Reviews
Review | Hotel Metalurg — illustrating the loss that never fades
The quiet and compassionate documentary Hotel Metalurg is less about losing a home than about learning, painfully, how to live without one.
News Stories
Today, 01 March 2026
Today, 01 March 2026
Friday, 27 February 2026
Azerbaijan
Detained Meydan TV journalists refuse meetings after jail builds glass partition in visiting room
Imprisoned politicians also said they had been mistreated in prison.
Georgia
Explainer | What foreign nationals need to know about Georgia’s new labour laws
From 1 March, new rules for employing foreign nationals will begin, affecting both self-employed individuals and those on employment contracts.
Georgia
Georgia’s Imedi TV switches website security to firm used by Russian Defence Ministry and Hamas
The switch appears to have taken place just as UK sanctions hit the media outlet.
Georgia
‘Amputated body parts’ found in abandoned building in western Georgia
The Georgian Prosecutor General’s Office said that three people were detained.
Armenia
Pashinyan and wife Anna Hakobyan separate after 30 years together
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Anna Hakobyan were never legally married in their three decades together.
Georgia
Is Tbilisi’s stubborn support of Imedi and POSTV a sign of more sanctions to come?
Georgia’s government has openly sided with media sanctioned by the UK over Russian disinformation. Could this be a sign of more sanctions to come?
Chechnya
Chechen authorities purchase 144 special SIM cards with access to services blocked in Russia
Officials will be able to bypass restrictions introduced by the Russian authorities.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani student detained by ICE released after Mamdani appeals to Trump
The ICE agents reportedly wore fake NYPD badges and entered the Columbia University dorms where Elmina Aghayeva was staying.
Georgia
Facing UK sanctions, Georgia’s Imedi announces plans to create its own bank
There has been speculation about how Georgian banks will handle their cooperation with the channels under sanctions.
Georgia
Opinion | Saving Georgia’s judiciary requires an examination of the past
Georgia does not need to look to the past for a supposed golden age of judicial independence, but to instead focus on building something sustainable.
Daily Brief
Friday, 27 February 2026
Regional * Georgian Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili said at the 7th Azerbaijan–Georgia–Turkey Business Forum that total Azerbaijan investment to Georgia since 2003 has exceeded $3.1 billion. Armenia * Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan are separating, Hakobyan announced on Friday. Pashinyan released a statement later saying he ‘respected’ her decision. * Pashinyan travelled to Poland, where he met with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, Polish President Karol
Thursday, 26 February 2026
Georgia
When Eagle Hills comes to town: what its European projects reveal about the risks for Georgia
Eagle Hills projects across Europe have failed to generate meaningful profits for host states, despite promises of long-term returns.
Adygea
Adygea Supreme Court rules to uproot 10,000 trees in place of ski resort
The ski resort will be built near the Caucasus Nature Reserve, a World Heritage Site.
OC Insider
Four years into Russia’s full-scale war and no end in sight
When I came to Georgia from Kyiv in early February 2022, as warnings were heating up about an impending full-throated Russian invasion, I could not have fathomed it would even begin on the scale it did on 24 February, let alone that it would be still going on four years later. I never did end up going back to my life in Kyiv, apart from a few visits to Ukraine over the past few years, including one in 2025 when I had my first personal experience with a Russian drone and missile attack. There is
Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict
Vardanyan says he won’t appeal Azerbaijani prison sentence
Vardanyan stated that he refuses to ‘participate in the farce’ or to ‘legitimise’ his 20-year sentence.
Reviews
Review | Self-Portrait Along the Borderline — exploring identity and belonging amidst conflict
Anna Dziapshipa’s 2023 collage documentary invites the viewer into her own story, examining personally what it means to be an Abkhaz–Georgian woman.
Daghestan
Sentence toughened for man responsible for Daghestan petrol station blast that killed 33
His prison term has been increased from five to eight and a half years.
Georgia
Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Papuashvili calls Zelenskyi ‘ungrateful’
Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili also said ‘the ultimate judgment on Zelenskyi will be made by the Ukrainian people themselves’.
Georgia-UK Relations
Georgia summons UK Ambassador over sanctions on pro-government media
The Georgian Foreign Ministry sought to demand an explanation regarding the sanctions.
Chechnya
Two Chechen narcotics officers go on trial over alleged abduction
The body of the abducted man has not been found nine years later.
2026 Armenian parliamentary elections
Armenia announces plans to increase pensions ahead of elections
Armenia’s opposition has accused the government of ‘pre-election bribery’.
Daily Brief
Thursday, 26 February 2026
Armenia * The government has announced plans to increase pensions by up to ֏10,000 ($27) by April. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that pensions will be increased from 1 April, noting that ‘relatively low pensions will increase by ֏10,000, higher ones by less’, according to Civilnet. Azerbaijan * Nigar Hazi, the daughter of imprisoned politician Tofig Yagublu, stated that he began a hunger strike on 22 February in protest of him being placed in solitary confinement, which he had ju
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Georgia
Georgian POSTV owner transferred management of his shares weeks before UK sanctions hit
The main shareholder of the pro-government POSTV is MP Viktor Japaridze.
Azerbaijan
Another Azerbaijani opposition politician linked to alleged Mehdiyev coup plot
Gultakin Hajibayli was deported from Turkey two weeks ago after being held there for more than two months.
Georgia
Georgian Dream MPs to attend summit organised by Russian-friendly US Congressperson Luna
Speakers at the event include US House Speaker Mike Johnson and Markus Frohnmaier, a member of Germany’s Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party.
Georgia
Monstrous costumes and cracking whips — the Georgian village preserving the spirit of Berikaoba
The centuries-old tradition of Berikaoba, a special masquerade to invoke spring, is now only found in a few villages in western Kakheti.
Georgia-UK Relations
‘Soon there will be neither Great nor Britain left’ — Georgia slams UK sanctions
Leaders of Georgia’s ruling party strongly condemned the sanctions on Imedi and POSTV.
Adygea
Former Adygea migration officer fined for issuing forged ID to Ukrainian citizen
The former official served as the head of the Migration Department district office in Krasnogvardeisky.
2026 Armenian parliamentary elections
Armenia requested EU dispatch anti-Russian disinformation team ahead of elections, RFE/RL reports
The team would identify and counter Russian disinformation.
