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.

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.

Iranians have been flooding into Armenia to get COVID vaccines, causing Tehran to complain and Yerevan to tighten the rules.

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.

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

Rigged elections have created political crises in two other post-Soviet countries this year, leaving Nur-Sultan edgy ahead of a parliamentary vote.

Hypocritical election congratulations underscore the cold strategic underpinnings of a bloc that is as much about politics as it is about trade.

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

The territory's public health officials have warned against opening up to tourism, and the arrival of tourists has coincided with a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.

There is no setback in the EAEU, it would appear, that cannot be fixed with a roadmap.