Turkmenistan: President turns his hand to poetry

State TV showed footage of the president's poem being read at the opening of a new museum

Turkmenistan's leader, often portrayed in state media as having an array of talents, has reportedly added poetry to the list.

A four-verse poem said to have been penned by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was published on the front page of state-owned daily Neytralnyy Turkmenistan, and read en masse by officials during a ceremony to open a new museum, the opposition Chrono-tm.org website reports.

The patriotic composition, titled Go, go! Only Forward, Motherland - Turkmenistan!, was read out in full in a state television report on the event. "Oh, my beloved country, you are friendship and spring!" the poem begins. "Peace and hearts are united by one flag, and you are a sign for the entire universe!"

The president's creative tendencies have emerged once before. In 2011, he gave a televised performance - guitar in hand - of a love song called For You, My White Flowers, which state TV said was written by Mr Berdimuhamedov himself. That claim was later questioned by some commentators who noted its similarity to an earlier song. More common are reports highlighting his sporting accomplishments, including repeated victories in car and horse races.

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