Abstract
The presentation analyses the role of the sport and Aziada in the promotion of presidential personality cult, the place of the event in Turkmenistan's state- and nation-building with the particular focus on the Olympic City architecture in the context of the Ashgabat development. However, the organization of Aziada heavily lies on the shoulders of local population cementing the rituals common in Turkmenistan (and authoritarian regimes itself) such as forced mass participation in the games, praising the leader.
The reconstruction of Ashgabat results in the demolition of whole quartals in Ashgabat without adequate and, in many cases, zero compensations. At the same time, real sport development in the country, which could have some social impact on the population, is marginalized by the monumental ideological wrap.