Turkmenistan: The World’s Wackiest Dictatorship?

Explore the untold story of Turkmenistan! From President Berdimuhamedov's surprising rap skills to the nation's hidden truths, journey through history, culture, and the struggles of a quiet nation.

[@YoutubeBorkedMyOldHandle_why]

It never fails to amaze, just how much of the World's population is at the mercy of a mere handful of brutal despots.

[@primesspct2]

I know! I have laughed at his egotism and over the top antics. It is impossible not too, But lets never forget how people suffered under him. At their mercy is right. Another Kim J.

[@jeffreywickens3379]

The USA is becoming that. Look at all the crimes a certain Presidential candidate has been accused of.

[@Inesophet]

Far more people live in dictatorships than democracies now, and the trend is rapidly towards the abyss of totalitarianism for the remaining democracies. What you think is going to happen when hundreds of bloodthirsty power-hungry psychopaths are suddenly faced with the effects of global warming, economic collapse, food and water shortages and a dying species? They are going to tear the world apart and humanity both in the spiritual and physical sense will be extinct.

[@nelsonpereira4442]

true... just look at usa, RUSSIA, and UK, it's amazing how many people live in a distopian authoritarian regime.

[@timt5381]

​@@nelsonpereira4442 Russia has a dictator and no running water. The western world has real elections and human rights. And 100% running water, both hot and cold! Russia only has Cold and Contaminated Cold, and only half the citizens get that much choice

[@eleanorofaquitaine1201]

I personally don't like so much use of AI generated images, but I appreciate that this channel labels them. Thank you :)

[@dwighthm3087]

Completely agree, I despise the AI images. They add no context and are distracting. If an actual image isn't available (or decent stock footage) I prefer the camera just stay on Simon's glorious dome.

[@irenafarm]

The “we asked chat GPT to show us X” bits are hilarious. Plus, remember that ironically generated images like those, sabotage the future functionality of AI.

[@CC-gg4oj]

A few of the faces had duck bill noses...

[@Hollylivengood]

What AI images?

[@MutenR1]

Agreed. Thanks for the labels but would prefer if you leave the ai images out of future videos.

[@NapoleonicWargaming]

I like the walk of health. We should force our politicians to do it while we all watch on TV

[@mommat1306]

Term limits implemented! Yeah. Let’s do it.😅

[@athenarocks7657]

@@mommat1306tbh I think one of their aids would just go full Weekend at Bernie’s with whichever ones collapse.

[@SmolPotatowo]

@@mommat1306 Survival of the fittest let Darwin sort it out.

[@magnetiktrax]

Trump would take a golf cart.

[@AndrewHalliwell]

In our case, it'd be "Walk the Pennine Way."

[@van_trippin5260]

I used to work with Turkmenistan Airlines, their reps used to come over with books just full of pictures of horses we were supposed to swoon over, very weird meetings

[@Nick-rs5if]

Sounds goofy as hell 😂

[@van_trippin5260]

We were warned before the meetings. Was really odd, they stood back and watched like proud parents as we looked at the pics. I worked for DHL at the time@@Nick-rs5if

[@sarahissersohn5495]

To be fair, horses are pretty cool

[@Big_Caesar1]

Their love of horses is probably the least weird thing about their country, i admire it actually

[@van_trippin5260]

Loving horses is fine, we have them in the family. These people are beyond obsessed. Creepy levels of 'love' that you are expected to share in. This was a business tripand that was what they show us?!@@Big_Caesar1

[@meganrobinson9867]

A video on Eritrea would be fascinating

[@MyHolidayArchive]

Yeah, it’s often known in geopolitical circles as the North Korea of Africa.

[@mattkelley6267]

There’s a video about Eritrea on Simons Warographics channel

[@wolfzmusic9706]

​@@mattkelley6267i cannot find it

[@IHateMyAccountName]

Oliver Kylington's mom escaped from there and was shot on the way out. Managed to survive and has been in Sweden since escaping in the 90s.

[@matthewrogers2521]

Real Life Lore has an amazing video on the current state of Eritrea and their history with Ethiopia

[@Kaltagstar96]

If Turkmenistan wasn't such a horrific dictatorship, the over the top antics of their post independence leaders would be pretty funny, there are Bond villains who are less over the top.

[@ivanasukjadic1423]

Horrific?

[@AndrewMitchell123]

yep, who would have thought there exists a country and a dictator that would give Kim Jong Il and DPRK a run for its money 🤣😅😂

[@ricopeacedarer]

Remember trump, we are about to have that here.

[@EndsleyIV]

@@ricopeacedarerTrump is amazing. Not a dictator, he’s fixing our crap government and the government doesn’t want be fixed so they employ the media against him and his base (people like me) and portray us as an existential threat. In reality; we know the government (Congress) has a less than 10% approval rating. Why bother pretending they care about us? What are you preserving by allowing them to run the government? It’s Trump’s turn to flip their table. He tried to work with them his first term. His cabinet was filled with Swamp monsters. Now we don’t need them or want them. America after Trump will be glorious.

[@archstanton6102]

​@ivanasukjadic1423 Yes, horrific. Did you not listen to the video?

[@AntoekneeDetaecho]

On the plus side, no lip-syncing…

[@matthewmorton6520]

😆😆😆😆

[@roverdover4449]

This one got my attention too. Like, wait, that's not a bad thing...

[@karigilbert1984]

And no kids named blanket

[@timeflys3248]

Lol, that was the one I was like, Yeah, I get that. If you pay to see someone sing, they should be singing.

[@sircliffordmalcolmjac5870]

​@karigilbert1984 who knows, that might be a completely normal Turkmenistani name??😁😁🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@rashedusman9717]

I read about Turkmenistan in a book written by a journalist that visited Turkmenistan, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizistan and Kazahstan, and all I can say is that it's just amazing how much bullsh*t people can take in order to live another day.

[@shannawelch563]

What is the book?

[@rashedusman9717]

@@shannawelch563 Sovietistan by Erika Fatland.

[@angusmatheson8906]

​@@rashedusman9717 lmao her last name is FATLAND?!

[@rashedusman9717]

@@angusmatheson8906 She's norvegian, so I don't think her name has the same meaning as in english, but who knows?

[@wolfzmusic9706]

​@@angusmatheson8906it's not that funny, just a different surname

[@xeanderman6688]

One day I will find every Simon's channel

[@Yuhyuhmuhmuh]

What if this is AI 🤔🤔🤔?

[@cheekyb71]

He lists them in the description box of some of his videos - 14 I think there are? I subscribe to all the ones I know of!!

[@ivancho5854]

Ah, the optimism of youth. 😂

[@feckneddy]

No you won't, by the time you find them all he will have spawned more .

[@MrGoesBoom]

For every channel you find he's starting 2 more...the search will never end

[@tomcook5813]

“Look in my eyes, what do you see?…a cult of personality” 🎼🎼

[@mikeguilmette776]

Living Colour for the win!

[@daynawhitehead7611]

From the US: I can feel it

[@sircliffordmalcolmjac5870]

Like gurbanguli!!

[@thoughtsofeverythingoffical]

Thought the same thing when I heard that sing in my head I loved the music video when is was a kid

[@thebestcentaur]

CM Punk! CM Punk!

[@imyy4u1]

I travelled there a few years ago, and it was pretty crazy. Ashgabat is incredibly beautiful, but all the streets are totally empty and these vast plazas have nobody there. It's like you are touring the world's biggest outdoor museum in some ways. And there are crazy laws - it is illegal to have a dirty car, all cars should be white, no smoking outdoors (you can only smoke inside!), and other nonsense. That said, it was an experience to remember...kinda like traveling to the past 40 years ago where there were no cell phones or internet.

[@markkrull556]

Wow! Who flies there?

[@williampne]

I worked there for 3 months,crazy place

[@Albert-Arthur-Wison225]

Who would’ve thought ! Incredible ! The rest of the world is…FULL of countries & cultures that DON’T resemble Cincinnati or Luton ! Outrageous !

[@Crytica.]

I never wanna go to places where my money will directly go into some dictator's pocket that continues to use it for himself and his lackies and let's his people suffer.

[@williampne]

@@markkrull556 nobody flysheet there,there not allowed in unless you get an invitation letter from the president, that was the only way I was allowed in for 3 months to work on there ageing fleet of Boeing 717 aircraft,,people do fly to the magnificent empty airport,but they are ALL filed through tunnels to connecting flights.Its call the secret state,its just like North Korea,I could write a book.

[@amyblairkim6051]

I lived in Kyrgyzstan for five years, and I had a Scottish friend who had lived in Turkmenistan for over a decade after the fall of the USSR until the government kicked him out and he moved to Bishkek. He had such interesting stories to tell.

[@irenafarm]

Uzbekistan is unironically an amazing culture and country. Even though the only person I knew from there was a peak așśhole. He was clever and funny, though.

[@weearib]

You need to tell the stores I'm already hooked

[@ZhovtoBlakytniy]

My mother in law is from Kyrgyzstan but she's Ukrainian (thank Stalin). She has some interesting stories, my husband too, who visited family there often in the summer school days off. He was riding horses, drinking fermented horse milk, roughhousing with Kyrgyz kids, and got stuck in quicksand once. He said it took over a week to visit by train from Ukraine, the view was just flat steppe. People drink hot tea in the hot daytime to sweat and cool off. His mom grew up in a "zemelyanka" or dugout underground house while many Kyrgyz people lived in yurts (the roof of a yurt is featured on the flag). I have heard most of the non Kyrgyz citizens of former USSR left and returned to their ancestral homelands.

[@weearib]

Amazing 😍 you need to write them down and it would turn into a really good book

[@Nitemayr]

You really have to wonder what a Scottish person had to do at home to choose to live in a fallen Soviet State, or who they really worked FOR.

[@magnuszerum9177]

Those cotton fields are in the process of triggering a massive water crisis in the Aral Sea Drainage Basin.

[@User31129]

No, that's Uzbekistan.

[@magnuszerum9177]

@@User31129 There is blame to go around, but the canal that pulls water from the river in Basaga is a 100% Turkmenistan canal built by Soviets. It's a looming problem that doesn't have a lot of good answers. Just expensive ones that require long cooperative behavior among the -stans.

[@erueru2014]

@@magnuszerum9177 Dont worry, they will just pass a law making droughts ilegal

[@gailkarran3395]

We need to think about the day to day suffering. I'm a 53 year old woman, visited over 50 countries, but nothing ending in Stan. On international women's day, please think about the suffering of women all over the world.

[@ForelliBoy]

Again? (there is historical context)

[@GrievousReborn]

This video went from Brain Blaze to Into the Shadows

[@DroidAssembly]

with a lot of looking at the side of simons head

[@nixpuk75]

Must be going Places!

[@Jamietheroadrunner]

Does he ever sleep?

[@anthonyfries6622]

It's on places for me lol

[@GrievousReborn]

@@anthonyfries6622 I meant the tone of the video what did you think I was talking about? Unless this is supposed to be a joke response.

[@stenic10]

Turkmenistan was always one of those counties I saw in an atlas but knew nothing about until about a decade ago when I read a story about their ruler declaring that their new national sport would be ice hockey despite the fact most of the country is desert and they had 1 ice rink in the entire country, that sent me down a worm hole and just when you thought their rulers couldn't be more crazy you find out something new.

[@stenic10]

Just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder I found out this week about FK Arkadag, a football team created by Berdy snr a couple of weeks before the start of the 2023 season who then proceeded to win all 24 games to become champions. Unsurprisingly for a team owned by a former ruler of a totalitarian state they seemed to get alot of help from referees.

[@yurig2530]

​@@stenic10It's Wadiyya.

[@LongJohnLiver]

Rabbit hole

[@rossl1785]

I went to Turkmenistan in 2012 because I worked for a company that makes equipment for broadcast TV. They spent so much money on the new state TV station - pity you didn't mention that building and show a picture. All it broadcast (at the time) was about 6 hours a day of shows about horses and carpets plus a couple of news updates. Definitely different to any other country I've been to.

[@ZontarDow]

That doesn't sound worthy of mention

[@irenafarm]

I mean I’d definitely watch 6 hours of horse shows, particularly Turkmen horses. If they showed carpets being made by hand, I’d definitely watch that too. 🤔

[@cathylindeboo.9598]

The fetishes of the ruler?

[@Winston-lf7sb]

evil company doing business with them doe

[@kneau]

Was that before, during, or after news hosts were banned from wearing makeup on air?

[@Bubbaist]

Have you seen photos of the marble city at night? Think of Pyongyang and Las Vegas combined… without the people, of course.

[@jma00a1]

We had a guy go awol when i was in West Germany in the 1980s. He defected with his wife to the USSR . Well, after Russia made a big propaganda event out of it, they moved this guy Wade and his wife to Turkmenistan. His job, official village snake catcher. lol. He un(?) defected a few months later after realizing he fell for the USSR propaganda and the that the grass was significant less green on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

[@pewpew9193]

Can't be too bright to fall for commie propoganda in the first place.

[@LoveSpellzFB]

Russian propaganda is a hell of a drug

[@icedtea8547]

😂😂😂

[@marcob6880]

​@@LoveSpellzFB maga drinks it up like ambrosia

[@andypaulsibakoff9816]

Usch...the very prospect of being a village snake catcher in Soviet Turkmenistan is beyond any hitherto seen nightmare for an ophiophobe like me...🤣😂🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

[@SOME_WORDS]

Let me remind you that Turkmenistan is one of the former republics of the USSR. I served in the Soviet army in 1988 and saw Turkmen, Tajiks and other representatives of the region who did not know how to write their names. This is how it was - the great, powerful, educated USSR.

[@gambitacio]

Their names in their native language or their names in Russian?

[@SOME_WORDS]

I remember exactly that one of them simply did not know the Cyrillic alphabet and wrote the word “January” in Latin@@gambitacio

[@gambitacio]

@@SOME_WORDS That makes a bit more sense since their native language might have used a different language, but odd that they didn’t know Cyrillic when even other republics were “encouraged” to use it.

[@JohnSmith-tw6po]

I was in Turkmenistan a few months ago - the most surreal memory was seeing the newspaper about a New Year celebration and having the President badly photoshopped into the pageant with the shadows completely off. Also it's sort of weird seeing hijabs in the AI depictions of Turkmenistan - I didn't see anyone in a hijab even outside Ashgabat, not that I saw many people in Turkmenistan period.

[@Laeiryn]

ai thinks "stan" means Muslim country .... oops, all baked in bias!

[@TheOffkilter]

Yeah all the Central Asian Muslim states are pretty secular politically and culturally, Ive not been to Turkmenistan(why would I?) but based on my experiences in other places close by (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan) Id be surprised to see hijabs worn very often there either.

[@Ezizmuhammet1991]

​@@TheOffkilterYou will not see women with hijabs, but you will see women with fabric on their heads(i dont know the English name). It means that they are married. But Russian's dont wear them.

[@Native_Creation]

​@@TheOffkilter Hijabs are very common in central Asia (Uzbekistan/Tajikistan), especially during Ramadan. I was just in Samarkand last week. It's still a major part of the culture despite more secularization.

[@Native_Creation]

@@Ezizmuhammet1991 you're thinking of a burka/nurqab, which covers the face (more in Afghanistan), but Hijabs (the fabric on their head) are still very common in other Central Asian countries

[@cowzeylux]

I had a close family member go to Turkmenistan on a business trip they said that when they landed in Ashgabat they where the only people at the airport, other than staff members and it was like that with other places they went to. Just empty marble buildings with only a Skelton crew of staff members around. Ashgabat is a very interesting place to visit.

[@klm20079]

it's just visiting north korean even than you still see more people

[@joelewis1776]

So strange. If you don’t mind sharing, was the trip for industry? I’m curious about the dynamic of how insular they are contrasted with doing foreign business.

[@cowzeylux]

@@joelewis1776it was a insurance trip for covering a oil / natural gas plant

[@williampne]

I worked there for 3 months,had the same experience at the Airport, brand new Airport absolutely nobody in it but workers and police and guards,2 of us got off the plane and into that big beautiful empty Airport. Weird place,Just like North Korea

[@angelmartin7310]

​@williampne where are all the people?!

[@Styxswimmer]

One leader of that country was so crazy he authored a book and used a state fund to launch it into space.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

This. This is the kind of absurd facts I absolutely love. Thanks!

[@Styxswimmer]

@@goosenotmaverick1156 I like the trivial facts of history. Any idiot can tell you when hitler died, etc. But little factoids like the one above are obscure and fascinating

[@711jastin]

Average gamers when they play Simcity lmao

[@linus1703]

See I could get behind that if they used that to 'launch' a space program. Sending a book into space is not the worst way to start building the infrastructure for a space program. But odds are once this was done they just moved onto the next.

[@brianwings6908]

That was hardly the wackiest thing he did. He also renamed the months of the calendar after himself and his family.

[@patrickbo2045]

Not gonna lie, I don't enjoy the AI art in this video. Authenticity suffers drastically.

[@gustercc]

Not to be argumentative, but it really doesn’t bother me much. I like some of it. It’s pretty original in some examples. It knows what’s most appealing to the majority of human eyes, I would assume. Don’t get me wrong, I love original art, but I can appreciate the creation of AI art and the work it took to get to this point. And the mind blowing notion is that at this very moment, it’s at its worst and will only improve with every ticking of the clock.

[@ryanc473]

Yeah, there's an Archer episode where they go to Turkmenistan and I remembered when I watched it I was thinking, please, there's no way it's THAT insane... Only to Google it and find out that yeah, it's not THAT insane, it's like an entire order of magnitude more insane and Archer somehow undersold just how insane it is

[@ggregd]

Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction knows where to draw the line.

[@Laeiryn]

"How is the word for Friday, bread, snake, and this guy's dog ALL THE SAME???"

[@checkarpeat]

Gurpgork

[@KarldorisLambley]

which one of the archer family did that? didn't it interfere with the farming?

[@thejoshandcharles1]

​@@checkarpeatthe dog a snake or bread? Please draw a picture.

[@fathertimegaming17]

Couple years ago John Oliver did a long story on this guy. Still one of the best episodes he has ever done.

[@JABoyle3875]

If I had been in the audience that night for John Oliver, I would still keep a piece of that cake in my freezer.

[@vitoanania6042]

John Oliver was so good back then before drowning in the culture wars

[@saint-miscreant]

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov’s weird fascination with horses is still something that lives rent free in my brain 🥲

[@jedimindtrix2142]

​@vitoanania6042 lol "back then" like he's still not absolutely hilarious. Oliver has literally always been a cultural commentator. That is exactly how he built his persona and its exactly what he continues to do today. He doesn't always do a piece critical of society or politics. He's pretty good about being diverse in his subject matter. Except right now is as important as ever to participate and use whatever platform you have to advocate for democracy, freedom, our way of life. the continuation and safeguarding of our system from those who wish to destroy it from the inside is something we all need to be aware of. Oliver definitely brings awareness to things we should be talking about. What has he said that bothers you?

[@RochelleLang]

I know right?! I tried to work Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow into every conversation for a month! 😂

[@chiron14pl]

I've read a bunch on Central Asia, so I knew a bit about Turkmenistan, but this provided some good depth. Thanks, I learned a great deal

[@josephwait7384]

What did you read about Turkmenistan that didn’t focus on this?

[@chiron14pl]

@@josephwait7384 The history of the great cities of Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand

[@TheVideoNorm]

Same.

[@degzi]

Use actual pictures. Ai pictures are misleading

[@lawrencelile]

He can't! If he traveled to Turkmenistan, they'd throw him in prison just for showing the video of Our Fearless Leader falling off a horse, not to mention the rest of it.

[@jakoblarok]

At least he's labeling them. They aren't the best at depicting what they are asked to ('riot police and one without helmet grabbing bars' looked like you escaped a SWAT team by getting onto an antique elevator in a fabulous old hotel), and they are trained on materials by real artists (without said artists expression permission and payment). And they STILL have trouble with fingers, a lot of the time...

[@lepeotmit]

Once I was with a woman from Turkmenistan. She told me about this country a lot. Basically this country is the hell on earth! She flew all on her own to Germany because of the horrible circumstances there when she was just 20. In Turkmenistan they do force the people to speak the Turkmen language which is relatively close to Turkish. This state has spies literally everywhere. For example: If someone says that you are gay to any spy, the spies/cops will instantly catch and kill you because it is strictly forbidden to be gay anyhow in this country! This country is unfortunately very absurd! Nevertheless this woman impressed me very by how she made it in Germany. She learned the language very very well, she did put a lot of effort to integrate herself into the german system, she went to school and did her graduation here and is a woman with a big heart and a very nice personality! Maybe the nicest person I have ever met in my entire life!

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

Of course; it's not the "Turkmen culture" that is to blame for the unfortunate situation in their homeland... I'm glad that your friend took the brave opportunity to leave her home and make a new and reasonable life for herself in EU... Good for her! 👍❤️ I admire DEUTSCHLAND for taking in so many people from messed-up places. (Hungary is not so friendly, is it?)

[@mastermayday]

Sounds like paradise to me

[@FarmerClarence]

Until someone falsely accuses you of being gay, and you dont get a trial...​@mastermayday

[@FransceneJK98]

It’s basically like North Korea. Can’t decide which is worse

[@StinkyMonkey85]

I'm a bit worried that the use of AI depictions for topics that are not well-documented and for which images are difficult to come by (like photos of ordinary Turkmen in the capital) will lead to a feedback loop where these images will be shared and AI will inevitably use these as datasets to learn from. Also, I believe some images of Berdi were not labelled as AI depictions while obviously being so. I enjoy your channels, but please don't dumb down the internet with unnecessary use of AI.

[@alexpeltier3330]

I met two Turkmen men working abroad while shopping last year and mentioned the John Oliver segment and other information they might want to look up. And told them to see all that they could and go to the library while living here. I hope they're thinking, changing, and enjoying themselves.

[@hasinabegum1038]

Living were?

[@ggregd]

@@hasinabegum1038 You want him to literally put their lives in danger by answering this? Based on the information in this video it would seem any Turkmen working abroad would be closely monitored, and there can't be very many of them.

[@nimaiiikun]

the use of AI art brings down the quality of the reports

[@lucasroche8639]

The great dear leader Turkmanbashi in his golden wisdom decided that the people of his country needed to build the worlds largest shoe, the great man had his grateful people build a huge shoe that's larger than many small bungalows. Us poor deprived westerners need a great, level headed leader like that.

[@viktorsolovyov5067]

Once I saw a video about Turkmenistan it impessed me so much that I decided to move out of Belarus while I still have this opportunity

[@klm20079]

replace a reality facade for a uber fantasy facade

[@michaelallen8498]

Did you Go?

[@shinkicker404]

Where did you go?

[@NET-POSITIVE]

So you trade dictatorships and think you made a smart move??? Where you dropped on your head as a child to be that stupid?

[@emmysan93]

Ay we found the Turkmenistan propaganda bot he mentioned in the video!

[@peteduch2151]

I thought the president of north korea was crazy

[@Mk-qb2ny]

He is

[@cantsay2205]

Central Asia in general is just so fascinating to me.

[@ruaheadjunkee2]

Just watched the megaprojects video on fungal computers and now this and I'm definitely noticing the AI art stuff feels cheap. Not a fan of it. You mainly report on factual and current events, isn't most of the relevant imagery public domain?

[@ArkTrooper1994]

I must say the AI pictures disturb me I fiddled a lot with it especially in regard to historical depictions or sceneries and personally I find it lacking at best and misleading or outright wrong I can only suggest that the video editor reconsider it but hey, I'm but a comment in youtube 😄

[@JM-wf2to]

Totally agree.

[@Error_404-F.cks_Not_Found]

Also not a fan.

[@shawnmurphy806]

Not a fan either

[@Rachelpinter]

I used to work with a guy who was from Turkmenistan. Even though he was from there he always told us that we was Russian.

[@3x0ticContent]

Millions of ethnic russians live in Central Asian countries.

[@Rachelpinter]

@@3x0ticContent yeah that's what he told us. None of us knew that

[@irenafarm]

A lot of Muscovites and nationalist Russians absolutely _hate_ the people of the steppe countries. Even ethnically Slavic people who speak steppe languages are subject to the snobbery. It’s kind of bonkers since basically all “Indo-European” people came from the Asian steppes.

[@PredatoryQQmber]

@@irenafarm Cool chauvinist story, even starting with 'Muscovite' ethnic slur. The f00k would you know about Russians or how they feel?

[@ZhovtoBlakytniy]

​@@irenafarm Yep. And even if you speak russian with an accent you would be discriminated against, which is difficult not to do given that the RF is chock full of occupied nations and only a tiny area is the ancestral homeland muscovites.

[@hvitekristesdod]

I always knew of this place but never knew much about it. Thank you Simon!!

[@MarshalSmith1]

That "Archer" episode makes sooooo much sense now!!

[@redchief94]

Holy crap another Simon Whistler channel? How have I missed this? Is there a complete list of his channels somewhere?

[@Baddy187]

That list will be outdated the next day, like a map of Germany in the early 40's.

[@josephwait7384]

The internet doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle a list of Simons channels.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Yeah it's been fun finding new ones. I watch darn near every whistleboi video and never heard mention of "places" and "astrographics", and came across them organically lol Dude is so busy we can't even keep up 😂

[@kathyjaneburke2798]

Thanks for this, Simon & the crew.

[@drxym]

And whatever source they plagiarised their info from

[@rorymacaskill4419]

Is no one going to talk about the 6-fingered AI news broadcaster at 10:27🤣

[@AGhostintheHouse]

Or is anyone going to talk about how the arm and leg merged to form a hand in the taekwondo pic at 16:21.

[@proanimali]

Thank you for this video. One always hears rumours and a couple of "things", but it's good to see this all in perspective.

[@insain1488]

Simon you mentioned on a business blaze that no one watches your new space channel but you gotta tell us man

[@IgabodDobagi]

yeah, I didn't know about astrographics until that video. Instantly subscribed before even watching the first video. He has millions of fans who will watch anything he puts out, we just have to know it is there.

[@hedlund]

@@IgabodDobagi I found it thanks to the algos, for once. Can't remember what I'd been watching, but I suspect PBS Spacetime.

[@andrewmathias1967]

Yeah, there used to be a tab on the channels page that showed all the other channels that I've been able to find it lately. Did youtube take that down that must be hurting simon's multi channeled existence

[@TrineDaely]

@@andrewmathias1967It's not on the apps but I'm pretty certain it's still available on the browser version.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

​@@hedlundsame here, I came across it organically. It felt kinda weird 😂

[@boggledegop]

so dude just wanted everyone eating his mom?

[@fluke196c]

wat?

[@allrounder7003]

@@fluke196c Pay attention. He named bread after his mother.

[@user-zb9lv3gh8s]

​@@allrounder7003 Which inspired thousands of "your mother's like a loaf of bread..." jokes.

[@allrounder7003]

@@user-zb9lv3gh8s On the way to jail.

[@Jamietheroadrunner]

Turkmenistan’s #1 sitcom: ‘How I Ate Your Mother’.

[@lisachiappetti6092]

I love this dearly. 18:44 "Turkmenistan's ruling regime is a bit of a CLOWWWN show." Why'd his voice do that it's fantastic

[@amandajones661]

If anyone from Turkmenistan is watching this, please know you aren't forgotten. I wish I was rich enough to help you. -- Please stay safe.

[@eightrice]

it's not a matter of wealth, it's a matter of power. You can't really overthrow that dictator and bring normalcy to the people regardless of how rich you are.

[@chemenoreMen]

Amanda Jones, I am from there. Thank you for your thoughtful care and warm words. Most of the able ones are out of our Motherland and displaced, more than 2mln. But we keep our minds and hearts open, and believe that one day we can free our Turkmenia. We’ve always been nomadic, so we can survive it all, but we are also patient and persistent. And we believe that everything that happens, happens for a reason, and for the best May you be rewarded for your big heart. Your words mean a lot to us

[@louniece1650]

​@@chemenoreMen❤❤❤

[@CromemcoZ2]

Too many AI-generated images!

[@bigstevebigsteve1294]

New office Factboy? Well deserved, don’t ever stop making videos.

[@cheekyb71]

Same office, different corner of it. Simon commented recently that he has 4 studio setups within his office; I suspect he just films videos based on which desk he wants to sit at that day 😂❤

[@victoriaeads6126]

It's a green screen setup. Probably still in the basement, though 😂

[@loganrobinett1783]

I would like videos like this on every country. I think it's fascinating to know how we got to these borders and what life was like and what it is currently. Great video!

[@sebastianczigler8739]

I drove through the country in 2017 over 5 days and hands down an interesting and weird place at the same time. Ashgabat has only 3 foreign tourist approved hotels so staying in a cheap place was hard. I was followed by not so secret service everywhere but they were kept far away and just watched. Streets were shutdown 3 hours each side of the 15 min drive that Birdy was supposed to be driving through. So the entire city is shut down for 6 hours and street cleaners are found EVERYWHERE. Hands down the cleanest city but WTF was it weird. Businesses have zero advertisment on the white marble buildings and most business do not even turn on the power until you enter the building. Gas was dirt cheap at $20 USD for 80 litres of fuel.

[@InfinteIdeas]

Can you explain the shutdown for 3 hours thing, does that mean that they're shut down for 3 hours at the beginning and end of each day, I'm really confused what you mean by this

[@lordMartiya]

Roman emperor Commodus renamed Rome "Commodiana" and the months of the calendar after his twelve names. Didn't think there would be someone that makes him seem humble. Or that said someone would have a successor that would be even worse.

[@DouglasZanini]

At least Rome was way more relevant then than Turkmenistan could ever hope to be now, so I don't think it compares, but pulling something like that nowadays is commendable at least.

[@dannyboy-vtc5741]

French did that shit after the revolution, with months and days of the week, also i think they introduced ten days week. North koreans i think did it with the months of the calendar, and i bet you'll find a lot of that shit in the last 80 years in africa after coups and crazy leaders taking over.

[@Laeiryn]

Yah, Augustus and Julius weren't anything like that - .....

[@lordMartiya]

@@Laeiryn They weren't anywhere as bad. Caesar didn't rename any month, and Augustus renamed one after Caesar and one after himself (plus establishing a festivity on August 15 that endures to this day, at least in Italy)

[@w.reidripley1968]

Commodus _wasn't_ popular.

[@eli-en]

I need to give this feedback: the "AI Depictions" really cheapen and "enshittify" the video overall. I would rather not have any depiction at all. Especially on the cases where there ARE photos on the internet avaible yet you decided to use an AI image. Why? I had to google some of the photos that actually exist just because I was curious and now I'm just wondering why the AI crap was unsed instead. Just keep Simon narrating head if you want to save time. The AI Crap is making the video unwatcheable.

[@aRealAndHumanManThing]

I feel the same. They probably need to do it to some degree so the channels stay in buisness and are more visually appealing. But NOT. THIS. MUCH. PLEASE.

[@rossharper1983]

I agree. They probably won't be using real photos as because it's for commercial use, they're might copyright issues they can't be bothered to track down

[@charleslisauskas9067]

I disagree. In a world where you can't use any image on the internet because KZbin will take away your ability to make money if you do. I enjoy the visual aid that the AI images add. Even if they're not perfect representations of what real life images would look like.

[@eli-en]

I'm pretty sure most of the examples they used where available from news. I found many from news sources and they are usually fair use. That's why I'm puzzled. There are real photos of the children picking cotton from news sources. why the hell would you then use these nightmare fuel AI images. They only make me cringe and not in a "oh wo what a horrific reality"-way. Just a omg why would you waste your time making these at all?-way@@rossharper1983

[@krayxeez]

It’s not that deep. And the fact that you were able to do the “research” in a few second is not supporting your argument as Well imo. He has shown many videos and photos which are real, so I assume the editor had a reason for using AI for some, which is not a lot anyways. Not at all unwatchable for me

[@thoemme1]

I've been to Turkmenistan in 2013, but I have never seen veiled women. They wore "Local Attire", students wore a sort of uniform.

[@benibluefoe]

While crossing a main avenue in the capital, not one vehicle was in sight anywhere at the major crossing, and as I stepped into the marked crossing, a soldier waved his gun at me and pointed to the underground passage. The passage was disgusting smelling and had large pools of slimy water to navigate. That was just one of dozens upon dozens of stupidities found in Turkmenistan.

[@miriam3848]

Edit: ah. I see you didn't :) . Good job! You forgot to mention the book Nyazov wrote, that was mandatory part of school program and that every citizen had to know by heart. There were yearly tests at workplaces.

[@athenarocks7657]

Wow, every time I lean something new about Turkmenistan I’m like “that’s crazy, checks out tho 🤷🏽‍♀️”

[@jouhannaudjeanfrancois891]

I live in Quebec and i want to make a putsch, take control and rename it the Califat of Quebekistan, and of course I am the Calif. I have such great projects for my subjects.

[@t3hwaddledee]

Can you put “tabarnak” on the flag of the caliphate?? 🥺

[@matios83]

Get a job bs

[@jouhannaudjeanfrancois891]

@@t3hwaddledee Of course, i am thinking something like "Quebekistan, un tabarnak de beau pays"

[@maverick7291]

Well at the rate French quebecers are either not having children, super pro-abortion, pro -euthenasia, destroyed their own culture and religion, while a huge Arab Muslim population is growing there; I think it's appropriate to make it a caliphate and call it quebecistan. And I'm all for it!

[@marcob6880]

You could make the first bilateral energy agreement with Albertistan, and have them truck all their oil and gas exports. A fleet of wonderful stainless steel tankers making a never ending procession driven by veterans of the Freedumb Convoy that once liberated downtown Ottawa streets when they finally pulled up stakes and went home. Stipulated in the accords would be no pipelines nor rail transport, because truckers rule and they need the job.

[@DLM4892]

Great video Simon! Need a list of all your channels 🤣

[@MarvinV180]

This is such a strange place, I knew it existed but didn't know any of this. Good video.

[@Valgard_Alvarius_Valterri]

Love the channel(s), Simon you're the man. But please, please stop using AI to generate backgrounds and scenes. I know I sound like Alex Jones, but it's getting pretty scary, and sometime soon, we're not going to know if something is an original work or art, or and actual picture (as the technology gets better). It's inevitable AI is going to be here from now until skynet becomes sentient, but still, we can limit how much we depend on it. 🤣🤣🤣

[@nicholas3139]

this please!

[@prestonjones1653]

You're right. You do sound like Alex Jones.

[@Agomacule]

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is the most soviet looking man I have ever laid my eyes upon. Also, insanely powerful name

[@Black-Sun_Kaiser]

Hearing a native say his name pronounced correctly is insane.

[@allrounder7003]

He's more of a Guly than a Berdi though.

[@user-zb9lv3gh8s]

Yes comrade! He is an inspiration to us all! The greatest leader, sportsman, poet, and horse racer the world has ever known!!!

[@allrounder7003]

@@user-zb9lv3gh8s Like Islam Karimov with a sense of humour.

[@therealchayd]

Oh, I dunno, Leonid Brezhnev would give him a run for his money in the most soviet looking person stakes lol.

[@paudogisbac]

Wow!!! Simon's commentary and content is consistently exemplary!!

[@athenarocks7657]

I didn’t even know about this channel. Yet another in the Whistler KZbin Empire. Great video and props to whoever made the logo for Places (I love the little pin).

[@eskandare1968]

There is an Archer episode that literally makes fun of this country. The interesting thing about encryption and VPNs is that their authorities probably have no idea what they are actually looking at and if the VPN or encryption has traffic obfuscation, no one would be the wiser. I am sure that some of the world class hackers could easily turn off their internet (it has happened to North Korea).

[@cynicalexpat]

The comment about comment section getting a bit weird was spot on.

[@Ice_Karma]

13:55 That's the "Wedding Palace" -- the "Palace of Happiness" is in Baku, Azerbaijan.

[@chaqillenikita748]

That was a very interesting and powerful documentary! Many thanks to the team who made it 😊👍🏼

[@JonnyCobra]

Excellent. Very apt choice of topic.

[@PatrickThomasBrady]

How do you decide which channel to put a video on, places, geographics, today I found out, brain blaze or maybe another channel I can’t remember right now?

[@joeeeyyyyyy]

I am so happy I can look up any basic question about the world in geogeaphics and your face pops up to provide a very politically balanced overview. I appreciate that this enables me to draw my own conclusions and find points in history to research further. Thank you

[@serioserkanalname499]

Every month or so I find a new bearded fact-guy channel and I seriously wonder how long this can possibly go on.

[@jrevillug]

Have visited. Crazy place. The Darvaza gas crater is quite the sight, and it was my first taste of "real" desert.

[@jrevillug]

Great video. I was not fully aware of the extent of the persecution of the Turkmen people, but I'm not shocked. Even as a tourist the authoritarianism and corruption was plain to see, and it was not a place in which I felt safe or protected.

[@SoundShinobiYuki]

How close are you allowed to get to it?

[@jrevillug]

@@SoundShinobiYuki at the time there was no fence, so right up to the edge. I chucked half a melon in. 😆 Definitely didn't want to get much closer though, the edge looks kinda crumbly and even a metre away the heat is crazy.

[@joecorsaro1381]

⁠​⁠@@SoundShinobiYukiwhen I went there was fence that surrounded it. There was maybe three feet between this very hoppable fence and the crater. You could stand right on the edge. It’s not an official attraction so there isn’t anyone there to caution the idiots

[@SoundShinobiYuki]

@@joecorsaro1381 Amazing that they didn't capitalize on making it an attraction, that's literally the only thing I'd go there to see!

[@XoADREADNOUGHT]

Simon is the most prolific KZbinr on Earth. Pretty sure. Both in video output and number of channels...

[@Nick-rs5if]

And he's still a damn good host at that. Don't know what he's running on, but I want some!

[@kyattogallery]

This is incredibly interesting, in particular the history. I’d also be very interested in learning about Eritrea.

[@AndreasNV]

Fucking hell, this is dark. Thank you for telling us in a way that's not unbearable.

[@TheSlizzer348]

Hey Simon, please don’t use AI in your videos - most of these AI image generators use stolen work, and as a creative it’s been really shit. Don’t get me wrong, I know in the long run these companies will win, in spite of using stolen work, as they’ll make more money than any fines. But it’d be great to see one of my favourite KZbinrs not contributing if that’s at all an option

[@TheStormSuspect]

No more Ai

[@Massigangster]

love the way Simon presents these videos!

[@jensonvaughan]

Humans allowing other humans to rule them has always been a fascinating reality to me.

[@lakesq2056]

excellent content but literally hard to listen to due to terrible audio buzzback. hope you're able to upgrade your equipment or audio tech in the future as this issue appears on every video on your various channels.

[@LorKen17021991]

Holy shit! Why are those AI Photos so creepy?

[@memre123]

Extremely well written/prepared. Well done mate.

[@suzimonkey345]

Thank you. Fascinating!

[@irispaiva]

do you mind linking this channel to others? Like mega and side projects?

[@ComedorDelrico]

The strategy of filling the media/internet with goofy stunts to move the spotlight away from the bad stuff was allegedly also used by Boris Johnson. It's been said that's why his hair always looks messy, for example. I think Trump uses this strategy, too.

[@christopherjustice6411]

I get that people don’t like the AI images. But you have to understand. It’s basically impossible to get photographs of anything in Turkmenistan that the government doesn’t want you to see.

[@danstory4286]

Google Earth...

[@scottread2979]

never knew things were like that in Turkmenistan. Thank you for the info

[@sarahbrown6493]

Please do not continue with this AI generated material. It completely takes away from the credibility of the information and has so much less value than actual photos of real human beings. Especially with a country like this where the people have little to no international visibility, to replace them with fake people in fake environments feels dehumanizing to them. \ It also makes me wonder what other corners have been cut. If no one is willing to find real photos that relate to the material, how can I believe that the information is trustworthy and verified?

[@princeofdeath7696]

And how do you propose he get these real human images of a country as locked down as Turkmenistan is? I highly doubt you could find anything on google to use. I saw a short clip of a guy who visited the place an he was required to have an escort at all times.

[@UsernameU222]

@@princeofdeath7696 I agree. They did have actual footage, but the only footage allowed out of Turkmenistan is footage of the leader, or footage of the buildings that are photographed.

[@woofbarkyap]

I'd prefer no images to imaginary and inaccurate ones but there are real images available, inquisitive people find a way@@princeofdeath7696

[@madb132]

@@princeofdeath7696 I just searched google and a few images came up, so not to hard of a ask.

[@LesyaAbdulzade]

It’s all true, I visited this country, and have friends, but we can’t talk , because the internet is very slow, and it’s not safe for them to use

[@patrickmulch5830]

Please stop the AI images, it’s misleading and misrepresenting history

[@KingBrandonm]

In what way exactly? Your entire argument is disingenuous on it's face because Simon is including a big fucking sign that says, "AI Depiction" which immediately disproves your entire argument. If Simon didn't include a warning, your comment would have merit on it being misleading, as it stands it is meritless, have a good day, sir! I said have a good day!

[@chrissetti1390]

​@KingBrandonm a good example is the number of hijabi women, which misrepresents how most Turkmen women actually dress

[@KingBrandonm]

@chrissetti1390 That seems easily solvable by better due diligence on the editing side, and yeah, in which case letting them know is fine. But especially for content like this where there may not be a lot of actual images, i see the AI generated images no differently than the memes in the videos on most of Simon's channels. Just little things to spice it up a bit.

[@Winston-lf7sb]

looks like the next paradox game

[@mercster]

Yep I just gave essentially the same feedback. It's amazing, with all the content Simon pumps out, that the information provided is as fresh and original as it is. This was a great video. The only thing that mars it are the inappropriate, inaccurate "AI Depictions." I'd rather just look at Simon's mouth moving.

[@BenTajer89]

I think the disco ball on the palace of happiness is self explanatory.

[@Nick-rs5if]

I do not mind the AI depictions when real ones cannot be found. They merely illustrate a point and serves to visualize a scene. Much like any other illustration would under these circumstances.

[@davidjames7072]

Good content but gotta say the ai images are tacky

[@Goldenself]

AI depictions? It's one thing for a small channel but come on Simon, you can afford artists.

[@User31129]

Whats so bad about it? At least he says it's AI.

[@governmentghost01]

Youre fighting a losing battle. AI is cheaper, faster, and oftentimes, better. Economics will always win.

[@rubiconnn]

I would be fine if the AI images were relevant but they just seem to be quickly thrown together junk images meant to fill screen time.

[@Goldenself]

The argument that it's a losing battle is missing the point. If we don't like AI art where it's not the only option, then making ourselves heard is important for content creators to see

[@Goldenself]

That is, economics sometimes loses to culture

[@llamaboss1434]

Impressed you pushed through the propaganda, instead of just falling for it. Pushing through that shit IS THE essential maneuver and allows you to open the door and start to look inside what happens in Turkmenistan.

[@anthonyschueller1284]

Thanks for what you do mr. Simon whistler. Youre a good man... ❤

[@pretzelhunt]

not liking all this AI BS, script is good tho

[@mikeyratcliff3400]

Please no ai video stuff Simon, we have so little to trust and it feels that it bismerches the whistler brand...

[@User31129]

What's so bad about it?

[@josephwait7384]

You tell the AI what to make. Then you approve it and decide if you want to use it. You use a person you tell them what to make…. Then you approve it and decide if I want to use it. It is what it is. Technological waits for no man…. Unless you’re from turkmenstan

[@PatrickStarfishman]

Ai scripting is lazy and flawed. If you're going to go to the trouble of fully editing and fact checking an ai script then you aren't actually saving any time or effort so why use it? It's only advantage is to save you time and energy from writing or research. This leads to a flood of absolute garbage. There's nothing wrong with the tech per se, but the fact that the only reason to use it is to be lazy. It's that laziness that is what's bad about it. Factual videos that are accurate are difficult and time-consuming. Lazy content creators propagate myths, lies, and falsehoods through negligence.

[@mediaicon8774]

Commenting to make sure this message gets out!

[@Archduke17]

"conscription orders from Moscow during World War I" The Imperial Russian government was in St. Petersburg at that time.