Join us for the virtual event
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Fight Against COVID-19
Doctors from Uzbekistan arriving in Tajikistan to help with the coronavirus. Photo from the Ministry of the Health of Uzbekistan.

A little more than one month after Tajikistan detected its first cases of coronavirus, on June 15 the authorities have announced the first easing of restrictions introduced to respond to the pandemic. However, a new investigation by the Tajik Service of RFE/RL indicates that the official statistics are probably highly questionable, particularly with regards to the actual death toll from COVID-19.  In the meantime, while officials in Turkmenistan continue to remain in denial about the virus, there are growing signs that not only the pandemic might have reached the country, but the authorities are increasingly concerned about how to deal with it. Join us to discuss Tajikistan's and Turkmenistan's management of the pandemic with our four speakers.
SPEAKERS
Rachel Denber , ​Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division

Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of Europe and Central Asia Division, specializes in countries of the former Soviet Union. Previously, Denber directed Human Rights Watch's Moscow office and did field research and advocacy in Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. She has authored reports on a wide range of human rights issues throughout the region. Denber earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in international relations and a master's degree in political science from Columbia University, where she studied at the Harriman Institute. She speaks Russian and French. 

Salimjon Aioubov, Director of RFE/RL's Tajik Service

Salimjon Aioubov was a senior broadcaster with RFE/RL's Tajik Service, and also Project Director for RFE/RL's Central Asian Newswire, a platform that aggregates original RFE/RL reporting and other information for Central Asian media seeking independent news. Aioubov has worked for numerous Tajik print, radio, and television outlets over the course of two decades, covering the civil war in Tajikistan and UN-mediated inter-Tajik peace talks and refugee issues resulting from the war, Organization of Islamic Cooperation conferences, and Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits. He has produced two short documentaries on Tajik issues, "Mi, Pereselentsi" (1986) and "Perpetual Returning" (1989), and published several books, most recently, “A Hundred Colors: Tajiks in the 20th Century" (Amsterdam, 2004). He graduated from Tajik State University in 1982 with a B.A. in journalism. 

Farruh Yusupov , ​Acting Director of RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service

Farruh Yusupov is Acting Director of RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service. He originally joined RFE/RL in 2004, working as an editor with the Uzbek Service and providing major contributions to its investigative work, including a series of reports on corruption involving members of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s family. Yusupov also launched several radio programs for the Uzbek Service, including “Health,” “The Other Side of the Coin,” and “OzodNavigator.” His 2007 radio documentary, “Uzbekistan and its Neighbors After Andijon,” was nominated for an AIB award. Before joining RFE/RL, Yusupov worked for USAID-funded projects in Uzbekistan. He has an M.A. in Linguistics from Ferghana State University, Uzbekistan. 

  • Luca Anceschi, ​Senior Lecturer in Central Asian Studies (Central & East European Studies)

Luca Anceschi   teaches Central Asian Studies at the University of Glasgow, where he also edits  Europe-Asia Studies . He is the author of  Turkmenistan's Foreign Policy--Positive Neutrality and the Consolidation of the Turkmen Regime  (2009) and  Analysing Kazakhstan's Foreign Policy: Regime New-Eurasianism in the Nazarbaev Era  (2020), both published by Routledge.

Monday, July 6, 2020
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM (EDT)


Event Number (access code): 120 369 6945
Event password: CAP0706
This event is on the record, open to the public, and will be recorded.

The Central Asia Program
Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES)
Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
1957 E Street, NW | Suite 412 | Washington, DC | 20052
  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  YouTube  |  LinkedIn

The Central Asia Program (CAP) promotes academic and policy research on contemporary Central Asia, and serves as an interface for the policy, academic, diplomatic, and business communities.