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.

Let them eat cake.

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.

Only the best medicine for the leader. For everyone else, bread shortages.

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

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

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.

In state media, Turkmenistan is a roaring success story. The data paint a more worrisome picture.

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

The president bets on a big infrastructure program to reinvigorate his political fortunes.

The dictatorial regime is mostly deaf to people’s complaints, but it sometimes caves.

The president’s fury has only served to expose once more the implausibility of official data.