Saparmurat Niyazov was buried at a mausoleum on the grounds of Central Asia’s last mosque, the Turkmenbsahi Rukhy, in his hometown on Sunday. Tens of thousands of people turned out to pay their last respects, accompanied by a number of foreign diplomatic delegations, RIA Novosti reported:

As the procession made its way to Kipchak, where Niyazov was born, jets of the country’s air force as well as helicopters flew by.
Before the burial ceremony a general prayer was said by the nation’s leading mullah, while behind him hundreds of attendants prayed on a gigantic white carpet.

The mausoleum is also the burial place of Niyazov’s parents and brothers.
It is probable that, as has happened with other authoritarian leaders in the past, people wanted to check with their own eyes that the president really was dead, a fact that has been questioned by some opposition figures. This they were able to do in Ashgabat, where Niyazov lay in rest.
All shops and offices will be closed in sign of respect.
Around 20 countries sent an official delegation to the funeral. The presidents of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan were expected to be present, as well as various heads of government and parliamentarians. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov also attended. Western countries will be represented by accredited diplomatic staff. The United States sent the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher, who remarked before leaving for Turkmenistan that he hoped for a new era in relations between the United States and Turkmenistan. In Ukraine, President Viktor Yushchenko charged his prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich, to represent his delegation. Kiev will, naturally, be keen to be seen a properly respectful position towards Turkmen officials in view of the crucial role that gas from the Central Asian state has in keeping their energy costs down. The recent partial restoration of amicable terms between Moscow and Kiev will be interesting to observe as foreign governments circle the new emerging order in Turkmenistan in search of points of leverage.
The Azeri delegation, who will also be curious to investigate how the new government may affect the ongoing dispute over Caspian delimitation rights, included Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and the deputy Foreign Minister Halaf Halafov.
In the city, everything seems as normal, reports RIA-Novosti. Shops are open for business and classes are being held as usual in the universities. However, in respect of the seven-day period of mourning, no alcoholic beverages can be sold in shops, bars or restaurants.
As for what will come after the burial of Niyazov, the Turkmen representative at the United Nations in New York, Aksoltan Atayev, has said that the dead leaders’ policy will continued to be pursued.

“He did everything he could for the best of the simple people of his country,” Atayeva said

This may be little more than customary lip service to the recently departed, but it is nonetheless reminiscent of the fact that whatever should happen, rapid change is not and cannot be possible. For all the bogus qualities that Niyazov’s personality cult may have had, it has still left a indelible cultural legacy and an overwhelming physical one. Even an unlikely vehemently anti-Niyazov ascendant would be ill-advised to consider pulling down statues and renaming streets, monuments and cities. Niyazov’s skewed identity politics did in some way perform the function of creating a formal sense of cultural unity, which would be rash to begin unstitching at the seams.
What motivates Kurbanguli Berdymukhammedov, however, may not be the integrity of the country but his own preservation of power. While speaking at the national Security Council, Cabinet and Majlis meetings, Berdymukhammedov recognisably mimicked Niyazov’s conduct and speech patterns, as Batyr Djumaev wrote in an article for Centrasia.ru. One early televised statement to the nation was made in Niyazov’s office, as he sat in front of a portrait of Niyazov. When he spoke at the Majlis, he even addressed the presidium alone and spoke in a fashion that very much resembled Niyazov. As Djumaev notes:

Ministers at the Cabinet meeting recalled the ministers under Niyazov — even to the point of having the same notepads in front of them, which they energetically scribbled in so as not to have to make eye contact with their superior.

Djumaev suggests that these artless tactics may be an intentional deploy to maximise the effectiveness of Berdymukhammedov’s ride to power. A similar techniques of projection onto an iconic predecessor was utilised by Stalin, when he succeeded Lenin as General Secretary of the Communist Party. Hence the slogan, “Stalin — Lenin today”. In that sense, the persistent speculation about the familial link between the acting president and his predecessor may be little more than a contrivance to beguile the country’s captive polity. This is continuity in a very literal sense, which hardly augurs well for the fate of the nation.
As Djumaev also observes, Berdymukhammedov has begun his rule with an arrest, a fact that can only be an omen of further actions in this guise. And yet while Niyazov was already a consolidated leader that would still resort to arbitrary shuffles to ensure his enduring rule, Berdymukhammedov may need to shed several high-placed individuals before he can feel confident in his place. He will be unwilling to give way to any colleague that has been cultivated in the virtually Stalinist mode of governance that has defined post-independence Turkmenistan.
As for Niyazov’s legacy, Adjar Krutov is more forgiving. Without making concessions for his cruelty — Niyazov is in turn compared to Stalin, Peter the Great, and Mao — Krutov is complimentary of the Turkmen leader’s efforts to avoid the de-industrialisation of his country; a unique feat among CIS leaders. Under Niyazov, hundreds of new industrial complexes have been built in numerous sectors of the economy. Also, for all the scorn rightly heaped on Niyazov’s idiosyncratic international negotiation in the energy sector, he did invest significant effort into diversifying the output of Turkmenistan’s natural wealth, building refineries that could boost the export products’ market value.
The competing quantities of legacy and succession will be on partial view Sunday, when the emerging leadership will doubtlessly strive to eulogise their departed leader while making their own bid for legitimacy. Niyazov may be dead, but his lingering influence will still make itself felt on contemporary developments.