All eyes will be on who gets the nod as chair of the Senate, since that person would be in a position to succeed Berdymukhamedov in the event of his sudden death or incapacitation.
Between the unacknowledged pandemic and economic devastation, protestors said the situation at home is so dire that inaction seems worse than government reprisals.
The activist’s death in prison reflects poorly on the substantial investments that the international community has made into overhauling Kyrgyzstan’s notoriously selective and corrupt justice system.
While the government seems to concede the inevitability of the incipient downturn, it is still clinging to rosy economic performance figures. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.