Eurasianet

In our weekly briefing: Restrictions easing, COVID denialism persists, foreign suitors come visiting in hope of business, and the latest annual horse jamboree.

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.

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

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan are taking triumphalist stances on coronavirus.

5,000 people are taking part in the trials.

Trials for a domestically developed QazCovid-in vaccine are not expected to be completed until March.

The die-off has caused a shortage of meat and eggs in markets.

Officials say Uzbekistan plans to produce its own vaccine when tests are done.

In keeping with a historical pattern, many Eurasian states could be found near the bottom of the index.

Despite years of state pressure, civic groups are providing services for those in need and showing the effectiveness of social engagement, solidarity and selflessness.

The pandemic is undermining official efforts in China and Russia to foster mutual amity.

Police detained marchers, but not attackers.