Annasoltan is a Turkmen-born, Western-educated journalist who writes about Turkmenistan and is the main Turkmenistan blogger for www.neweurasia.net. She holds a Bachelors degree with honors in Arts (mass media and communications) from an Anglo-American university, which must remain unnamed. One among a few well-known Turkmen journalists, she works under a pseudonym for security reasons. With her blogposts, Annasoltan wants to promote the notion of a ‘free media’ among Turkmens and other Central Asians. She wishes to give ordinary Turkmen people a voice which they are denied in the Turkmen state media. Through blogging, she illustrates the tragi-comic nature of neo-Stalinism in Turkmenistan, providing a broader context for social and political issues. Her blog posts and articles offer insights into her country’s restrictive policies, its urban spaces, its health infrastructure and also new media in Turkmenistan.
