State media in Turkmenistan reported that President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a decree awarding financial assistance and valuable gifts to veterans of the Second World War “on behalf of the head of state.” Although such wording has become common in official propaganda, it raises an important and uncomfortable question: why is state-funded assistance presented as a personal gift from the president? In any democratic and law-based system, support for veterans, pensions, and social benefits are obligations of the state toward its citizens. These are public funds formed through the state budget and national resources. A president is a temporary public official, not the owner of the country or its treasury. However, in Turkmenistan, state institutions have for years been overshadowed by a growing cult of personality. Every positive development is portrayed as a “gift” from the president: apartments, salaries, bonuses, humanitarian aid, equipment, and even social payments. This creates the impression that citizens must feel gratitude not toward the state, but toward one individual who supposedly “graciously allowed” the use of public resources. This narrative appears especially cynical against the backdrop of the real living conditions faced by many elderly people and veterans in Turkmenistan. Complaints continue regarding extremely low pensions, shortages of medicine, poor healthcare services, rising prices, and severe social difficulties in the regions. Yet instead of openly discussing systemic problems, official propaganda focuses on promoting an image of the president as the sole benefactor and protector of the people. Another logical question follows: if the state is identified with the president, then who bears responsibility for poverty, mass labor migration, corruption, the absence of an independent judiciary, and ongoing social problems? When all achievements are attributed to one person, responsibility for failures and crises should logically also be personal. The memory of veterans of the Second World War deserves genuine respect and dignified support. However, honoring veterans should not become a political instrument used to strengthen a personality cult or glorify one ruler. Assistance to veterans is not an act of personal generosity — it is the responsibility of the state toward those who endured war and sacrificed for future generations. Source: TURANNEWS TV / official Turkmen state media.
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