Turkmenistan’s president unveils giant golden dog statue in the nation’s capital
Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has unveiled a new statue in the nation’s capital, Ashgabat — a golden monument to the Alabai dog breed, otherwise known as the Central Asian Shepherd. According to state media, the Turkmenistani president — who is well-known for his love of this type of dog — came up with the idea for the monument and oversaw its construction himself.
On Tuesday, November 10, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov unveiled a giant, golden dog statue during the opening of a residential complex in the nation’s capital, Ashgabat. According to the state news agency Turkmenistan Segodnya, the buildings clearly pale in comparison to the president’s monument to the Alabai breed.
The statue stands about 50 feet (15 meters) high: it’s made up of a 30-foot (9-meter) pedestal and a 20-foot (6-meter) Alabai. The pedestal includes a built-in video screen that shows videos featuring this breed of dog. According to Turkmenistan Segodnya, the statute was Berdymukhamedov’s personal brainchild:
The initiative to erect a monument to the dog — thereby showing respect and reverence for the unparalleled courage and big, kind hearts of these wonderful animals, underscoring their role in the historical fate of the nation and the place they occupy in the life of the people — belongs to the head of Turkmenistan. A special character trait of the Alabai is dignity, a self-confidence which is conveyed very expressively in the new monument.
Turkmenistan’s president is well-known for his love of this dog breed: in 2017, he gave an Alabai puppy named “Verny” (Loyal) to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a gift. In 2019, he gave another puppy to Russia’s then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev; this time, he left the dog’s name up to its new owner — Medvedev named it Ike. Berdymukhamedov published a book titled “The Turkmen Alabai” in September of last year, simultaneously releasing a song with the same title.
According to the online outlet Snob, Berdymukhammedov personally oversaw the construction of the Alabai statue in Ashgabat, as seen in the video below.