Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing: Berdymukhamedov goes traveling and lectures the WHO, while YouTube bows to Turkmen censors and takes down Eurasianet’s channel.
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.
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.
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.
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.