Ashgabat vs Riga Town

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Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat; Ашгабат, pronounced [ɑʃʁɑˈbɑt], Persian: عشق آباد‎; Russian: Ашхабад), formerly named Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк, IPA: [pəltɐˈratsk]) between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It is situated between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range in Central Asia. It is also near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924.

Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake but has since been extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov’s "White City" urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble. The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west. Since 2019, the city has been recognized as having one of the highest costs of living in the world largely due to Turkmenistan's inflation and import issues.

Source: Wikipedia

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Riga City Council (Latvian: Rīgas dome) is the government of the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall (Rīgas rātsnams) at the Town Hall Square (Rātslaukums) in the very heart of Riga. The Riga City Council consists of 60 councilors who are elected every 4 years is established on the basis of party factions. The work of the Riga City Council is organized by the Chairman (occasionally simply called as the Mayor of Riga), Deputy Mayors, the Presidium, City Executive Director, District Executive Directors, and the staff of municipal institutions and enterprises. The Presidium of the Riga City Council consists of the Chairman of the Riga City Council and the representatives delegated by the political parties or party blocks elected to the City Council. Recently, the council had been suspended, since in February 2020 the City Council was dissolved by the national authorities due to irregularities concerning waste management.

An interim administration of three members headed by Edvīns Balševics, State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (lv), was appointed on February 25 to lead the city until snap elections were held. On 29 August 2020, elections were held, with the alliance between Development/For! and The Progressives winning the most seats. On October 2, 2020, Mārtiņš Staķis of Development/For! was elected Mayor, leading a broad coalition consisting of Development/For!, The Progressives, New Unity, the National Alliance, the Latvian Association of Regions and The Conservatives . On March 24 2022, Mārtiņš Staķis left Development/For!.

Source: Wikipedia