Turkmenistan continues to tighten measures to restrict the departure of its citizens, especially those heading to Russia, which is due to the increasing number of cases of recruitment of Turkmen citizens to participate in the war on the side of Russia against Ukraine.
Border guards, migration service employees and police in Ashgabat have been instructed to use any pretext to prevent young citizens of Turkmenistan from leaving for Russia.
One of the factors that influenced the introduction of such measures was information that Russia is actively recruiting citizens of former Soviet Union countries, including Turkmenistan, offering them money and simplified citizenship in exchange for participation in hostilities. According to sources, in recent months the number of Turkmen citizens willing to leave for the Russian-Ukrainian war has increased against the backdrop of the difficult socio-economic situation inside the country.
According to independent Turkmen sources such as Azatlyk and Turkmen.news, participation in the war is seen by some Turkmen as the only way out of their desperate situation. For example, a former Turkmen soldier said that his former comrades are going to war with him, motivated by the inability to find work and provide for their families.
Additional evidence of the growing desire to leave for Russia is the significant increase in the number of Turkmen citizens who have received visas and passports to travel abroad. However, many of them face arbitrary bans on leaving Turkmenistan. International airports such as Ashgabat airport play a major role in these restrictions, with Russian flights becoming the most “problematic” for departure. Sources also report that after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree on “humanitarian support” for foreigners who share traditional Russian values, the number of people wishing to leave Turkmenistan for Russia has increased.
Such measures raise serious questions about the freedom of movement of Turkmen citizens, as well as their participation in the war against Ukraine. However, specific comments from the Turkmen authorities remain unavailable, which is not surprising for one of the most closed countries in the world.
