Chechnya
Kadyrov acknowledges drone attack on Grozny, threatens Ukraine
Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov addressed Ukrainian citizens in a video, promising to ‘take cruel revenge’ for the attack
News Stories
Today, 08 December 2025
Today, 08 December 2025
Azerbaijan–Georgia Relations
Baku hosts Azerbaijan–Georgia Media Forum, bringing pro-government figures from both countries
No representatives of independent media outlets from either country participated in the forum.
Armenian Apostolic Church
Pashinyan proposes playing national anthem before liturgies in Armenian churches
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also suggested adding Armenian flags at the entrance or inside church buildings.
Daily Brief
Monday, 8 December 2025
Regional * US President Donald Trump has written a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, thanking him and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for their joint nomination of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. ‘I am deeply appreciative of your kind recognition, which inspires us to sustain our important mission’, Trump wrote in the letter. * On Saturday, Secretary of the Armenian Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, held a panel discussion with Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiye
Reviews
Review | 9-Month Contract — a heart-wrenching examination of Georgia’s surrogacy industry
Ketevan Vashagashvili’s debut documentary has won a cinematic human rights award for its sensitive portrayal of parenthood and surrogacy in Georgia.
Daily Brief
Friday, 5 December 2025
Regional * Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has commended the ‘Western Azerbaijan Community’ for its ‘restrained, constructive approach, openness to reconciliation and dialogue, […] and its respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states’. ‘Western Azerbaijan' is an irredentist concept used by the Azerbaijani authorities to lay claim to the territory of modern-day Armenia. Aliyev added that he believed ‘the peace-loving members of the Western Azerbaijan Community will return
OC Insider
Azerbaijan has reached ‘peace’ — why is Bahruz Samadov still in prison?
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
Yesterday, 07 December 2025
Chechnya
Opinion | Chechen voices are being silenced, even those abroad
Until the fear of collective punishment ends, even the simple act of speaking publicly is a privilege that most Chechens don’t have.
Reviews
Review | Nothing Returns, Nothing Is Repeated, Everything Is Real — and nothing happens
Georgian director Buka Gvaberidze’s languid film explores the complex relationship between its two main characters over the course of a single day.
Friday, 05 December 2025
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.
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.
