Georgia
A not-so silent night — Tbilisi enters holiday season as protests persist
The Georgian protest movement is spending another winter holiday on the streets.
News Stories
Yesterday, 15 December 2025
Yesterday, 15 December 2025
Armenia
Armenian companies in talks with Azerbaijan to import Azerbaijani fuel
Georgia is reportedly demanding high tariffs for the transfer of fuel from Azerbaijan to Armenia through Georgian territory.
Reviews
Review | Pathetic Monologues — Georgian theatre that finally laughs at itself
In a country where cultural prestige is often performed, this play dares to laugh at the performance itself.
Abkhazia
Abkhazia moves ahead with transit hub for Russia-bound goods via Georgia
The new hub, located in Abkhazia’s Gali district, was kept secret while under construction.
Armenia
Armenian to receive third batch of wheat through Azerbaijan
The first two batches came from Russia and Kazakhstan.
Chechnya
Kadyrov says he is ‘fed up to the neck’ with power
At the same time, the Chechen head allowed the possibility of taking part in elections next year.
Georgia
Georgia creates unified mental health database, sparking fears of exploitation
The government justified the bill on the grounds of public safety, a reasoning that critics have sharply disagreed with.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani authorities add new charges against opposition leader Ali Karimli’s bodyguard
Novruz Taghiyev has been in detention since May 2025.
Daily Brief
Monday, 15 December 2025
Regional * Armenian companies interested in importing Azerbaijani fuel have been engaged in ongoing talks with Azerbaijan, Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan told RFE/RL, without disclosing the names of the companies. * The Investigative Committee of Armenia has completed its work with the body of murdered Chechen woman Aishat Baymuradova, who had earlier fled her family due to violence. A request has been sent to Russia for the transfer of the body for burial, but there has still been
Saturday, 13 December 2025
Georgia’s EU U-turn
Opinion | Georgia’s new mental health registry is a tool for repression
The new legislation to create a mental health database shows the state is reverting to old mechanisms of control deeply rooted in the Soviet past.
Friday, 12 December 2025
Georgia
ECHR awards huge compensation to 2019 Tbilisi protest victims, sparking divided reactions
Interpretations of the ruling differ between the ruling party and its ex-ally, then–Interior Minister Gakharia’s team.
Armenia
Armenian authorities raid offices of Nagorno-Karabakh representation after talks on refugee return
Critics have suggested a political pretext behind the search.
Abkhazia
Will Abkhazia be able to avoid an energy collapse this winter?
Abkhazian authorities promise they won’t allow a collapse of the energy grid this winter. But can they deliver?
Ingushetia
Ingushetia bans screening of movie about 1944 deportations
The republic’s culture ministry did not approve the premiere of the film The Letter.
Azerbaijan
Kyrgyz construction company sues Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry over nonpayment for Bishkek park
The company alleges that the ministry owes more than $3 million for the construction of Bishkek’s Azerbaijan–Kyrgyzstan Friendship Park.
Daily Brief
Friday, 12 December 2025
Regional * On Thursday, Karen Avanesyan, one of the few Armenians who remained in Nagorno-Karabakh, stood trial in Azerbaijan on charges of planning an ‘armed provocation’. * Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians held in Azerbaijan delivered some of their final statements yesterday. Levon Balayan and Garik Martirosyan pleaded not guilty in their statements, Madat Babayan stated that he did not kill anyone but merely fired into the air, and Melikset Pashayan said he did not participate in combat operatio
Thursday, 11 December 2025
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani security extradite 3 suspects over ‘serious crimes’
One of those detained volunteered to fight during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Chechnya
Brother of Chechen AfD member a convicted killer linked to Kadyrov, investigation finds
Journalists have established that Murad Dadaev changed his name and made his way into German politics.
Georgia
Georgian Parliament passes amendments on protest restrictions and sweeping changes to higher education
Both sets of amendments have sparked controversy among critics.
Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian drones force Pashinyan’s jet to land in Saint Petersburg instead of Moscow
Pashinyan was traveling to Moscow to partake in a Eurasian Economic Union session.
OC Insider
The day riot police poisoned me
On 28 November 2024, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the halting of Georgia’s EU-integration process, I went to cover the ensuing protest. As the crowd grew bigger and bigger outside the parliament building located on Tbilisi's central Rustaveli Avenue, riot police took different spots around it. As it neared midnight, they began to disperse the demonstrators. I was on the fountain structure outside the parliament building trying to document a water cannon targeting camera ope
Chechnya
Kadyrov threatens to ‘behead’ Chechens in Europe over drone attacks on Chechnya
In a Chechen address, Kadyrov warned opposition figures in exile against ‘insulting the honour’ of Chechnya.
Georgia
Joe Wilson calls for probe into Georgian ambassador’s husband after OC Media investigation
An OC Media investigation revealed that the husband of Georgia’s ambassador to the US is linked to a sanctions-busting Russian law firm.
Armenia–Azerbaijan Relations
Pashinyan offers Baku to jointly plan roadmap to move past refugee return issues
Pashinyan’s proposal follows Azerbaijani criticism of the recently signed EU–Armenia strategic agenda.
Azerbaijan
US Representative Luna introduces bill to end aid restrictions on Azerbaijan
The legislation, if successfully passed, would end a decades-long restriction on US aid for Azerbaijan.
Georgia
Israeli MPs cancel trip to Georgia, citing warnings of potential terrorist attack
Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) said neither they nor Israeli intelligence had received any such warnings.
Georgia’s EU U-turn
‘Pray for Zahesi, fear Dighomi’: women’s stories from Georgia’s protest detention centres
The women detained during Georgia’s ongoing anti-government protests have reported systematic practices designed to degrade human dignity.
Daily Brief
Thursday, 11 December 2025
Regional * Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has made an ‘open and public proposal’ to Azerbaijan to ‘adopt a joint roadmap aimed at simultaneously’ putting aside Baku’s ‘western Azerbaijan’ narratives and the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh. ‘Because removing this issue means, from a long-term strategic perspective, eliminating any potential conflict situation’, Pashinyan said. Armenia * Pashinyan’s plane was forced to land in St. Petersburg, instead of Moscow, after circlin
Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Georgia
Georgia considers relocating key state institutions to future ‘government quarter’
The project envisions relocating parliament and several ministries, among other institutions.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan says it is ‘concerned’ about Armenia–EU strategic agreement
The Armenian Foreign Ministry has pushed back against the Azerbaijani accusations regarding ‘harmful provisions’.
