Bishkek's Backlash, Russia's New Red Lines, and a Caspian in Crisis

This week, we're tracking the culmination of Bishkek's power struggle as charges are formally brought against Tashiev, alongside a fresh wave of EU sanctions that look designed to make an example of one Central Asian state. We'll also break down the shutdown of a key Kazakh pipeline carrying oil to Europe, Russia's increasingly blunt statements on foreign military deployments across the region, Ashgabat's crackdown on Starlink connections in Turkmenistan, and the EU's push to turn Central Asia into a transit point for Afghans being deported back to Afghanistan. We'll also cover the spread of a new strain of foot-and-mouth disease tearing through the region. And for our main story, we turn to the mounting ecological crisis in the Caspian Sea, where falling water levels and worsening environmental pressures are becoming impossible for the region to ignore.

On the show this week:

- Vadim Ni ("Save the Caspian Sea" Movement)

Hosted by Bruce Pannier and Michael Hilliard

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