During Niyazov’s decades-long rule, the Internet was available only for a select few, mostly government officials and well-connected families in the capital, Ashgabat.
Berdymukhamedov, in his first months of office, freed things up a bit, providing greater access to the Internet that led to the opening of dozens of Internet cafes in the capital and other regions.
Now, the economy, corruption, and domestic finances are among popular topics on blogs and forums, and while the Turkmen president might be responsible for the newfound openness compared to his predecessor’s rule, it does not spare him from criticism.
Despite the small changes, Turkmenistan still has a long way to go in its on-line liberalization. In its 2010 report, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) listed Turkmenistan among the Worst Enemies of the Internet — along with North Korea, Burma, China, Iran, and Cuba.
The government still has the Internet under its strict control, filtering its content and blocking many sites.
For instance, Facebook and other social-networking sites such as the Russian Odnoclassniki (Classmates) are blocked, along with many foreign news sites and YouTube.
Access to the net also comes at a high cost, placing the Internet beyond the reach of ordinary Turkmen citizens. An hour of surfing the net at an Internet cafe costs about $2.10, while surfing at home costs $0.42 per hour in addition to a monthly subscription fee of $4.20. Such prices are prohibitive in a country where, despite vast energy wealth, some 30 percent of the population lives in poverty, and the average monthly salary is about $200.