Eurasianet

As the president celebrates, the economic crisis deepened by a coronavirus outbreak he has refused to acknowledge has left his people in a state of Dickensian misery.

To each their own annus horribilis.

Electricity exports; crowd control outside food shops; and despite denials, COVID strikes. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

The mood in Baku is triumphal but it’s heavy and vengeful rather than joyous.

Let them eat cake.

Food prices have jumped this year and there are few jobs, but out-of-work migrants can’t get to where they are desperately needed.

An unacknowledged second wave, secret police at funerals, and congratulations from the Taliban. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

5,000 people are taking part in the trials.

Unemployment, post-COVID hopes, and moving gas: This and more in our monthly briefing on the Eurasian Economic Union.

Bishkek is also angling for yet more room to ease its debt burden.

Medics say they are actively discouraged from seeking the compensation.

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

But there is no papering over the festering disillusionment.

Only the best medicine for the leader. For everyone else, bread shortages.

Officials were irked by coverage about haphazard preparations for the heating season.