From Georgia to Georgia, authoritarianism spreads

by Nate Ostiller

• 4 min read

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OC Insider

Under the red flag with a new design

by Aytan Farhadova

•2 min read

On 22 April, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was met on Tiananmen Square by Chinese President Xi Jinping as Aliyev’s favourite song — ‘Homeland!’ (‘Ey Vətən!’) — played in the background. It was a message to the world that Xi was growing his club of authoritarian leaders. In their one-on-one meeting Xi stressed that China supports Azerbaijan in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in continuing to follow a development path that suits its national

OC Insider

Chechnya reverts back to the Middle Ages

by Elizaveta Chukharova

•2 min read

If you’ve been reading OC Media, you’ve probably noticed the horrifying events that have been unfolding in Chechnya over the past week. What’s happening there amounts to public executions — in a supposedly civilised country allegedly governed by the rule of law. It all began when a teenager attacked police officers with a knife in Achkoi-Martan, western Chechnya. As it later emerged, the motive was personal resentment. Witnesses say that the day before the attack, the boy — who lived in Moscow

OC Insider

For Georgian Dream, murderous Soviet soldiers and anti-government protesters are the same

by Mikheil Gvadzabia

•3 min read

In a reality where the Georgian government has launched a full-scale assault — both rhetorically and in action — against its critics, even the most vicious and degrading statements from ruling party politicians or their affiliated media no longer come as a shock. These days, we’re bombarded daily with lengthy statements and pro-government TV reports, pushing the narrative that a bunch of ‘radical’ and ‘rootless’ individuals — allegedly controlled by the ‘deep state’ or the ‘global war party’ —

OC Insider

After insulting journalists, Armenia’s ruling party refuses to apologise

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•2 min read

In Armenia’s highly polarised media landscape, which features only a handful of independent media outlets, it is challenging to convey to the public what real journalism is and should be. Indeed, there are frequent cases whereby journalists exceed the professional standards, making their work more akin to activism, or turning their writing into tools in the hands of their owners, funders, or other affiliated figures to publish propaganda or leak materials. However, journalists are not alone in