(Read full article on rferl.org)

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has put his son Serdar in charge of the country’s oil-and-gas sector, in the latest sign that the authoritarian leader could be grooming the 40-year-old to succeed him some day.

Serdar Berdymukhammedov is already a lawmaker and deputy prime minister for economic affairs under his father’s administration.

Critics say his rise is part of a plan to entrench a dynasty atop Turkmenistan, whose fuel exports help fuel massive vanity projects and luxurious lifestyles for a tiny number of politically connected elites.

The elder Berdymukhammedov has kept a tight lid on dissent in the post-Soviet Central Asian state since taking over under shady circumstances following the death in 2006 of longtime dictator Saparmurat Niyazov.