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Meet the dictators Modi will shake hands with

Last updated on: July 07, 2015 11:17 IST

Brutal and ruthless, with terrible human rights records, these autocrats will welcome Narendra Modi to their realm this coming week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to five Central Asian republics, will visit two 'Stans' -- as the former Soviet republics in Central Asia are known -- visiting two countries before his visit to Ufa, Russia, for the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits and the three remaining ones after.

The prime minister's visit began in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Monday, July 6, from where he will fly to Kazakhstan on Tuesday, July 7. He will travel to Russia on July 8, before flying to Turkmenistan on July 10, Kyrgyzstan on July 11 and Tajikistan on July 12.

Central Asia has a reputation for volatility since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

From a man intent on promoting his personality cult to a ruthless authoritarian who violently strikes down dissenters, the 'Stans' has seen the endurance of several dictatorships.

Rediff.com introduces you to the autocrats who Narendra Modi will meet.

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, President of Turkmenistan

Image: Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow reviews an honour guard in Bucharest. Photograph: Bogdan Cristel/Reuters

Image: People gather outside a monument to President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov during its inauguration ceremony in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Photograph: Marat Gurt/Reuters

Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan

Image: Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon inspects a guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Photograph: B Mathur/Reuters

Image: Children watch a supporter of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan post a campaign poster on a wall in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. Photograph: Nozim Kalandarov/Reuters

Islam Karimov, President of Uzbekistan

Image: Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov attends an informal Commonwealth of Independent States summit on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II at the Kremlin in Moscow. Photograph: Reuters

Image: Election posters of presidential candidates in Tashkent. Photograph: Reuters

Almazbek Atambayev, President of Kyrgyzstan

Image: Kyrgyzstanstan President Almazbek Atambayev attends a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Photograph: Carsten Koall/Getty Images

Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan

Image: Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev attend a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow. Photograph: Getty Images

 

Image: Graduates pose in front of a statue of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the First President's Park in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Photograph: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
Compiled by Jerry David Zachariah