Abkhazia
Abkhaz activist says she was harassed by ‘Georgian mafia’ ahead of UN forum
Elçin Adzinba has additionally said that she became the victim of a cyberattack after delivering her remarks.
News Stories
Friday, 05 December 2025
Friday, 05 December 2025
Armenia
Armenia arrests fourth high-ranking clergy member
Archbishop Khachatryan is accused of arranging the placement of drugs on a demonstrator at a 2018 protest against Catholicos Karekin II.
Chechnya
Supreme Court upholds sentence of Nikita Zhuravel, the detainee beaten by Adam Kadyrov
Nikita Zhuravel was sentenced to 14 years in prison for burning a Quran and for ‘state treason’.
Georgia
Georgian Ex-PM Gakharia’s party calls for parliamentary inquiry into protest dispersals after BBC report
For Georgia stated that it will raise the issue of establishing a parliamentary investigative commission at the next Bureau meeting.
Chechnya
Drone strikes high-rise in Grozny
A number of ministries and agencies are located in this building.
Reviews
Review | The Kartli Kingdom — a heartfelt examination of Georgia’s IDP housing crisis
This French–Georgian co-production observes a close-knit community of IDPs from Abkhazia residing in an abandoned Soviet-era resort in Tbilisi.
Georgia’s EU U-turn
Republican Senate leader Thune blocks MEGOBARI Act
Senate Majority Leader John Thune turned down a personal request to advance the bill from his Republican colleague, House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Thursday, 04 December 2025
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani member of Wagner Group sentenced to 3.5 years in prison
Ismail Hasanov spent six months fighting for the Wagner Group in Ukraine after being recruited from a Russian prison in 2022.
Daghestan
Daghestani blogger sentenced to eight years in prison over posts on Bucha and Mariupol
Blogger Arslan Mirzaev was found guilty of spreading false information about Russia’s Armed Forces as well as publicly justifying terrorism.
Georgia
Georgia to stop accepting foreign students in state universities as of next academic year
The number of foreign students in Georgia has been rising, with foreign students paying higher fees than Georgian students.
Armenia–Turkey Relations
Bloomberg: Turkey considering opening border with Armenia in ‘next six months’
Despite prior agreements dating back to 2022, Turkey has kept its land border with Armenia closed.
Chechnya
Kadyrov’s eldest son donates $230,000 to a charitable foundation
The origin of the funds was not specified in official statements
Daily Brief
Thursday, 4 December 2025
Armenia * ‘Turkey is considering reopening its land border with Armenia in the next six months’, Bloomberg has reported, citing ‘people familiar with the matter’. * Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan directly accused Catholicos Karekin II of being a foreign agent. On Wednesday, at the Parliament, Pashinyan said he did not need a Catholicos who would obey him, but one ‘who will not obey a senior lieutenant of a foreign special service and will not report to lieutenants of a foreign special service
Azerbaijan
Trump to pardon US congressperson charged with accepting Azerbaijani bribes
Henry and Imelda Cuellar were charged with accepting around $600,000 in bribes to influence legislation favourable to Azerbaijan.
Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Georgia
Kobakhidze confirms substance in water cannons following BBC investigation but rules out ‘camite’
Heated debate continues in Georgia over the BBC investigation into the winter 2024 protest crackdown.
Kabarda–Balkaria
Water utility supervisor convicted over mass water poisoning in Kabarda–Balkaria
A total of 113 people were recognised as victims in the criminal case.
Armenia
Armenian government accused of ‘selectively’ publishing Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation documents
The released documents have further intensified the conflict between Armenia’s current and former leaders.
Adygea
Former Adygean police officer sentenced to 2 years for attacking journalists
Murat Adzhigiriev had struck a camera operator inside a courthouse.
Georgia
Georgian government unveils education reform project
The programme included a change in the textbook preparation process, as well as introducing uniforms.
Chechnya
Police threaten extremism charges against friend of Seda Suleymanova
Lena Patyaeva is currently serving a 10-day sentence for an alleged violation of the rules on holding a picket.
Reviews
Review | Stalin’s Cola — the story of Georgia’s famous Lagidze lemonades
In his latest documentary, award-winning director Stefan Tolz examines Georgia’s premier lemonade company — and why it failed to beat Coca-Cola.
Children’s Rights
Opinion | Armenia’s unbreakable and vicious cycle of violence against children
New reforms to protect children exist on paper — yet every minute the government delays in fully implementing them risks another child’s life.
Daily Brief
Wednesday, 3 December 2025
Armenia * On Tuesday, the Armenian Government published a number of documents related to the negotiation for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The published documents created heated discussions online, further intensifying the spate of mutual accusation current and former leaders have been levying at each other regarding the negotiations. The documents were published a day after the OSCE Minsk group ceased its activities. Azerbaijan * The trial of the imprisoned Meydan TV jo
Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani Eurovision star Samira Efendi criticised for praising Armenian artist in Kazakh contest
Samira Efendi gave Armenian contestant Saro Gevorgyan the highest score in the Star of the Silk Road competition.
Georgia
Local judge in southern Georgia rebels against Georgian Dream’s legislative changes
Judge Vladimer Khuchua has halted some cases and appealed to the Constitutional Court.
Chechnya
FSB building, police station, and Akhmat regiment site hit by Ukrainian drones in Chechnya
While videos were published on social media, Chechen authorities have not made any official comments.
Armenia–EU Relations
Armenia adopts new strategic agenda with the EU
The EU announced an allocation of €15 million ($17 million) ‘towards sustaining peace and a more resilient Armenia’.
Georgia
‘False information harmful to the state’: Georgian authorities react to BBC investigation
Following the BBC report into the use of toxic WWI chemicals, the State Security Service has opened a probe, while the government threatens to sue.
Azerbaijan
Arrest of Azerbaijani Popular Front Party chair Ali Karimli triggers international criticism
Frank Schwabe, a German member of PACE, stated that Azerbaijan is moving ‘further away’ from European values.
Ingushetia
Ingush law banning glorification of Stalin’s memory secretly withdrawn from consideration
Historian Ibragim Kostoev reported that the law was secretly withdrawn from consideration eight years ago.
