Baýramaly

Baýramaly (formerly Bayram-Ali, also spelled Bairam Ali; earlier Bahrām Ali; Turkmen: Baýramaly) is a city in and the seat of Baýramaly District, Mary Province, Turkmenistan. It lies about 27 km east of the provincial capital Mary, along the main railway line from Ashgabat to Tashkent. In 2022, its population was 70,376 (up from 43,824 in the 1989 census).

The modern city of Baýramaly was established in 1887 as part of the Murgab Imperial Estate, a property of the Russian crown. Over the following decades, the town experienced rapid growth, with the Russian Empire investing in factories, irrigation systems, hospitals, orchards, nurseries, and parks. It became a symbol of the Russian Empire's "civilizing mission" in Central Asia and was prominently featured in Russian propaganda to showcase the empire's ability to transform inhospitable environments. However, in later years, the project was exposed as a sham. In particular, Count K. K. Pahlen, in his report on travels to Russian Turkestan, revealed that the glorified photographs of the Baýramaly estate had been staged "to present a rosy picture to the Tsar."