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Political scientist and OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov, who is serving a sentence of 15 years in prison on charges of treason at the Umbaki facility in the suburbs of Baku, reminds me of Stefan Zweig’s main character, Jacob Mendel, from his short story Buchmendel. During WWI, Mendel, a Russian Jew born along the Russian–Polish border, resides in Vienna without any documentation, his life wholly consisting of books. When he is falsely accused of collaborating with enemies of the Austro-Hung
A year has passed since Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party halted the country’s bid for EU membership — a move that immediately sparked a massive, nationwide protest movement that, despite relentless state pressure and shrinking in size, continues to this day. Honestly speaking, without any theatrics: I can’t really believe I’m writing this. Partly because it’s hard to realise that such a long, heavy year has gone by so quickly. And second, it’s astonishing to see how the country has changed
Brussels’ deadlock: EU diplomats on Georgia’s uncertain future In early November, as the EU released its latest enlargement report — describing Georgia as ‘a candidate country on paper only’ — I travelled to Brussels with several other journalists from Georgian online media platforms. During the five-day press trip, organised by the EU Delegation to Georgia, we met with EU officials and diplomats from member states and had a chance to ask them questions about how they see the next steps with G
There is so much wrong with Tucker Carlson’s recent episode on Armenia — featuring Narek Kareptyan, the nephew of jailed Russian-Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan and his amoral, opportunistic lawyer Robert Amsterdam — that it is hard to know where to begin. I think part of the reason I’m writing this newsletter is to put my thoughts on paper about the literal torrent of misinformation and false narratives contained in the episode (and to spare my coworkers, who are probably tired of hearing me
