Georgia
Formerly imprisoned ex-minister Akhalaia detained again over alleged role in 4 October protests
Bacho Akhalaia is accused of being the ‘chief organiser’ of the 4 October events.
News Stories
Today, 26 December 2025
Today, 26 December 2025
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan’s interim report finds ‘warhead elements’ caused Azerbaijan Airlines crash
The following day, the Russian side sent a letter to Azerbaijan saying their criminal case connected to the crash is being terminated.
Abkhazia
Abkhazia investigates threats made against Russian political consultants ‘working illegally’
Videos of the confrontation between the Abkhazian opposition figures and the Russian political consultants were spread on social media.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan sentences ‘mentally unstable’ Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian to 16 years on terrorism charges
Karen Avanesyan was arrested in September 2025 for allegedly planning ‘an armed provocation’.
Armenia
Pashinyan tells Putin Armenia could retake control of railways if restoration works are delayed
The comments were omitted from the official Russian readout of the bilateral meeting.
Georgia
The Tsova-Tush children’s book aiming to save one of Georgia’s most endangered languages
A 2019 documentary failed to find anyone under the age of 30 who knew Tsova–Tush.
Azerbaijan
ICRC visits Armenian prisoners after halting activities in Azerbaijan
This was the ICRC’s first visit since it halted activities in Azerbaijan in September 2025.
Daily Brief
Friday, 26 December 2025
Editor’s note: We will be taking a very brief break from publishing the daily brief between 29 December and and 2 January. Thank you for reading us every day, see you soon, and happy holidays! Regional * Azerbaijan has sentenced Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian Karen Avanesyan, who according to RFE/RL has mental health issues, to 16 years in prison on charges of terrorism. Avanesyan was one of the handful Armenians who stayed in Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2023 exodus. He was arrested in September 2
Yesterday, 25 December 2025
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani human rights defenders dismiss mass amnesty as ‘government manipulation’
Approximately 20 Shia Muslims charged with drug possession were released as part of the amnesty bill.
Reviews
Review | Nostalgia — music that interrogates Georgian society
This 2023 album by the Tbilisi-based post-industrial art collective Quemmekh explores metal as a way to cope in a fractured society.
Armenia
Armenian MPs receive double holiday bonuses amounting to almost $3,500
The revealed sum has caused outrage online.
Georgia
Georgian protesters face arrest over ‘obstructing’ pedestrian movement on pavement
Several demonstrators have been issued police reports and summoned to Tbilisi City Court.
Georgia
Georgia’s Security Service launches inquiry into food prices after Kobakhidze’s comments
Earlier, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spoke about high prices and pointed to the responsibility of distributors and retail chains.
Georgia
Two more minors detained in fatal beating of Georgian tutor, as family questions investigation
Giga Avaliani, a 28-year-old tutor, was reportedly beaten to death by two teenagers in a jealousy-fueled attack.
Daily Brief
Thursday, 25 December 2025
Regional * US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the Trump administration prevented a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. * The Armenian Foreign Ministry, in response to Sputnik Armenia, has revealed that the actual implementation and construction phase of the Trump Route will begin in 2026. Armenia * Armenian MPs have received over ֏3 million ($7,800) in holiday bonuses. These reportedly include their salaries for December and January, in addition to double bonuses. * Former
Wednesday, 24 December 2025
Azerbaijan
Nephew of Aliyev’s former security chief detained for smuggling
Hasan Eyyubov, another nephew of the former security chief, was dismissed from his position several days ago.
Georgia
Tbilisi Mayor Kaladze ‘suspends’ above-ground metro project he never started
The ruling party promised the construction of Tbilisi’s above-ground metro in 2018.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Aliyev inaugurates new ‘Victory Park’ in Stepanakert
The park is situated in the centre of Stepanakert and commemorates Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Georgia
Kobakhidze urges probe into high food prices in Georgia
Irakli Kobakhidze called for law enforcement and parliamentary review.
Abkhazia
Living on the edge — residents of Abkhazia’s Gali district fear increasing isolation
The district is primarily inhabited by ethnic Georgians, who have seen their access to territory controlled by Tbilisi increasingly shrink.
Donald Trump
Trump meets with Armenian Ambassador, sends personal gift to Pashinyan
The gift was handed over to Narek Mkrtchyan, the Armenian Ambassador to the US.
Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian prisoner in Azerbaijan hospitalised in serious condition
Vagif Khachatryan was detained during the Nagorno-Karabakh blockade while being evacuated by the Red Cross for heart surgery in Yerevan.
Daily Brief
Wednesday, 24 December 2025
Regional * Armenia is set to receive a third batch of grain transported through Azerbaijan. On Tuesday, Russian Railways reported that eight grain tankers were dispatched to Yerevan station and 30 more ‘are planned to be transported along this route by the end of this year, totaling over 2,000 tonnes of grain’. * Vagif Khachatryan, a Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian sentenced to 15 years in November 2023 for committing war crimes during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, has been hospitalised and his h
Tuesday, 23 December 2025
Tamar Mearakishvili
Local activist and vocal government critic detained in South Ossetia on ‘espionage’ charges
Mearakishvili has spent recent years in exhausting legal battles with local authorities.
North Ossetia–Alania
North Ossetian entrepreneur becomes suspect in bribery case linked to a state contract at Mamison resort
The entrepreneur is accused of giving $25,000 to help secure a state contract.
Azerbaijan
Aliyev skips CIS summit in Russia, claiming he has a busy schedule
The apparently last-minute cancellation has prompted some to speculate that lingering tensions remain between Russia and Azerbaijan.
Reviews
Review | Chiaroscuro: Following the Shadow — watching the filmmaker watch himself
Georgian director Aleko Tsabadze’s latest film explores authorship, control, and moral ambiguity through a film-within-a-film structure.
Armenia–Russia Relations
Pashinyan and Putin meet in Russia, discuss restoration of Armenia’s railways
Pashinyan recently asked Russia to ‘urgently address’ the full restoration of railway sections adjacent to Nakhchivan and the Turkish border.
Azerbaijan
US representatives introduce bill calling for cementing restrictions on aid to Azerbaijan
The move comes shortly after a bill with the opposite intent was introduced by Republican representative Anna Paulina Luna.
Chechnya
Chechen businessperson Umar Dzhabrailov makes appearance in Epstein files
Dzhabrailov acknowledges knowing Epstein, but says he does not know how his image ended up in the files.
