An independence referendum was held in the Turkmen SSR on 26 October 1991.
The policies of demokratizatsiya and perestroika as enacted by Mikhail Gorbachev led to the gradual loss of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's iron grip over its constituent federal republics. Nationalistic sentiments were on the riseâÂÂoften fomenting in widescale protestsâÂÂacross late 1980s, leading to the parade of sovereignties.
In Turkmenistan, the national conservative Agzybirlik (Unification) took up the cause of independence and gained a significant base among native Turkmens. Saparmurat NiyazovâÂÂthen Secretary of the Supreme SovietâÂÂhad the party banned for anti-Soviet activities, and suppressed dissent. However, in what the first multi-party election to the Supreme Soviet (1990), multiple independent candidates won and propagated nationalist sentiments.
Despite this, in the March 1991 referendum, 98% of voters proposed to preserve the Turkmen SSR as an equal sovereign republic of the USSR. A treaty to the effect was agreed upon to be signed but a day before, hardline communists launched a coup in Russia. Niyazov remained ambivalent to the coup but once it failed and Russia made its intentions clear to leave USSR, he prepared for the inevitable disintegration of the USSR and independence of Turkmenistan. The independence referendum was held in this context, and with the aim of rebranding Niyazov as an able leader in the testing times of transition and to pave the way to eventual autocracy.
Voters were asked two questions: