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.

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

5,000 people are taking part in the trials.

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.

Travel bans, dams and Russian fans. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

The government will help outlets that publish its propaganda.

Numbers of coronavirus cases has seen a sharp surge recently.

Ecological conservation is a matter of pride in Turkmenistan. But a disconnect between rhetoric and reality is a hallmark of the Berdymukhamedov era.

The healthcare sector has been embroiled in corruption scandals for years.

Acting President Japarov came to power on the crest of rallies, but will he know how to deal with them as leader?

A facile and naïve plan being discussed in Washington risks backfiring on Iran’s minority Christians.

This week in our Turkmenistan bulletin: Ashgabat and Moscow suddenly ratify an aged security agreement. Plus budgets, boasts and bribes.

Rigged elections have created political crises in two other post-Soviet countries this year, leaving Nur-Sultan edgy ahead of a parliamentary vote.