Cult of Berdymukhammedov

The rotating Turkmenbashi may have come down, but new statues are going up:

"Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov last week unveiled a new statue of his father, Malikguly Berdymukhammedov.

"The statue, which depicts the president's father sitting in an armchair with his hat on his lap, has been erected at Turkmenistan's Military Academy.

"It's not the first time Berdymukhammedov has honored his family members with a statue. Last September, a bust of the president's grandfather, Berdymukhamed Annaev, was unveiled in his native village of Yzgant...

"Berdymukhammedov doesn't have a giant gold statue of himself yet, but he has managed to author several books on medicine and Turkmen history and traditions."

We still need to see how far this goes, but the situation depresses me no matter what.