Azerbaijan
Baku residents claim demolition of their homes is illegal
Baku residents have created a community through social media, collecting signatures to save the historic Bayirshahar district.
News Stories
Yesterday, 12 September 2025
Yesterday, 12 September 2025
Azerbaijan
Baku appeals court seizes home of opposition spokesperson
Musavat spokesperson Mustafa Hajibayli said the court had sided with a bank despite an Audit Chamber conclusion backing his claim.
Daghestan
Double Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev denied visa for World Wrestling Championships in Croatia
According to Croatia, the reason for the denial was Abdulrashid Sadulaev’s previous visa violations.
Georgia
Russian activists in Georgia sentenced to 8.5 years on drug charges
Anastasia Zinovkina and Artem Gribul were active in the protests against Georgian Dream and believe the drugs were planted on them.
Armenian–Turkish Normalisation
Armenian and Turkish special envoys hold talks in Yerevan
The meeting marks the first-ever time the envoys held talks in Yerevan, with previous meetings traditionally held along the border or in third-party countries.
North Ossetia–Alania
North Ossetian politician calls female drivers ‘silicone cows with sawdust in their heads’
The comment created a firestorm, triggering reactions on both sides.
Reviews
Review | Temo Re — An artistic yet humorous commentary on Georgian society
Georgian director Anka Gujabidze’s debut film is a visual treat for lovers of monochrome photography.
Georgia
Two Ukrainians arrested in Georgia for allegedly smuggling explosives from Turkey
Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) said investigators were ‘considering’ connections between the arrests and the upcoming municipal elections.
Georgia
Georgian opposition figure Khabeishvili arrested for offering money to police to step aside
Levan Khabeishvili, a member of the former ruling United National Movement (UNM) party, offered riot police $200,000 not to disperse protesters.
Armenia
Armenian President: ‘there is no question’ of the nationalisation of Electric Networks
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan offered his remarks in an interview with the Russian media outlet RTVI.
Chechnya
Kadyrov reportedly fitted with catheter bag as health continues to deteriorate
The Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe has published a report on Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s visible problems with mobility.
Georgian Dream
Georgian Dream supporters filmed attacking protesters released without charge
One of the men was caught on film striking a woman protester in the face, while the other used a police officer’s baton to beat protesters.
Armenia
US to provide $145 million to Armenia for Trump Route
The mentioned sum is said to be the ‘first tranche of funding’ aimed at implementing the Trump Route.
Daily Brief
Friday, 12 September 2025
Armenia * On Friday, Turkey’s Special Envoy for normalisation with Armenia, Serdar Kılıç, arrived in Armenia via the land border, which remains closed. His Armenian counterpart, Ruben Rubinyan, welcomed Kılıç there. * The US intends to provide Armenia with $145 million in assistance, which is said to be the ‘first tranche of funding aimed at implementing the Trump Route project and other agreements reached’ in Washington on 8 August. The statement came during a meeting between Armenian Deputy
Georgia
Georgia’s former Defence Minister Burchuladze arrested for money laundering
Two of former Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze’s subordinates, as well as a ‘close relative’, were detained in the same case in July.
Nikol Pashinyan
Opinion | The personalisation of power in Armenia endangers democracy
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s focus on loyalty above all else risks turning Armenia’s democracy into a façade.
Thursday, 11 September 2025
Armenia
Echoing Aliyev, Pashinyan slams the now-dissolved OSCE Minsk Group
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused the OSCE Minsk Group of ‘deepening the conflict’ with Azerbaijan.
Chechnya
Russian singer Alla Pugachyova calls Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudaev ‘a decent and respectable man’
In an interview for the project ‘Say to Gordeyeva’ Pugachyova apologised to his widow.
Georgia
Georgia’s Kavelashvili calls Charlie Kirk ‘another victim of liberal fascism’
Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili said the murder of US far-right commentator Charlie Kirk was ‘linked to his conservative beliefs’.
Armenia
Armenian MPs call for drug and STI tests during clash in parliament
The conflict took place between the ruling Civil Contract party MP Artur Hovhannisyan and opposition MP Taguhi Tovmasyan.
Georgia
Germany condemns the ‘baseless attack’ on Ambassador Fischer by Georgian Dream’s Papuashvili
Parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili has repeatedly accused German Ambassador Peter Fischer of supporting violence against the government.
Ingushetia
Putin dismisses Ingushetia’s interior minister
In July, several media outlets reported on searches in the ministry.
Armenia
From noxious fumes to empty pledges: Yerevan’s long struggle with its ‘toxic bomb’ dumpsite
Despite new plans to replace the country’s largest open-air dump with a modern waste processing plant, experts and locals remain unconvinced.
2025 Georgian Local Elections
Georgian police detain two Georgian Dream supporters for assaulting protesters
The two men are believed to be supporters of Georgian Dream.
OC Insider
The US dithers while Georgia’s democracy continues to collapse
The US Helsinki Commission held a hearing yesterday on ‘Georgia’s Anti-American Turn’, which focused on ‘the global consequences of Georgia’s slide into authoritarianism’. Former President Salome Zourabichvili and former Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli testified at the hearing, which also included debates on ‘US policy options, such as the passage of the bipartisan MEGOBARI Act, to assist the people of Georgia as they seek to maintain their independence and longstanding, mutually beneficial
Georgia
Georgian protester detained for ‘damaging’ Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s election poster
Megi Diasamidze was detained while traveling to visit her family in the western coastal region of Adjara.
Daily Brief
Thursday, 11 September 2025
Regional * Georgian national Tengiz Korashvili, who was detained in South Ossetia on 19 May, has been released into Georgian-controlled territory, the Georgian State Security Service (SSG) reported. Korashvili is believed to be one of three Georgian citizens who were detained from the same village in May — the other two were released shortly after being detained. Armenia * Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that they are working with Azerbaijan to unblock regional transit and infrastruc
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Ingushetia
Ingush man accused of justifying terrorism over 2-year old Telegram post
The prosecution was prompted by a comment made two years ago.
Azerbaijan
Imprisoned Abzas Media staff denied appeal, stage protest in Baku court
Nargiz Absalamova, an imprisoned journalist from Abzas Media, has been awarded the Free Media Prize.
Georgia–US Relations
Opinion | With Georgia’s democracy on the line, one US senator makes a cynical stand
As human rights and democracy deteriorate in Georgia, the MEGOBARI Act offers the US a chance to respond. But one Senator stands in the way.
