Garabekewül District


Garabekewül District is a former district of Lebap Province in Turkmenistan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Garabekewül.
It is now part of Halaç.

History

It was formed in February 1925 as Karabekaul etrap of Lenin, Turkmen SSR.
In May 1927, Lenin District was renamed Chardzhuisky.
In September 1930, when Chardzhuy was abolished, Karabekaul became directly subordinate to the Turkmen SSR.
In November 1939, Karabekaul moved to the newly formed Chardzhou region.
In January 1963, Karabekaul was abolished, but in December 1964 it was restored in direct submission to the Turkmen SSR.
In December 1970, the district rejoined the restored Chardzhou region.
On December 14, 1992, Karabekaul became part of Lebap and was renamed Garabekewül.
On November 25, 2017, the Parliament of Turkmenistan eliminated Garabekewül, while transferring its territory to Halaç.

Berkarar Zaman

In 2016, this district saw the grand opening of a new village called Berkarar Zaman, which translates to "the epoch of accomplishment." The village itself is opened by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. The Turkmens saw spacious homes, good roads, and utilities on TV. The village is full of celebrations, the roads are lined with people, and the markets are full of goods on the day of the opening. To promote this village, authorities used words and phrases such as "new model Turkmen village," "new living standards," "innovations," "reform programs," and "village regeneration" to attract newcomers.
However, days later, when the president left and the "residents" went home, the village is deserted that workers erased the town's sign. Electricity and roads have been provided, but only in the places visited by Berdimuhamedow. Turkmen.news, a bilingual Russian-English e-newspaper, cited that the words "new model Turkmen village," "new living standards," "innovations," "reform programs," and "village regeneration" are "the fine words and catchy phrases in the local media reveal the authorities’ total disconnection from reality, from the real conditions of daily life." RFE/RL claimed that Berkarar Zaman is actually a Potemkin village for Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.