Posing as staff from gas suppliers, the fire service, the housing office, or the local council, members of the commissions entered apartments and inspected the gas pipes, checked for illegal gas appliances or fireplaces, and at the same time asked to see documents relating to the premises.
The “gas network” officials also found out who was living in the apartment now, and who lives there generally; whether the apartment was state-owned or privately owned; and if it was owned by the state, whether the rightful occupants were living there, or whether they had sub-let to tenants. If they discovered that a state-owned apartment had been left vacant even for three days, it was immediately handed into the control of the local authorities, who housed new occupants there.


As in the Soviet era, today in Turkmenistan there are so-called agents in every multi-occupancy building, who keep an eye on the apartments and periodically inform the state organs what is happening, and how often and for how much time the occupiers are away from home. Another purpose of these commissions was to identify anyone holding Russian citizenship, or Russian speakers intending to emigrate. Not all Russian-speaking families have left Turkmenistan altogether: often some members of the family remain behind to wind up their affairs, and to sell off their belongings and apartments. These people were under particular scrutiny. br>

Reports of house searches in Ashkhabad echo news of similar actions by other commissions, and also agents, who have given evidence to the security services. One hears of cases where the father of the family has taken his wife, children and other relations to a new home in Russia, then returned to Turkmenistan to find his apartment occupied by someone else.br>

Until recently there were a considerable number of people with dual citizenship who spent time living both here and there. They were already living in Russia, but did not burn their bridges to Turkmenistan, and occasionally went back there. Generally these were people who could make a good life for themselves in Russia, enjoying a good pension, but who preferred living in the warmer climes to which they were accustomed. These people were helped to decide once and for all where to live by the two-month deadline imposed by Niyazov. In most cases, anyone who, in spite of Turkmenbashi’s wishes, decided to live in both countries, had their apartments confiscated. Now Russian speakers are entitled only to remain here permanently, or to leave, never to return. There is no alternative.