[imagesource: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]

In the image above, you’re looking at Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov gifting Russian president Vladimir Putin a Central Asian shepherd puppy, or alabai, back in 2017.

Putin doesn’t look particularly impressed with the gift from Turkmenistan’s longtime president, but Berdymukhamedov is still alive, so maybe it grew on him.

In his latest pooch-related activity, Berdymukhamedov unveiled a massive golden statue of a dog in a roundabout in the nation’s capital, Ashgabat.

The statue honours the alabai – clearly, his favourite breed of dog, which we knew from the book he published last year, focused entirely on… the alabai.

Perhaps it’s the large, stocky breed’s prowess in protecting sheep and goats from wolves that did it for Berdymukhamedov, or the fact that it’s a regular feature in dog fights, which are considered entertainment in Turkmenistan.

Anyway, observe the statue:

Berdymukhamedov is most certainly an awful human, with this from VICE:

Turkmenistan has one of the worst human rights records of any country in the world – only North Korea is ranked below it on Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index.

The country also claims, totally improbably, not to have recorded a single case of the coronavirus this year, despite neighbouring Iran having almost 730,000 cases.

Berdymukhamedov has even banned doctors in the country from even saying the word “coronavirus”.

Like saying the word ‘Biden’ around Donald Trump. Don’t do it.

Fun fact about Turkmenistan – it’s home to a burning crater known as the “Gates of Hell”.

Hopefully, that’s where the current president ends up.

[source:vice]