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.
As the country opens up, citizen journalism is flourishing. In a place unaccustomed to journalists, and with the ethics of the profession not yet cemented, theirs is a risky business.
The coronavirus inoculation program is the first in the Caucasus and Central Asia, starting out with Chinese vaccines but incorporating Russian and Western ones at later stages.
The journalist faced not only the customary bureaucratic hurdles, but even alleged sexual harassment from an individual possibly linked to the security services.
Spraying chlorine, new infrastructure on the Afghan border, and claims of a naturally occurring COVID vaccine. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.
The COVID-19 vaccination experiences of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia show that if you’re a small and poor country, you need to rely on powerful friends.