Gurbansoltan Eje
Gurbansoltan Eje ("Mother of Gurbansoltan"; born 1913 in Gypjak, Turkmenistan; died 5 or 6 October 1948 in Aşgabat during the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake) was the mother of the first post-Soviet president Saparmurat Niyazov ("Türkmenbaşy").
Several places and institutions were named after her, like Ýylanly in the Gurbansoltan Eje District, as was the month of April in the Turkmen calendar, renamed in 2002 after the Turkmen government adopted a law to rename all the months and most of the days of week, a decision which was abolished by his successor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow in April 2008.[1] Her son also abolished the Turkmen word for bread, for it to be replaced with Gurbansoltan.[2][3]
Many Western scholars have given Gurbansoltan the nickname “Mother of all Turkmen”, referring to her son’s self-bestowed title of "Türkmenbaşy" (leader of all Turkmen)
References
- "Turkmen go back to old calendar". BBC News. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
- Osborn, Andrew (22 December 2006). "Saparmurat Niyazov". The Independent.
- "Saparmurat Niyazov". The Telegraph. 22 December 2006.