorry I cannot answer as I am not a Tajik.
i actually find turkmenistan to be a pretty nice country, they have some strange rules, but the people there genuinely seem happy. this compared to north korea is a dream land.
You are only looking at the capitol. Can you imagine the rural aread
Did you see the rural areas? They look boned out. I think the country had a budget crisis and food shortages as well. I don’t know why the narrator tried to soften the country’s image at the end, but it is a horrible place to live. Probably only seeing a small percentage of well off urbanites. North Korea isn’t exactly setting the bar very high either
They seem happy because these are literally actors on place. Notice there's zero citizens anywhere they are at????
@@jonathansoko5368 no man I am from there, happiness comes from Turkmen culture, while government comes from Soviet Union, still ex KGB mentality, people always find a way to laugh and crack a joke
I felt the same. Im happy to see there’s no genocide. Jus strict.
I can feel the embarrassment of the soldier who dropped the riffle
My thoughts, exactly.
Drinking game: Take a shot everytime he says Turkmenbashi
I am now dead
Liver failure
the guy loves him self
Both.
Isnt that what everyone says to do now adays? Love yourself? Lol
llewellyn williams so what? As if you don't love yourself?
MOST dictators tend to be narcissists! 🤣
@@mrconfusion87 which dictator wouldn't be a narcissist?
Drew Binsky visited recently and it is still same
I would love to get the English edition of Turkmenbashi's book for my personal political library.
It's on Amazon I'm pretty sure
This is proving to be one of the most refreshing pieces of journalism that I've watched in a while (all the best programs and docs are either disturbing or enraging. Ideally both 😐).
What a bonkers country - I'd read a bit, but clearly I'd missed out on the best parts 🍻
The upbeat music at the end when it said he died caught me off guard 💀
It's a beautiful country. Was proudly the Turkmen SSR within the USSR. Those who love laid back places and good, unspoilt nature may consider going to Turkmenistan 🇹🇲
what was the song that was playing in this documentary??
@@mdisteakjami7159 at what time stamp exactly, please?
This was wonderful! As stated in the majority of the comments, everything's relative. The people in this honest film,don't give me the impression they're unhappy. Especially the absence of rubbish plays a huge role and respect seems to have real value here. Furthermore it occurred to me that quite a few people speak English over there, which i find rather odd for such a distant place. Definitely not the image they try to portray. A bit wacky? Sure, but isn't Vegas or New York or Paris, London etc not wacky either? I mean, come on, who are we westerners to decide what's weird? Thanks for posting this eye-opening documentary 😉
I have just watched some U tubers filming quite openly there . They didnt go into the history of the country .
They did visit Merv ( probably the wrong spelling ) ,as well as a very empty capital . Few cars and people eventually meeting and joining in with a wedding party . The children they met spoke a little English as the were taught it at school . Its interesting to see both videos as they had great fun there
That was a glowing report. I imagine the president watching this with his translator and I think he would be pleased. Especially considering you took the time to read his book and show the country in a positive way.
Have seen this doc for 3 times just to have fun 👍🏻
Man, I like him. I don’t know why but I do. I want to go to TURKMENISTAN 🇹🇲
i have this weird fascination with the country and I would love to see an updated documentary about how it is today with Arkadag
Thank you for this fine work!
This was informative, insightful and funny. Not often I see a great documentary that also makes me laugh.
Kim Jong Un: makes executions, treats himself as a god , places his pictures in mostly everywhere in the north korea, makes his evil rules.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow: * takes notes *
@@rft9776 He will eventually! 🤣
oh well according to 8:41 Brazil has been denied the chance to read the great words of Ruhnama
denmark too :D
Lucky lucky...
34ey5 drift im from denmark
Bizarrice...mas a cidade de ashgabat eh demais
Chile too
Stag Weekend in Turkmenistan?
Advice to travelers: Do not go around the world with preconceived notions. Be open-minded and learn to appreciate other cultures.
If I were to go to North Korea per se, I'd have the preconceived notion that at any time I might somehow end up in a concentration camp there.
It would be helpful to put in the description the date of this documentary. 2006, btw.
I'm here for more John Oliver's cake
I highly enjoy the way you guys film docs.
that was great ! thanks alot
If I had known Waldemar Januszczak was the host of this episode, I would have clicked on it instantly. Please don't hide him, as he is what makes any program, with him in it, the BEST!
So well said.Same thing happened to me
Good Informative Video.. Thank You 👍😍
This is great! I loved it!
Looks like a beautiful place. I would like to know more about the food culture.
I never knew we had another North Korea
Turkmenistan seems like a decent country but I can say surely they have even better people
Great video, had me transfixed from beginning till end, very interesting.
Very Nice and well done I'm a big fan of Turkmanbashy 😂 gonna look for his book I have a good idea what the content will be Qadafi has a similar book 😂
I don’t know, this place seems like one of the more benign dictatorships I’ve heard of. If you live in the more developed parts of Turkmenistan it seems like you could live pretty happily as long as you don’t disagree with the government publicly or take part in any protests. Living out in the middle of nowhere however, that sounds like it would be very boring. Plus I’d also wager that the standards of living are a lot poorer there, but that’s part of life for nomadic folk. I’d be interested to know about the standards of health care in Turkmenistan.
Well, still not the level of Belarus
I love this video, dude cracks me up
Best documentary hands down 🙌 this needs more views
How the heck does one just switch rooms in a Turkmen hotel without the staff knowing? And, if they *_DO_* know, doesn’t that kind of defeat the whole purpose of fooling the government officials? Plus, wouldn’t the staff get kind of suspicious as to why they are switching rooms so often? 🤔
Simo Heinonen Exactly what I wondered too, and if every room is bugged then what difference does it make...
@@fromspace7 they probably did nothing, they said it to make a bigger suspension
@Adrijus Rimavicius That would honestly make more sense.
He probably went into each of his friends’ rooms to record each night as he’s assuming that each bugged room has a different person listening on the other end. The thinking is that he’s tricking each one in to thinking he’s having a one off general conversation or even talking to himself so that they don’t think he’s a journalist. If he recorded every night in the same bugged room by talking about how ludicrous the dictator is, they’d figure out pretty quickly he’s a journalist.
@@MultiLiam24 Yeah, probably 🤔.
The documentary fails to mention, President Saparmurat Niyazov passed away in 2006, having lived only 66 years. Then arrived President Gurbanguly who ruled till 2022 and now his son, Serdar Berdimuhamedow is President, the 3rd leader of this nation since 1991. It could be that TRACKS purchased this documentary from someone else. No one was uploading such videos on UA-cam in 2006 as far as I know.
It never ceases to amaze me the crazy things man will do to stay in power!
Extremely interesting.
Thank you.
I stopped there when going to India the airport was gold
Interesting place and enjoyable and entertaining watch
This is amazing... Thank you.
Amazing documentary and commentary
Such a good documentary
At least the dictator is spending money on people.I did not see homeless people on roadside, drunk lying outside the pubs,or intravnous drug users as we see in America.The roads were more cleaner than we see in New York city.
well done! enjoyed your dialogue!
Love it!
Try to learn more about Muammar Gaddafi , he was not a dictator at all
I agree. Kind of odd for the host of this show to completely discredit himself with an odd comment like that at the beginning of the documentary.
@@markham5800 this was years before clinton destroyed the country and the entire fallout that came afterwards. before that most people (in usa atleast) were completely oblivious to his rule.
@florian eimer realy ? where did you hear about this ? From the american propaganda ? It is that enough for you?
Go to ask African people , they will tell you the truth .
Don't mind as long as they're happy, cost of energy almost free, and they got bunch of beauties...
The only thing that I agree on turkmenbashi with is banning circuses.
Clowns are getting a lot of bashing .
@@SI-ln6tc bruh lol
This editing is great.
Looks like he invested heavily into the countries infrastructure with a very artistic style.... blend of old world with new world. Architecture like this is rarely replicated in the west. It's what's possible when corporations don't invade a country and steal their resources.
He's got free energy structures old and new.
Not a bad video. Not a fan of the (typically) condescending British commentary though. Thank God everyone thinks I'm from somewhere else when I'm abroad 🤣
I agree. A decnt video, butvthe typical british is classic British leftism. Go to a coubtrybthey don't like and shout about it. Weird
@@garrybarry2268 "British Leftism" LMAO
@@garrybarry2268 I didn't see a problem at all. I mean it's meant to be semi comical/doco as well.
@@garrybarry2268 who weirdo
18:09 the black caviar in the video is 'imitation' made of fish-meat. The description is in Russian. So 25 pounds for those jars is not cheap - they sold you 'phoney' caviar, not comparable to the offering at Selfridges.
So Turkmenistan litterly rick rolled this guy.
@@SwagoIsntHere You mean trolled?
@@radimgabaj4263 Yeah. I meant to say trolled.
But you aren't allowed to bring them into the Uk for quarantine reasons or Turkmenistan won't let you take them?
Selamu Alekum
From a irapi Turkmen
Hi friend, what is the name of the song 18:40
@@Lubsana86 ua-cam.com/video/1_S-PPYnvbE/v-deo.html
Sorry i didn't have see your message
@@menturkmenem9595 do you live in Turkmenistan?
Ailekum Salaam from Scotland.
The narrator has a fabulous dry sense of humour.
He should have a series on mainstream TV
The guy driving claims there are eight different types of desert in Turkmenistan.
But it all looks the same to me.
It´s a very long drive, which give me plenty of time to attack the Ruhnama.
Beautiful lines.
Very nice documentary
This is a wonderful documentary.... bravo. .
The women look genuinely relaxed and happy (with a relaxed attitude to the arbitrary make-up ban i see)
Its Turkmen culture, default mode is optimism howver government is still former Soviet Union remnants hence dictatorship
great video wish there where more things shown like schools and peoples neighborhoods,looks like the people are happy and a country that bans war well that speaks volumes
This whole film crew consists of legends!
It looks beautiful to me. The host was condescending in my opinion. The leader and his self-obsession is not a reflection of the history, rich culture or the people of a nation. (Turkmenbashi looked like Wayne Newton on that bottle🤣)
Yes, but he opened up in the latter bit
But dictators deserve condescension by the A-380 load. What else do they deserve, apart from overthrowing?
yes thank you!! I really dislike this western (specifically native english speaker) 'ohh look at my extremely risky trip into the land of these primitive people' style of reporting
Michael Jones Thats why I said it was how he “came across”. I could’ve misinterpreted, I admit that but to me he had an attitude about him.
As a Muslim even I think it still feels wrong to call Turkmenistan an Islamic country, but I can see that the leader takes some fundementals from the Quran and the prophet's sayings, later puts them in his own book, albeit in a very absurd way.
As Bill Wurtz would say: "We could make a religion out of this!"
Does it make you angry how he basically blasphemies your religion worse than anyone else?
I’ve actually wanted to visit this place for awhile. I ride horses and they are known for their Akhal Teke horses, so I’ve wanted to do a horse trekking trip through here.
Good luck, you can't even enter the country unless you're on a government ran tour that doesn't include horses and only includes the main city.
@@ajack1889 not entirely true. There are a few companies that have government approval for horse trekking tours! A friend of mine went a few years ago and had a blast.
@@ajack1889 In most cases, that would probably be true. However, there are always exceptions; like, how a group of motorists from New Zealand managed to make a motorcycle-tour across the Korean Peninsula, from Mount Paektu to Jeollanam-do, at the tip of South Korea, across from the Jeju Island.
Nice doccie...well narrated
You are killing me ,man ,with that photo of the president ,every 5 min....😁
Imagine living in this countries and seeing this face 24/7
This video resetting my thoughts
I think 🇹🇲 is better then 🇰🇵
Thanks 🙏
I call it NoKor-lite!
Would rather go here than NK.
Turkmenistan banned car radios.
A bit later, off driving around listening to the car radio.
Obviously not banned, then.
he was in the desert alone nobody would hear it lol
You know that things can be done illegally? I can use a banned drug; me using it doesn't make it legal.
After desert arrival don’t you guys think they have a radio lessoning police .
Rd police : did u lesson to the radio?
Driver : no sir
I didn’t saw a police man just accept those guard who dropped the gun . How they gonna find out who lessoned to radio .
@@Mggames-ds5dm The guides were approved by the government, so I think if it was a law, they wouldn't be guides anymore.
Hhhmmm . . . how was that Caviar? Great channel 📺
My dad traveled to Ashgabat as a guest of the leader & his hotel room was bugged, camera’s memory card removed by secret service, and calls listened to.
Your country doesnt monitor your calls or internet activities? ....
Idk this place looks dope af to me
Me too man!!
Same. It’s good to see they’re not chasing after that fast life.
I came here because I was tootling around Turkmenistan on Google maps, which doesn't have street view but has a some photos. I was surprised at how modern a lot of it was. I "landed" in front of a cafe and the signage was in English. Probably because of English-speaking businesspeople. The inside was very welcoming. I think that was in Mary. All the restos I saw were impressive, and the carpets are crazy! But I was surprised this didn't mention what I saw most commented on: you hardly see anyone on the street. One reason given was actually a result of the free fuel: people keep their ovens on all the time to conserve matches needed to light the ovens. So when fuel is free, matches become scarce?! I guess every home had to have someone there to tend to it. Really strange! BTW I also read that some of the free stuff had been discontinued with the new president.
Strange Country.Strange vedio.
I heard it’s too hot to be outside until nightfall then everyone comes out.
Interesting documentary.
Greetings from Egypt ❤ extremely nice documentary ❤ very funny as well 😂
I Spent almost 3 months in Ashgabat... Fascinating place!
Chris Pacitti how did you get the chance to do that?
Did you work for the president?
14:27 the music from the battle scenes in Final Fantasy 7 ? LOL
We should all be aware that it is definitely my actions and yours that contribute to the economic growth and economic excellence of Turkmenistan....So develop and prosper your country
Well done!
The current president is similar to the one in this video. For a new country it will be difficult to stay peaceful unless you have a dictator as a leader. He is working for his people for example building TAPI which is a gas pipeline that will take Turkmen gas an export it to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. A new rail line connects it to the Afghan province of Faryab which can then be connected to South Asia. He wont be in power forever, but at least he is working on big projects that will generate billions for his country.
Looks like a really nice and quite country beautiful marble citi would love to visit😎
All the white marble reminds me of Pakistan. All the rich upper and middle class people had slabs of marble on the exterior of there mansions. I was totally shocked. If you ever go to Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Multan you will be surprised.
I lived there for 1 and half year in Balkanabat ..wored on a power plant this place qwas called Nebitdag before ...Great moments with great people ..Some of the Women are wonderful!
26:33 GÓRALUUUU CZY CI NIE ŻAL :D
a Polish song sung in Niyazov's Turkmenistan, wow I'm so amazed