This bronze monument was erected south of the capital Ashgabat, at the foot of the Kopet-Dag mountains, reported the France-Presse agency (AFP) after the inauguration attended by President Serdar Berdymukhamedov. For comparison, the Statue of Liberty in New York and the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro measure 93 and 38 meters respectively, far from the world record of the Statue of Unity in India, with 182 meters. The construction of the monument in homage to the poet Magtymguly Pyragy, presented by the regime as a pillar of Turkmen identity, is part of the authorities' attempts to consolidate their nation-state, while Central Asia has long been a zone without real borders, inhabited by nomads then under Russian and Soviet rule. The tribute had been decided by former President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Serdar's father, who retains immense prerogatives after leading this former Soviet desert republic bordering the Caspian Sea and without political opposition between 2006 and 2022. Made a "hero protector" and "leader of the Turkmen nation", this 66-year-old man established a cult of personality, according to his critics. This nation regularly tries to break several Guinness Book of Records, sometimes caricatural, such as the largest seminar on organic melon cultivation, the largest cycling parade or the largest ecology class. Inaugurated on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the poet's birth, this monument was created by Saragt Babayev, author of other monumental works in Turkmenistan, such as the golden statues representing Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov (43 meters) and the Alabaï dog breed (15 meters). "I wanted to embody the greatness of a humanist and a poet whose name is among the eminent writers of the East," the sculptor told AFP. Around the monument, 24 smaller bronze statues were installed in homage to foreign authors such as Honoré de Balzac (France), William Shakespeare (England), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Germany) and Du Fu (China). Turkmenistan is criticized by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for its grandiose projects, carried out thanks to the revenues from its immense natural resources, but without great benefits for the population. Read Also: Three dead and three injured in tea factory collapse in China (Portuguese version)