There are worries that election observers from Armenia – which has been relatively hard-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak – could bring the virus into Karabakh.
The vote went ahead in spite of the global coronavirus outbreak; although Abkhazia hasn’t recorded any cases, election officials took pains that the disease couldn’t be spread by voting.
Hair-raising accounts of Turkmen healthcare, billions spent on the private sector, and a plan for ex-presidents. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.
Armenia went farther than most of Iran’s neighbors, closing its border for two weeks. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, was the only country to have not closed its border with Iran at all.
The hidden impact of coronavirus, a new secret police chief, and reading the government’s imagined data to understand its priorities and mindset. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.