Azerbaijan and Iran trade denunciations as tensions mount
Baku and Tehran have exchanged heated accusations after an Iranian commander criticised Azerbaijan after opening an embassy in Israel.
First person charged and detained over Georgia’s foreign agent protests
Pro-government media and the ruling party chair have speculated about the detainee’s ‘orientation’ and political allegiances.
First person charged and detained over Georgia’s foreign agent protests
Pro-government media and the ruling party chair have speculated about the detainee’s ‘orientation’ and political allegiances.
Podcast | Exclusionary nationalism in Azerbaijan and getting away with sexual harassment in Georgia
The Azerbaijani regime’s exclusion of anti-war critics and Armenians, and the sexual harassment accusations against Shalva Ramishvili.
Podcast | Exclusionary nationalism in Azerbaijan and getting away with sexual harassment in Georgia
The Azerbaijani regime’s exclusion of anti-war critics and Armenians, and the sexual harassment accusations against Shalva Ramishvili.
Lachin corridor route changed amid blockade
A change to the route of the Lachin corridor has been implemented, with a route bypassing the town of Lachin connected to a new section of road near Armenia’s border.
Lachin corridor route changed amid blockade
A change to the route of the Lachin corridor has been implemented, with a route bypassing the town of Lachin connected to a new section of road near Armenia’s border.
Azerbaijani MP survives shooting
Fazil Mustafa was shot several times outside his home near Baku by an unknown man.
Azerbaijani MP survives shooting
Fazil Mustafa was shot several times outside his home near Baku by an unknown man.
Two men killed following ‘attack on Chechen police station’
Despite widespread reports of the attack on the police station, the Chechen authorities said the incident took place in their home.
Two men killed following ‘attack on Chechen police station’
Despite widespread reports of the attack on the police station, the Chechen authorities said the incident took place in their home.
Azerbaijan dismisses EU Monitoring Mission’s fears of escalation
Baku has accused the mission of bias towards Armenia.
Georgian Dream attacks independent media holding Palitra
The ruling party have accused Palitra Media of being financed by former defence minister Davit Kezerashvili.
Features & Analysis
Activists rally against ‘monster’ building on Sukhumi seafront
The construction of a multi-storey building in a historic quarter of Abkhazia’s capital has prompted pushback from activists and architects.
Poisoned, soaked, but still dancing: Georgia’s Zoomers come of political age
Sassy posters, raving to sirens, and dancing with water jets have become symbols of the protests that defeated Georgia’s foreign agent bills.
Poisoned, soaked, but still dancing: Georgia’s Zoomers come of political age
By Tata ShoshiashviliSassy posters, raving to sirens, and dancing with water jets have become symbols of the protests that defeated Georgia’s foreign agent bills.
‘Irrationality is subjective’: fears rise of conflict between Iran and Azerbaijan
As the two countries exchange increasingly aggressive rhetoric and actions, some worry that a serious conflict might break out.
‘Irrationality is subjective’: fears rise of conflict between Iran and Azerbaijan
By Ismi AghayevAs the two countries exchange increasingly aggressive rhetoric and actions, some worry that a serious conflict might break out.
Georgia’s lost parents and sold children
A group in Georgia claims to have reunited 500 people sold by doctors as newborns with their biological families.
Georgia’s lost parents and sold children
By Tata ShoshiashviliA group in Georgia claims to have reunited 500 people sold by doctors as newborns with their biological families.
Analysis | How Azerbaijan’s youth feels towards different countries and the conflict
Polling by the Agora Analytical Collective shows which countries young Azerbaijanis like and dislike, which they see as a threat or an ally.
Analysis | How Azerbaijan’s youth feels towards different countries and the conflict
By Robin FabbroPolling by the Agora Analytical Collective shows which countries young Azerbaijanis like and dislike, which they see as a threat or an ally.
Plastic flowers at a funeral: small-town life under blockade
In the town of Chartar, in Nagorno-Karabakh, some local residents feel doubly cut off.
Plastic flowers at a funeral: small-town life under blockade
By Marut VanyanIn the town of Chartar, in Nagorno-Karabakh, some local residents feel doubly cut off.
Opinion
Opinion | Azerbaijan needs an alternative to nationalist militarism
Civil society must step up and propose a progressive alternative to Baku’s rule — one that challenges the nationalist militarism at its core.
Opinion | Greenwashing a blockade
It is clear that the ‘eco-protesters’ blocking the Lachin Corridor were put there by Baku.
Opinion | Russia’s shifting interests are leaving Armenia out to dry
Russia is reneging on its long-term alliance with Armenia, in favour of closer ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey
Voices
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![Voice | Three months in a Georgian Dream troll factory]()
Voice | Three months in a Georgian Dream troll factory
Nino, 17, found that working for the ruling party meant fake social media flashmobs, no contracts, and broken promises.
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![Voice | They slapped me and called me a faggot: my experience with the Tbilisi police]()
Voice | They slapped me and called me a faggot: my experience with the Tbilisi police
Giorgi Mzhavanadze, director of the Shame Movement, recounts his experience in the Ninth Police Department in Tbilisi.
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![Voice | ‘Why I burnt my Russian internal passport’]()
Voice | ‘Why I burnt my Russian internal passport’
At a demonstration in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, on 25 February, Anton Mikhalchuk, a citizen of Russia, set alight his Russian internal passport.
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![Voice | ‘I dreamt of freedom’]()
Voice | ‘I dreamt of freedom’
An Armenian-Lebanese repatriate tells the story of her capture by Azerbaijani forces following the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
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![Voice | ‘They love each other very much’]()
Voice | ‘They love each other very much’
Fifty-six-year old Inga Sindeeva told OC Media about the joys and the challenges of being a foster parent in Georgia.
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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.
In Pictures
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![In pictures | Georgians defeat the foreign agent law]()
In pictures | Georgians defeat the foreign agent law
The Georgian Government made a U-turn on the bill after a second night of huge protests in Tbilisi.
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![In pictures | Tear gas and water cannons: Georgia’s foreign agent protests]()
In pictures | Tear gas and water cannons: Georgia’s foreign agent protests
Riot police used force to disperse tens of thousands of protestors against the foreign agent law after it was passed by parliament.
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![In Pictures | Life in limbo at the Hotel Goris]()
In Pictures | Life in limbo at the Hotel Goris
Unable to return home, residents of Nagorno-Karabakh caught on the Armenian side of the Lachin blockade have temporarily settled near the border.
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![In Pictures | Georgia’s shrinking train lines]()
In Pictures | Georgia’s shrinking train lines
Trains were once among the most reliable methods of transport in Georgia, but closures under the guise of the pandemic have left many cut off.
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![In Pictures | Armenia’s not-so-velvet counter-revolution]()
In Pictures | Armenia’s not-so-velvet counter-revolution
Armenia’s opposition protesters remain steadfast in their demand for Pashinyan’s resignation, though they have few specifics on what happens next.
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![In pictures | Georgians killed in Ukraine receive hero’s welcome in Tbilisi]()
In pictures | Georgians killed in Ukraine receive hero’s welcome in Tbilisi
Gia Beriashvili and Davit Ratiani were killed on the Irpin front, northwest of Kyiv, on 18 March.
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![In Pictures | Fighting to save the art of Borchalo carpet weaving in Georgia]()
In Pictures | Fighting to save the art of Borchalo carpet weaving in Georgia
There are only a few dozen women who still weave the carpets, a unique art practised mostly by Georgia’s ethnic Azerbaijani community
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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.
