Eurasianet

The government has ordered the fiscal inspection service to withdraw letters accusing businesses of evading taxes.

All the defendants are strident government critics, but their dissidence was confined to online attacks and tiny street protests.

In our weekly briefing: doing business with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Plus, it’s reprimand season.

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.

Bunin has also been banned from entering Uzbekistan.

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.

Central Asia’s largest nations are using unique coronavirus vaccines that haven’t been carefully studied. Do they have a choice?

The COVID-19 outbreak has compounded a problem caused by low salaries.

The country already leads in vaccination rates in the South Caucasus. Many expect the new rules to drive a black market for fake vaccination passports.

Kazakhs unable to travel abroad are discovering their country is full of nice places to vacation. But what’s good for the local economy is not always good for nature.

A few months ago, the thought of taking a Chinese COVID vaccine was unthinkable to Georgians. Now it’s the norm.

Conspiracy theories have fueled the low update for vaccination.

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

Critics are concerned over potential privacy issues.

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