Boris Shihmuradov Turkmen politician. Date of Birth: 25.05.1949 Country: Turkmenistan

Biography of Boris Shikhmuradov

Boris Orasovich Shikhmuradov, born on May 25, 1949, is a Turkmen political figure. He was born in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to a Turkmen-Ahalteke father from Baharden and a Karabakh Armenian mother. Shikhmuradov completed his education in Ashgabat, graduating from a Russian school in 1966 and later studying journalism at Moscow State University, graduating in 1971. He then worked as a journalist at the USSR Press Agency (APN) from 1971 to 1986. Additionally, he pursued studies at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR from 1983 to 1986.

From 1993 to 1999, Shikhmuradov held various positions, including overseeing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, law enforcement agencies, and sports. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs until mid-2000 when he was appointed as the Special Representative of the President for Caspian Sea and Afghanistan Affairs. In 2001, he was assigned as the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to China.

In November 2001, Shikhmuradov publicly announced his transition to open opposition against President Niyazov and became the leader of the newly formed People's Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan. On November 25, 2002, an assassination attempt was made on Niyazov in Ashgabat. The president's convoy was blocked by a KAMAZ truck, and the convoy came under fire. Niyazov escaped unharmed. Shortly after the incident, Niyazov declared that Shikhmuradov and several other opposition figures were responsible for the attempted coup.

Shikhmuradov denied his involvement in the assassination attempt. He later stated that the People's Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan was organizing peaceful mass demonstrations in Ashgabat, Chardzhou, Dashoguz, and other cities to demand Niyazov's resignation. At the time, Shikhmuradov was outside of Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, his relatives faced persecution, and his younger brother, Konstantin, was arrested.

On December 25, 2002, Boris Shikhmuradov voluntarily surrendered to the Turkmen authorities, proclaiming his innocence. Before surrendering, he stated that he did so in order to prevent further repression against his relatives. On December 29, his confession was broadcasted on national television, where he claimed that while residing in Russia, they engaged in drug use and recruited mercenaries to carry out a terrorist act. Their goal was to destabilize the situation in Turkmenistan, undermine the constitutional order, and attempt an assassination on the president.

On December 30, 2002, the Supreme Court of Turkmenistan sentenced Boris Shikhmuradov to 25 years in prison, which was later commuted to life imprisonment on the same day. Following the sentencing, reports emerged about Shikhmuradov's critical condition. There were rumors of his death, while others claimed to have seen him freely walking in Ashgabat. The exact location of his imprisonment remains unknown, although the most common speculation suggests he was held in the basement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building.

According to the leader of the opposition movement in Turkmenistan, "Vatan," on the first day after Niyazov's death, Boris Shikhmuradov was urgently transferred from the prison in Ashgabat to the Krasnovodsk prison, likely due to concerns of an attack on the capital's prison.