For OC Media, 2025 began with a bang as the ongoing protests begun late in 2024 in Georgia over the ruling party’s EU U-turn continued unabated. These protests, which are still continuing, albeit in a variety of new forms, took up a large chunk of our work this year.
Elsewhere, Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine continues to have a profound impact on the Caucasus, while on the other hand, the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict has reached a new landmark with the initialling of a peace treaty in August.
We have put together this list of what we believe were our 10 best articles published on OC Media in 2025.
10. Georgian Dream is watching: how AI-powered surveillance is used against Tbilisi protesters
The emergence of brand new, high-tech cameras along the traditional Georgian protest site near parliament on Rustaveli Avenue prompted this investigation into how the government was tracking Tbilisi protesters. Beyond simply increasing the number of cameras placed around the city, some of which have a 45x zoom, the government also began using facial recognition technology to fine or detain protesters after the fact, a sign of an increasing general surveillance of the Georgian population.
9. In Photos | ‘Letters to the citizens of Georgia’: the newspapers delivered by the mothers of the jailed
As more and more protesters were arrested in Georgia, a group of their mothers began travelling across the country to share letters from their imprisoned children. OC Media’s co-founder, Mariam Nikuradze, trailed the mothers as they visited rural bazaars, protested in city metro stations, and more, capturing the journey, and the emotions, on camera.
8. Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians struggle to cling to their identity
By Marut Vanyan
Following the mass displacement in 2023, Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians have struggled to preserve their identity, dialect, and culture. Speaking to respondents across Armenia and beyond, Marut Vanyan, a journalist from Nagorno-Karabakh, captured the travails of a now-scattered population through heartfelt interviews and photographs.
7. Opinion | Can Azerbaijan really seek peace while it continues to repress its own people?
Vafa Naghiyeva’s opinion piece was published a month after Armenia and Azerbaijan initialled a peace treaty in Washington, yet in many ways, it is a timeless piece questioning what true, positive peace really entails. As Azerbaijan continues its crackdown against independent media and peace activists like OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov, these questions still wait to be answered.
6. The last women performing Zikr in Pankisi — Georgia’s sacred Sufi chants edge toward silence
By Tamuna Chkareuli.
With her signature photographic work, Tamuna Chkareuli captured the sacred Sufi ritual in Georgia’s Pankisi Valley, a tradition led by elderly women that may soon fall silent with no one left to follow. Through interviews with those still practicing the ritual, as well as some of Pankisi’s youth, Chkareuli explores the history of Sufism in the valley and what the future could hold.
5. A generation under pressure — the future of activism in Azerbaijan
By Ismi Aghayev
Despite the risks, a new generation of Azerbaijani activists are continuing to raise their voices, from advocating for peace to protecting women’s rights. Former OC Media staff writer Ismi Aghayev collects their stories, discussing the new ways activists both in Azerbaijan and in exile abroad are fighting against repression.
4. How political psychiatry is finding a new life in Georgian propaganda
By Nino Apakidze and Nino Tsverava
Georgian journalists Nino Apakidze and Nino Tsverava investigate how the ruling Georgian Dream party is returning to the Soviet Union’s toxic legacy of conflating dissent with mental ‘instability’. In particular, the article focuses on how this legacy is seen in the current government response towards protesters, including in the recent case of formerly detained protester Nino Datashvili.
3. Opinion | By imprisoning Abzas Media, Azerbaijan has turned its prisons into newsrooms
In this opinion piece, activist Gulnara Mehdiyeva explores how the media crackdown has transformed journalism in Azerbaijan, examining through a feminist lens the emergence of prison journalism. Published the same year Reporters without Borders (RSF) named Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev a ‘press freedom predator’, the piece continues to be timely.
2. Keeping up with the Kadyrovs: Who’s who in Chechnya’s ruling family
Complete with an interactive family tree, this piece by Elizaveta Chukharova fully lays out the many twisting branches of the Kadyrov family and the positions of power they hold across Chechen society. As rumours continue to swirl regarding Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s health, this who’s who also provides some insight into who amongst the family (or outside of it) could replace him.
1. A cog in the ‘machine of evil’: ex-TV Imedi employees on working for Georgian Dream’s spin machine
This investigation by Mikheil Gvadzabia marks the first time many of the former employees of Imedi who spoke to us for the piece did so publicly. It details the pressure to create propagandic content at Georgia’s foremost pro-government TV channel. It provides a solid parable of how pro-government slant can become something more sinister, with the channel now unquestionably repeating Georgian Dream conspiracy theories and attacking government critics both inside and outside Georgia.
