Georgian Communications Commission levies fines on TV channels for 'political' content
Opposition-leaning channel Mtavari was fined $35,000, while government-leaning Imedi was fined $800.
Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to bilateral commission in Sochi summit
According to Vladimir Putin, the commission will be ready before the end of the year.
Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to bilateral commission in Sochi summit
According to Vladimir Putin, the commission will be ready before the end of the year.
Watchdogs: Georgian Forest Fund lost 500 square kilometers in 5 years
A new report from a coalition of environmental and rights groups casts doubt on Georgia’s recent commitment to sustainable forest management.
Watchdogs: Georgian Forest Fund lost 500 square kilometers in 5 years
A new report from a coalition of environmental and rights groups casts doubt on Georgia’s recent commitment to sustainable forest management.
Georgian cities of Batumi and Zugdidi approve annual budgets amid protests
Six people were arrested in rallies outside the city councils of Batumi and Zugdidi after confrontations between law enforcement and opposition supporters.
Georgian cities of Batumi and Zugdidi approve annual budgets amid protests
Six people were arrested in rallies outside the city councils of Batumi and Zugdidi after confrontations between law enforcement and opposition supporters.
ECHR rules mother’s rights violated in Chechnya custody dispute
Luiza Tapayeva was denied custody of her children after the death of her husband.
ECHR rules mother’s rights violated in Chechnya custody dispute
Luiza Tapayeva was denied custody of her children after the death of her husband.
Student boycotts school in Baku over alleged homophobic abuse
The 17-year-old is boycotting his Baku school, because of alleged years-long homophobic abuse from classmates and the school administration.
Student boycotts school in Baku over alleged homophobic abuse
The 17-year-old is boycotting his Baku school, because of alleged years-long homophobic abuse from classmates and the school administration.
Chechnya proposes Russian ban on reporting ethnicity in criminal cases
The authors of the new law accused Russian media of promoting negative attitudes towards ethnic groups and inciting violence against them.
Pashinyan: Azerbaijan did not demand ‘corridor’ at working level
Pashinyan made the statement during his first press conference since the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Features & Analysis
Torture and survival in Chechnya
A harrowing story of one human rights activist’s abduction, torture, and exile.
Datablog | Georgians increasingly optimistic about joining the EU
Despite worsening relations between the EU and Georgia, new survey data suggests Georgians are increasingly optimistic about joining the bloc.
Datablog | Georgians increasingly optimistic about joining the EU
By Lucas FaglianoDespite worsening relations between the EU and Georgia, new survey data suggests Georgians are increasingly optimistic about joining the bloc.
A history of displacement: Meskhetians in Azerbaijan and Ukraine cling to their identity
Seventy-seven years have passed since Stalin deported the Meskhetians from Western Georgia to Central Asia.
A history of displacement: Meskhetians in Azerbaijan and Ukraine cling to their identity
By Ismayil FataliyevSeventy-seven years have passed since Stalin deported the Meskhetians from Western Georgia to Central Asia.
The EU and Armenia, partners in reform?
After Nikol Pashinyan’s landslide election victory, the EU has shown renewed confidence in the Armenian government with billions of euros in hand.
The EU and Armenia, partners in reform?
By Ani AvetisyanAfter Nikol Pashinyan’s landslide election victory, the EU has shown renewed confidence in the Armenian government with billions of euros in hand.
‘Everything that breathes must be born’: Abkhazia’s total ban on abortion
The ban is back in the news after a woman spoke about a relative being forced to carry her pregnancy to term despite medical complications.
‘Everything that breathes must be born’: Abkhazia’s total ban on abortion
By Marianna KotovaThe ban is back in the news after a woman spoke about a relative being forced to carry her pregnancy to term despite medical complications.
Street art in Georgia: Vandalism or self-expression?
Not so long ago, Tbilisi residents used to complain that street art was a blemish on the face of the city, now it’s one of the city’s most famous attractions.
Street art in Georgia: Vandalism or self-expression?
By Tata ShoshiashviliNot so long ago, Tbilisi residents used to complain that street art was a blemish on the face of the city, now it’s one of the city’s most famous attractions.
Opinion
Opinion | The far-reaching reasons for the Batumi tragedy
The collapse of a residential building in Batumi that took the lives of nine people, including three children, shook Georgia.
Opinion | The ignored, the unwanted, and the unforgiven
Victory Day was a showcase for the new dominant state narrative in Azerbaijan, but recent border violence has revealed its limits.
Opinion | Back to the ‘no war, no peace’ limbo
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh transformed Armenians from victors into the vanquished and so revealed 30 years of illusion and hypocrisy.
Voices
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![Voice | Life with hands of metal]()
Voice | Life with hands of metal
Artyom Arakelyan lost his hands at 12 years old, but this has not stopped him from becoming a linguist, football coach, and amateur pianist.
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![Voice | ‘They did nothing to help, they abandoned us’]()
Voice | ‘They did nothing to help, they abandoned us’
He was promised a decent job and a good salary in Germany, but instead he found lies, squalor, and backbreaking labour.
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![Voice | ‘Women must put an end to the war’]()
Voice | ‘Women must put an end to the war’
Araksia Martirosyan, participated in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, fought during the four day clashes in 2016, and returned to the front in 2020.
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![Voice | ‘I was shot twice in the head and abducted, but I survived’]()
Voice | ‘I was shot twice in the head and abducted, but I survived’
Sufyan had a promising life and career ahead of him until he reported his superiors for a massive fraudulent scheme.
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![Voice | I'm looking for my child]()
Voice | I'm looking for my child
In the wake of the revelations about the trafficking of newborns in Armenia, Haykuhi Khachatryan began to believe that her late newborn was still alive.
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![Voice | ‘I knew from age 6 that I was born in the wrong body’]()
Voice | ‘I knew from age 6 that I was born in the wrong body’
A 42-year-old transgender man shares his story of discovering his real gender identity and the struggle of living in Georgia as a trans person.
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![Voice | ‘I went to war at 17’]()
Voice | ‘I went to war at 17’
Sent to war aged just 17, WWII veteran Vardanush Zakaryan tells how her love for her husband survived both war and death.
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![Voice | ‘In my hands, a weapon has become a work of art’]()
Voice | ‘In my hands, a weapon has become a work of art’
Artak Tadevosyan from Gyumri gives new life to used bullets and casings.
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![Voice | ‘I was kidnapped by my family’]()
Voice | ‘I was kidnapped by my family’
Devran Ibrahimsoy, 25, did not receive his family’s support when he discovered his gender identity; after he fled to Baku, they even kidnapped him.
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![Voice | ‘I’ve been homeless since 2000’]()
Voice | ‘I’ve been homeless since 2000’
The trials, tribulations, and occasional moments of grace in twenty years of living on Tbilisi’s streets.
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![Voice | ‘We are all tired, but we shouldn’t give up’]()
Voice | ‘We are all tired, but we shouldn’t give up’
Georgian doctor Nino Kvirtia talks about fighting both the coronavirus and the accompanying disinformation.
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![Vitali Safarov’s mother: I must know why they killed my son]()
Vitali Safarov’s mother: I must know why they killed my son
The mother is appealing the court’s verdict which said the murder wasn’t a hate crime.
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![Voice | ‘Whether I have a disability or not, I am still me’]()
Voice | ‘Whether I have a disability or not, I am still me’
Jamila Mammadli, 26, talks about love, her passion for the theatre, and the preconceptions about disability that are pervasive in Azerbaijan.
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![Voice | ‘They say Georgia is a tolerant and diverse country; these are just words’]()
Voice | ‘They say Georgia is a tolerant and diverse country; these are just words’
Gulgun Mamadli, 22, talks about experiencing xenophobia and hate speech during the pandemic.
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![Voice | The bitterness of the Kvankhidatli salt — the women salt miners of Daghestan]()
Voice | The bitterness of the Kvankhidatli salt — the women salt miners of Daghestan
In the mountain village of Kvankhidatli, women recall ‘going to the salt’ since the beginning of the 20th century.
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![Voice | Tamara Mearakishvili: ‘If I’m found guilty, I will not run away’]()
Voice | Tamara Mearakishvili: ‘If I’m found guilty, I will not run away’
The veteran activist and journalist reflects on life in Akhalgori, her ongoing prosecution, and the Georgian Government’s approach to South Ossetia.
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![Voice | ‘People should not lose their sense of responsibility’]()
Voice | ‘People should not lose their sense of responsibility’
When Armenia confirmed its first case of COVID-19, Naira Stepanyan, a doctor specialising in infectious diseases, was the first to treat him.
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![Voice | ‘The occupation of Abkhazia makes us occupied too’]()
Voice | ‘The occupation of Abkhazia makes us occupied too’
Nona Bukia tells of the social ills that have been caused by Abkhazia’s closure of crossing points three years ago.
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![Voice | ‘Every afternoon I came home from school broken’]()
Voice | ‘Every afternoon I came home from school broken’
Narek, 29, from Stepanakert, describes how he was tormented at school while teachers often protected the abusers.
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![Voice | ‘I left prison with a double stigma — I was a convict and HIV-positive’]()
Voice | ‘I left prison with a double stigma — I was a convict and HIV-positive’
Tamuna Gakhokidze, 37, is HIV-positive woman from Tbilisi who speaks about her diagnosis, about stigma, as well as how she discovered her diagnosis and learnt to live with it.
In Pictures
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![In pictures | Education in the shadow of early marriage]()
In pictures | Education in the shadow of early marriage
A few brave Yazidi women in Armenia have bucked tradition and sought a university education, to uplift not only themselves but their whole community.
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![In pictures | Lips sewn shut in Chiatura’s sinking village]()
In pictures | Lips sewn shut in Chiatura’s sinking village
Residents of Shukruti say their houses continue to collapse due to mining underneath, and neither the mining company nor the government is listening.
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![In Pictures | Forgotten by the highway]()
In Pictures | Forgotten by the highway
From hammocks to nazuki sweet bread, the roadside wares that make travel in Georgia such a delight are in danger of disappearing.
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![In Pictures | Bakuriani’s corona freeze]()
In Pictures | Bakuriani’s corona freeze
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought life in Georgia’s most popular ski resort town to a painful standstill.
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![In pictures | Tbilisi’s ‘jarti’ collectors]()
In pictures | Tbilisi’s ‘jarti’ collectors
A look at Georgia’s uneasy scrap industry shows how Georgia’s present situation reflects in the piles of tin, copper, and brass.
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![In pictures | Struggle in the open-air: Tbilisi’s Navtlughi Bazaar]()
In pictures | Struggle in the open-air: Tbilisi’s Navtlughi Bazaar
The open-air bazaars of Tbilisi began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s; they remain a vital lifeline for many.
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![In pictures | Borjomi’s year-long winter]()
In pictures | Borjomi’s year-long winter
Residents of the legendary spa town have banded together to try to survive the disappearance of the summer tourism boom.
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![In Pictures | Women’s voices in forestry]()
In Pictures | Women’s voices in forestry
The women who live off Georgia’s forests, and the women who tend to them tell their stories.
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![In pictures | Strategic object: Baku’s years of transformation]()
In pictures | Strategic object: Baku’s years of transformation
In a four year project, Chloe Borkett captured images of Baku’s metamorphosis in the 2010s from a different angle.
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![In pictures | Rustavi: The city of factories]()
In pictures | Rustavi: The city of factories
Rustavi’s factories have led to ‘alarming’ levels of air pollution in the city — local activists, backed by the city council, are getting fed up.
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![In pictures | Black Lives Matter protest in Tbilisi]()
In pictures | Black Lives Matter protest in Tbilisi
Several dozen protestors gathered in central Tbilisi in support of the ongoing demonstrations in the United States.
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![In pictures | Tbilisi’s night bus — a shelter on wheels]()
In pictures | Tbilisi’s night bus — a shelter on wheels
Tbilisi introduced a night bus two years ago between the city centre and the airport. Now, it serves as overnight accommodation for the homeless.
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![In pictures | Life under quarantine in Gyumri]()
In pictures | Life under quarantine in Gyumri
Hopes for a bumper tourist season in Armenia’s second-largest city have been put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.
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![In pictures | Ghost apartments and hyperbuilding in Batumi]()
In pictures | Ghost apartments and hyperbuilding in Batumi
Soaring tourism in the popular casino town has brought with it a construction boom — one that seemingly has no end in sight.
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![In pictures | Tbilisi’s first night under curfew]()
In pictures | Tbilisi’s first night under curfew
On 31 March at 21:00, the streets of Tbilisi emptied as the country entered its first night of curfew.
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![In pictures | International Women’s Day at Tbilisi’s largest flower market]()
In pictures | International Women’s Day at Tbilisi’s largest flower market
Despite the panoply of colours and the sweet smells, for some of Tbilisi’s flower sellers, it is not an entirely festive affair.
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![In pictures | Life along the Azerbaijani border regions of Gazakh and Tovuz]()
In pictures | Life along the Azerbaijani border regions of Gazakh and Tovuz
Along the Armenian Azerbaijani border, ceasefire violations occur frequently from both sides.
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![In pictures | The uncertain life of lorry drivers along the Georgian Military Road]()
In pictures | The uncertain life of lorry drivers along the Georgian Military Road
One of the most common sights along the Georgian Military Road, after the mountain views, is the lines of lorries queuing at the Russian border.
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![In pictures | Tbilisi’s dying evergreens]()
In pictures | Tbilisi’s dying evergreens
As the trees on Tbilisi’s periphery turn orange and die, environmental activists say more must be done to save Tbilisi’s last green areas.
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![In pictures | Tbilisi’s lemon vendors — the hardships of selling lemons to survive]()
In pictures | Tbilisi’s lemon vendors — the hardships of selling lemons to survive
Selling lemons in the streets at ₾1 for a bag of 5, Tbilisi’s lemon vendors — almost exclusively elderly women — struggle to scrape out a living.
