Shadow of the Holy Book

A look at how multinational corporations curried favor with Saparmurat Niyazov (1940-2006), the despot of oil- and gas-rich Turkmenistan, primarily through translating 'Ruhnama,' his autobiographical book of cultural musings, into many languages and providing testimonials that legitimized his murderous dictatorship. Two European journalists interview Turkman dissidents and try, without success, to get statements from multinationals such as Çalik Holdings, Siemens, Daimler-Chrysler, John Deere, Caterpillar, and Bouygues Construction as to why they put business interests ahead of human rights. A Finnish CEO provides the solitary moral compass.