The Goktepe battle commemoration goes beyond nationalism
By Régis Genté
On last Saturday, it was the “National Day of Remembrance” (Hatyra güni) of Turkmenistan. That holy day is celebrated on the day of the fall of the Goktepe fortress in 1881, on January 12th, when Turkmen tribes were defeated by Russian Tsarist army. President Berdimuhamedov attended funeral service in the Goktepe mosque, completed in 1995, by the French construction company Bouygues, and named “Saparmyrat Haji Mosque” after the first President performed the Hajj pilgrimage in 1992. Turkmen TV showed President Berdimuhamedov knelt in the huge mosque, with his “chapka” (Russian fur hat) screwed on his head. Later, cameras followed him at the memorial meal, to which hundreds of Turkmens participated, in traditional costume or dress.
