(2025-0782-F) Sheila Heslin and Turkmenistan

The materials in FOIA 2025-0782-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. Sheila Heslin is a former director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs in the National Security Council. Prior to her appointment to the NSC, Heslin graduated from Cornell University, received her master’s degree in public policy from Harvard, and was a member of the State Department’s policy planning staff. She has authored and co-authored many articles focusing on Eastern Europe and former Soviet states. Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia and a former constituent republic of the Soviet Union. It is bordered by Uzbekistan to the north and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south, the Caspian Sea to the west, and Kazakhstan to the northwest. Since gaining its independence in 1991, Turkmenistan has received ongoing international criticism for human rights abuses, discrimination of religious and ethnic minorities, corruption, the lack of political and media freedoms, lack of freedom of speech for its citizens, and the lack of free and fair elections. According to Human Rights Watch, Turkmenistan remains one of the world’s most repressive countries. This collection contains correspondence, background information, briefing materials, talking points, promotional materials and meeting agendas relating to the expansion of bilateral relations and the encouragement of economic reform, human rights reform, and foreign investment in Turkmenistan, particularly in relation to the development of oil and gas pipelines in the region surrounding the Caspian Sea. A significant percentage of records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.