The latest officials to feel Mr Berdymukhamedov’s wrath were Akmyrat Mamedov, head of the country’s Statistics Committee, and Batyr Halliyev, the meteorological service. They were both sacked for “short- comings at work”.

And apparently signalling that more sackings were likely, Mr Berdymukhamedov said the government was not immune from corruption. He cited the case of former deputy PM, Baimurat Khodzhamukhamedov, who was found guilty last year of taking bribes of $1.5m.

He went on to harshly criticise the head of the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, a local market for commodities.

Just days earlier, Mr Berdymukhamedov had reshuffled government officials in the National Security Service and the Border Service.

In countries as reclusive as Turkmenistan, government appointments give an insight on the political equilibrium within the country.

Mr Berdymukhamedov is known for publicly shaming officials for incompetence and strongly advocating against corruption. Opposition activists abroad, though, say that these charges are generally fabricated to crack down on dissenting or inefficient bureaucrats.

A regional economic crisis has hit government budgets across the region. Although reclusive and not given to releasing anything other than the most positive economic data, information leaking out of Turkmenistan suggests that this downturn has hit it hard too. Currency controls and a deferment of government salaries have all been muted.

The mass sackings is another signifier that all is not well at Mr Berdymukhamedov’s court.