After rewarding himself with a more pliant constitution, the president held a massive military parade. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Tofig Yagublu was detained shortly after the president warned that the opposition was using the coronavirus to destabilize Azerbaijan. Now even pro-government MPs are calling for his release.
All eyes will be on who gets the nod as chair of the Senate, since that person would be in a position to succeed Berdymukhamedov in the event of his sudden death or incapacitation.
Between the unacknowledged pandemic and economic devastation, protestors said the situation at home is so dire that inaction seems worse than government reprisals.