Eurasianet

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

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

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.

Middle-class Afghans with the means to navigate Tajikistan’s bureaucracy see the country as a springboard to the West.

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.

There has been a surge in the number of Pakistanis visiting for tourism.

New pressure from Washington will make China look even closer at Central Asia.

Spraying chlorine, new infrastructure on the Afghan border, and claims of a naturally occurring COVID vaccine. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.

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

The terminal state of the economy remains paramount in the minds of those wishing to leave.

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

Many in the territory blame the rising numbers of coronavirus cases on the authorities’ decision to open up to Russian tourists.

Independent Ukraine has held only one census, almost 20 years ago.