Ashgabat was also home to the Arch of Neutrality, a 250-foot-tall tripod crowned by a golden statue of late president Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Turkmenbashi, or leader of all Turkmen).
Potres 7,3 stopnje po Richterjevi lestvici je ubil 110-176.000 ljudi (2/3 prebivalcev mesta), čeprav je bila uradna številka Sovjetske zveze le 40.000.