The dictator of Turkmenistan has driven around a scorching pit of fire to quash rumours that he is dead.

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hopped in a rally car and drove at break neck speed through the Karakum Desert before performing a doughnut around the edge of the 'Gateway to Hell'.

The flaming crater has been a scorching landmark in the Asian country since 1971, when Soviet geologists looking for oil stumbled on natural gas and then sparked it in a bid to stop it spreading.

The 62-year-old leader was not just showing off his daredevil driving skills however, CNN reports .

Following several weeks out of the public eye in July, an analyst told a Russian radio station that he had heard rumours from businessmen in Turkmenistan that Berdymukhamedov was dead.

Despite the central Asian country's embassy in Russia dubbing the rumour an "absolute hoax", it took the dictator's TV appearance looking at pictures of bus shelters at the end of July for people to realise he was still going.

Berdymukhamedov pits pedal to the metal
The 62-year-old veers hard into a doughnut

His continued vitality was put beyond all doubt when state broadcaster Watan Habarlary released a 35-minute video featuring Berdymukhamedov as a kind of Vladamir Putin-esque action hero.

After colourful graphics of a big green clock counting down to9pm, five horses begin to trot across a virtual map with an uplifting fanfare in the background.

Following a brief introduction Berdymukhamedov himself appears on screen, cycling in a somewhat wobbly manner down some particularly quiet looking roads.

He then struts past the camera in a pristine white shirt, gloves and cap trio, hopping up onto a horse and clopping around a small roundabout several times.

The flaming pit provided the perfect back drop for Berdymukhamedov's comeback video
The dictator wanted to show he was still in the game

In what may be a nod to gun-toting Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Berdymukhamedov unloads an assault rifle into the heart of a target while sporting a vest top.

After getting on a different bike with bigger tyres and turning his cap backwards, the ruler arrives at a bowling alley to a large round of applause.

He scores three strikes with ease.

The remaining 25 minutes of the video has Berdymukhamedov going to the gym, composing a song, driving around a flaming crater and then doing some paper work.

Berdimuhamedow addresses the media back in 2016 (
Image:
Photothek via Getty Images)
Neither Berdimuhamedow nor Vladamir Putin are shy of a strong-man publicity stunt (
Image:
Getty Images)

While the curious strong-man display of virility may be humorous to western audiences, the authoritarian Turkmenistan regime isn't generally packed full of laughs.

Since Berdymukhamedov took over from his equally uncompromising successor in 2006, he has set about controlling all aspects of public life.

A crackdown on foreign and domestic media outlets, along with brutal punishments for public expression, mean the oil and gas rich country has hit the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index and Corruption Perceptions Index.