When a Blackout Brings Hope: Why Turkmen Soldiers Want to Leave the Army — and the Country

When a Blackout Brings Hope: Why Turkmen Soldiers Want to Leave the Army — and the Country Sometimes a single small detail reveals far more about the state of a country than dozens of official statements about “stability and prosperity.” According to Turkmen.news, at least three cases have become known over the past month in which former members of Turkmenistan’s Armed Forces were prevented from leaving the country. The outlet suggests that this may indicate a broader travel ban imposed on former military personnel. The reasons why they want to leave are equally telling. Military personnel are reportedly dissatisfied with low incomes, inadequate social benefits, embezzlement, and deteriorating morale within the armed forces. According to the report, the situation worsened further after the authorities ended the practice of transferring service housing into military personnel’s private ownership. Many now prefer to leave the military and seek work abroad: several months of employment in Belarus, Russia, or Poland can allow them to support their families far more effectively. And what solution is offered in response? Improve service conditions? Raise salaries? Investigate embezzlement? Carry out reforms? No. The more familiar solution appears to be much simpler — do not let them leave. Another episode reported in the article is particularly revealing. During the blackout on 30 August, personnel in some military units reportedly believed that a coup d’état was beginning. And the most striking detail is this: the soldiers reportedly felt hopeful. But electricity was restored within several hours. According to the report, the blackout had been caused by an accident at the Mary State Power Plant. The soldiers’ hopes were not fulfilled. At this point, there is little room left for sarcasm. If people entrusted with defending the state perceive the possibility of a coup not with fear, but with hope, the authorities should perhaps be asking not how to close the border to them, but why such sentiments exist in the first place. Yet Turkmenistan once again appears to be choosing a familiar formula: restrictions instead of reforms, prohibitions instead of addressing the causes of discontent, and “no-exit” status instead of the freedom to leave. People can be kept inside a country by closing the border. But no border can force them to believe in the state. Source: Turkmen.news, 4 September 2026 https://turkmen.news/2026/09/04/ministr-oborony-turkmenistana-sdelal-byvshih-voennyh-nevyezdnymi/