Turkmenistan marked Victory Day on May 9 with a number of commemorative ceremonies across the country. In President Saparmurat Niyazov’s native town of Kipchak, members of the government, clerics and other public notables gathered to lay flowers at their leader’s family vault. Earlier in the day, Niyazov himself observed his respects at a war memorial in Ashgabat. Later in the day, a dinner party was organised in Kipchak in memory of Turkmens that died during the war. Niyazov made a public speech in which he noted that 740,000 Turkmen soldiers died in the course of the war:

“Alongside brother nations we fought against the curse of Fascism … We should pay our due respect to war veterans, of whom there are only just over 3,000 left.”

In recognition of this, Niyazov signed a decree providing for the allocation of a million mants to all surviving World War II veterans, according to Turkmenistan.ru. The decree also stipulates that war veterans should also be provided with “top-priority high quality services in the best medical facilities of Turkmenistan”.
In St. Petersburg, a commemorative monument was inaugurated in honour of Turkmen soldiers killed in action during the Leningrad siege, according a Turkmen State News Agency report. The event was held at the Piskerev Memorial Cemetery, which is home to the remains of 420,000 civilians that died during the 900-day siege.
The Turkmen delegation was represented by staff from the embassy, the heads of Turkmen cultural associations in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Voronezh, and numerous Turkmen expatriates residing in Russia.