Eurasianet

The government is betraying signs of not knowing quite how to run a state of emergency – especially one instated to defend a population against an invisible virus.

Eurasianet is updating this page daily with the latest news on how the pandemic is upending life in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Russia’s shipment of PPE to New York violated Moscow’s pledge to its closest allies.

Trade has plummeted, Chinese goods are disappearing from markets, and exports of China’s favorite Central Asian commodity – natural gas – have nosedived.

Failure to take defense measures against the pandemic is not the product of authoritarian caprice. Just delusion and mismanagement.

Mahalla councils were co-opted for purposes of population control in Soviet times. Coronavirus is giving them a new mission.

State media is gradually breaking the taboo on mentioning the pandemic, but denialism is still the order of the day.

Reports from March 23-29 on how the pandemic has upended life in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Twin economic shocks have gripped Central Asia and the Caucasus with astonishing speed.

The Georgian lari has become one of the fastest depreciating currencies in Europe, despite the fact that coronavirus has hit the country relatively weakly.