Eurasianet

Labor migrants are attempting to leave Russia as their jobs have been hit by sanctions. But they can’t cross the border into Azerbaijan, which has remained closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

A former American ambassador to Kazakhstan examines lessons learned since first visiting the country weeks after independence.

The former U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan discusses lessons learned and missed opportunities in the early years of independence.

Behind the scenes with an American negotiator who helped forge a radical new level of U.S. engagement in Central Asia after 9/11.

While clumsy on COVID-19, Turkmenistan is being more sure-footed, or consistent at least, on the Afghanistan front. Plus, unsustainable agriculture. Our weekly briefing.

The government signals it is taking COVID a bit more seriously, without admitting the virus is running rampant. And Ashgabat gets down to business with the Taliban. This and more in our weekly briefing.

The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe became a frenetic staging post for the Afghan war in late 2001.

Vaccine hesitancy in Uzbekistan is high, bred by social media conspiracies that seem credible in a country without accountable authorities.

Our Kazakhstan correspondent describes the waiting, the bureaucracy, and the anticlimax of getting his Sputnik V jab in Almaty.

Although Turkmenistan is rarely mentioned as a prospective member of the Moscow-led EAEU trading bloc, that notion is quite obviously on the Kremlin’s mind. Our weekly briefing.

The number of flights is still highly limited for the time being, however.

Hopes are being pinned on the Sino-Uzbek vaccine ZF-UZ-VAC 2001.

Dushanbe is desperate to resume flights to Russian cities.

Spraying chlorine, new infrastructure on the Afghan border, and claims of a naturally occurring COVID vaccine. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan are taking triumphalist stances on coronavirus.