Live Updates
Georgia live updates | OSCE publishes final election report
We continue our live coverage of the fallout and widespread protests over Georgia’s EU accession U-turn.
Outrage after Yerevan’s Mayor calls local media a ‘big garbage dump’
The comments came after Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan was investigated for corruption by CivilNet and the OCCRP.
Georgia live updates | UK and US announce sanctions as mass protests continue
We continue our live coverage of the fallout and widespread protests over Georgia’s EU accession U-turn.
Pro-war Russian blogger accuses Chechen ‘Akhmat’ fighters of torture
Yegor Guzenko, the author of the Telegram channel Thirteenth, has claimed that he was tortured by Chechen fighters.
Podcasts
Armenian diaspora
Podcast | The Caucasus and the regime change in Syria
OC Media’s Robin Fabbro, Nate Ostiller, Arshaluys Barseghyan, and Yousef Bardouka talk about the regime change in Syria and what it means for the Caucasian diaspora communities in the country and what it says about Russia’s influence and power globally. Read more: * Armenia says ‘no opportunity’ to evacuate Syrian–Armenians * Syrian rebel leader condemns Abkhazia and South Ossetia recognition * Right of return? — The struggles of the Circassian diaspora to settle in A
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In Focus
Georgian Dream
When EU politicians say one thing, Georgian Dream leaders say another
EU politicians have taken to issuing their own corrective statements following meetings with Georgian Dream leaders.
Georgia’s EU U-turn
Calls for a general strike in Georgia: where are the unions?
Amid growing calls for a general strike, Georgia’s largest trade unions have remained mostly silent.
Feature Stories
‘When we get in the minibus, the fun will start’ — How Georgian police torture detained protesters
Demonstrators detained by police during the protests in Tbilisi have noted a systemic pattern of police brutality.
Feature Stories
The diaspora Georgians fighting for their homeland
Since ferocious anti-government and pro-EU demonstrations flared up in Georgia at the end of last month, some Georgians living across the world have returned to their country to take to the streets and join the fight. When restaurateur Kate Gochashvili’s family reunites in Tbilisi, it is always a special occasion. Based in New York, she is the frontwoman of the family-run Georgian fusion restaurant Cheeseboat, which spans two venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Kate — known to patrons as ‘Mama
Analysis
Explainer | Meydan TV becomes Azerbaijan’s latest independent media outlet to be repressed
Azerbaijan’s crackdown on independent media continues with the arrest of seven of Meydan TV’s journalists and freelancers on charges of smuggling and supporting Armenia. The campaign against Meydan TV began on 6 December with the arrest of journalist Ramin Jabrayilzada, also known as Deko. According to Jabrayilzada’s lawyer, Nemat Karimov, his client was stopped on his way home from the airport. Police confiscated his funds and claimed he had brought an illicit amount of currency into th
Azerbaijan
Anti-government protests spread to Georgia’s regions: the case of Marneuli
Georgian-Azerbaijani activists have held an anti-government demonstration in Marneuli, one of Georgian Dream’s most loyal voter base. On 4 December, human rights activists, representatives of public organisations, school children, civil activists, and representatives of opposition parties from various municipalities across Georgia’s eastern Kvemo Kartli region gathered at Marneuli’s District Electoral Commission building 22, located only a short distance away from the city hall. Police
2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections
Explainer | After a month of simmering protests, Georgia erupted: why now?
At a moment when it appeared as if demonstrations against electoral fraud and democratic backsliding had fallen into a feeling of bitter acceptance, protests in Georgia exploded suddenly on 28 November after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the government was suspending its bid for EU accession until 2028. But why did the government choose to take such an unpopular move? And why was this the trigger for such mass discontent? In Tbilisi and other cities and towns across the country
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Chechnya
Opinion | Chechen women are speaking up, but is anybody listening?
The first all-women Chechen March highlights how Chechen women are forced to live at the intersection of Islamophobia and xenophobia.
Azerbaijan
Opinion | Jack of all trades, master of none: Azerbaijan seeks renewables to sustain the status quo
Increasing investments in renewables may seem like a positive change, battling the climate crisis and diversifying Azerbaijan’s oil-dependent economy. Yet, without a decrease in fossil fuel investments and renewables mostly exported, there may not be a change after all. Azerbaijan, an authoritarian petro-state, is hosting COP29, the global conference to grapple with the climate crisis. The challenge calls for the phase-out of fossil fuels and the tripling (at least) of renewables by 2030.
Chechnya
Opinion | Chechen volunteer battalions have been abandoned by Ukraine
Despite verbal support for an independent Chechnya, Ukraine has abandoned Chechen fighters who have been fighting on their side against Russia for a decade. Is Russian cultural influence and propaganda the main reason behind this, and if so, what does it mean for Ukraine’s ability to stand against Russian aggression in general? In October 2022, Ukraine’s parliament recognised the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as an independent state that is ‘temporarily’ occupied by Russia, and condemned ‘t
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