Turkmenistan's autocratic leader has established a national holiday to honor the local dog breed, media reports said Tuesday.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered the holiday praising the Alabai, the Central Asian shepherd dog, to be celebrated on the last Sunday of April when the ex-Soviet nation also marks the day of the local horse breed, according to the daily Neutral Turkmenistan.
The Central Asian nation of 6 million prides itself in horses and dogs, honoring its centuries-old herding traditions.
FILE - In this file photo dated Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov speaks to journalists after casting his ballot at a polling station in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's autocratic leader Berdymukhamedov has established a national holiday to honor the local dog breed, praising the Central Asian shepherd dog, Alabai, to be celebrated on the last Sunday of April according to Tuesday's news report in the daily Neutral Turkmenistan. (AP PhotoAlexander Vershinin, FILE)
Berdymukhamedov has ruled the gas-rich desert country since 2006 through an all-encompassing personality cult that styles him as Turkmenistan’s “arkadaq," or protector.
The Turkmen leader has extolled the Alabai for years. He published a book about the breed and in 2017 presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a puppy. Last year, he inaugurated a massive gilded statue honoring the dog in the Turkmen capital. In 2019, then Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was also given an Alabai puppy.
Berdymukhamedov's son, Serdar, who heads the international Alabai association, reported to the president that the holiday will feature a beauty contest and agility competitions.