Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

Turkmenistan, 1924–1991. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in Central Asia. Initially, on 7 August 1921, it was established as the Turkmen Oblast of the Turkestan ASSR before being made a separate republic of the USSR as the Turkmen SSR. On 22 August 1990, the republic declared its sovereignty over Soviet laws. On 27 October 1991, it became independent as Turkmenistan.

Seat of power: Ashgabat

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

In 1881, the Russians under General Mikhail Skobelev besieged and captured Geok Tepe, one of the last Turkmen strongholds, northwest of Ashgabat.
The city of Ashgabat was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924 when it was known as Poltoratsk.
The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west.

Picture

Ashgabat is the capital and largest city of Turkmenistan, lying between the Karakum Desert and the Köpetdag mountain range.

Image: John Pavelka from Austin, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.