President Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan has apparently asked Guinness World Records to sign off on a variety of zany stunts to burnish his cult of personality while he oppresses the population

Guinness World Records portrays itself as a quirky compendium of feats, from the longest fingernails on a single hand (910cm) to the greatest distance travelled while keeping a table lifted with teeth (11.8 metres).

Less well known is the company’s marketing service that offers to burnish the images of brands and governments by creating ideas for records and helping them to achieve them.

Its ethics have been called into question by human rights organisations after the comedian John Oliver alleged that it was helping to support the authoritarian regime in Turkmenistan. Under President Berdimuhamedow, 62, the central Asian country is considered by human rights charities to be one of the worst for censorship, forced labour, corruption and state intimidation of its citizens.

Largest ferris wheel in an enclosed architectural design. The Turkmenistan attraction has a diameter of 57m. By contrast, the London Eye’s diameter is 120m ALAMY

Its leader