Hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered on August 7 in the Turkmen city of Turkmenbashi to protest food shortages amid Turkmenistan's severe economic crisis. Protesters complained about the lack of food rations of flour and cooking oil since February and demanded that the mayor come out and talk to them. The protesters left after the mayor pledged to resolve the food crisis. Many Turkmen households remain dependent on relatively cheap state-subsidized food items. The protest was held as authoritarian President Serdar Berdymukhammedov was reportedly vacationing in the nearby Avaza summer resort. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, click here.
