Elvira Kadyrova and Liliya Zhirnova There is a curious way in which progress disappears. It happens when something that was once difficult to find becomes so ordinary that nobody thinks about it anymore. Walk into a supermarket or cosmetics shop in Ashgabat today and look at the shelves. Shampoo. Conditioner. Soap. Toothpaste. Skin-care … [Read more...]
Turkmenistan at 35: Part 7 – From What Was Available to What You Like – The Changing Wardrobe
Liliya Zhirnova and Tamir Shakirov There is a simple question that can reveal an enormous amount about a society: When you need a new shirt, how many different shirts can you choose from? Not how many shirts exist in the world. How many can you actually walk into a shop and choose between? That distinction captures much of the transformation in Turkmenistan's … [Read more...]
Turkmenistan at 35: Part 6 – The Refrigerator Test – What 35 Years of Change Look Like in a Turkmen Kitchen?
Elvira Kadyrova There are many sophisticated ways of measuring development. One can calculate GDP per capita, compare industrial output, measure investment or examine the growth of trade. Or one can open a refrigerator. It may sound almost absurdly simple. But the contents of a household refrigerator can tell us a great deal about how everyday life has … [Read more...]
Turkmenistan at 35: Part 5 – From Meat to a Food Industry – What Happened to the Meat Counter?
Raviliya Kadyrova There is another transformation that can be seen most clearly when we stop thinking about the product itself and look at everything that happens before it reaches the consumer. Thirty-five years ago, meat was primarily understood as a basic food commodity. Today, the meat market increasingly includes sausages, smoked products, meat rolls, … [Read more...]