Eurasianet

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

Food prices have jumped this year and there are few jobs, but out-of-work migrants can’t get to where they are desperately needed.

An unacknowledged second wave, secret police at funerals, and congratulations from the Taliban. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

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.

Any breakthrough in improving the lot of labor migrants will be touted as sign of his political heft.

The government is eager to stress that the loan is all but interest free.

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

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

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.

The president says the vote will marking a turning point. Skeptics yawn.

Some are speaking out against the conflict despite fears the government’s strong support for Azerbaijan could fuel nationalist reprisals.