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The Turkmen president erected a 6-meter-tall golden statue in honor of his favorite dog breed, reports the BBC. The costs of this monument were not disclosed.
The statue was unveiled on Tuesday by Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and depicts an Alabay dog. The monument is located in a residential area for state employees in the capital Ashgabat.
The local press, considered by Reporters Sans Frontieres to be the most oppressed in the world – even the North Korean press is considered freer – wrote that the statue displays “pride and confidence” in the race. The base of the statue is surrounded by screens that broadcast videos with Alabay dogs.
The Alabay dog breed is the Turkmen variant of an Asian shepherd dog, introduced to the country’s cultural heritage.
This isn’t the first time Berdymukhamedov has expressed his admiration for this dog breed. A book dedicated to the Alabay breed was launched last year.
Despite the monument’s size, most of Turkmenistan’s population lives in poverty.
In 2015, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov unveiled a statue in which he appears on horseback, cast in bronze and polished with 24-karat gold.
Berdymukhamedov has been in power in Turkmenistan since 2006. He subsequently won the 2012 elections with 97% of the votes, the same as in 2017.
Publisher: VM
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