Join the Commonwealth of Independent States. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan became an independent country. On December 12, 1995, the United Nations officially recognized Turkmenistan as a permanent neutral country. [5] Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan, became president for life in December 1999, and exercised dictatorship. On August 26, 2005, it was announced at the Kazan meeting that it was downgraded to an associate member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.