In this episode, I speak with Farruh Yusupov, the director of RFE/RL’s Turkmen service Azatlyk, about the burgeoning economic crisis in Turkmenistan and whether the government will be able to find a way out. With both Russia and Iran having ended the purchase of Turkmen gas, and oil and gas prices declining yet again, dollars are scarce, wages are going unpaid, and subsidies for utilities have been cut. Even with the media under tight control, there is growing frustration with the government’s lack of response to the crisis. Is President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov able and willing to address the crisis? Or is a harder crash inevitable? Subscribe via RSS feed. Subscribe via iTunes.