Eurasianet

Out-of-touch elites, poor planning, and some signs of progress in regional trade. Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Turkmenistan's new president is continuing his father's traditions: Building white elephants, censoring the internet, and booting people out of their homes.

The president-in-waiting plans to change nothing. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

The government said the system was useless against the Omicron variant, but critics accused them of pandering to anti-vaxxer sentiment.

In our weekly briefing: The Taliban visit Ashgabat, the dauphin is received by Uzbekistan’s president, and authorities tighten control after unrest in neighboring Kazakhstan.

Tbilisi’s world-famous nightclubs were the country’s last businesses to reopen following the COVID lockdown. But it took a confrontation with the authorities to make it happen.

Similar systems have been used around the world to encourage vaccinations. But under Georgia’s, you may be better off not being vaccinated at all.

Turkmenistan has a two-track plan to increase trade with the outside world. Our weekly briefing.

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.

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.

Poor and rural families are not equipped to handle online school. Now they fear another academic year is going to start with schools still closed.

With the Taliban at the border, the president heads in the other direction to oversee defense operations on the Caspian Sea. Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Georgia’s mortality rate is among the world’s highest, and just under 6 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

That Central Asia's presidents seemed to enjoy themselves together was itself a breakthrough. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.