The village of Munjuglu, near the Armenian–Azerbaijani border. (Seymur Kazimov / OC Media)
Along the Armenian–Azerbaijani border, ceasefire violations occur frequently from both sides. In the villages of Gazakh and Tovuz districts of Azerbaijan closest to the frontline, some report the shooting has become less frequent, but the violence can still mean a loss of livelihood or even a loss of life. [Read more…]
Ramzan Kadyrov and Yunus-Bek Yevkurov sign the border agreement on 26 September (/ingushetia.ru)
The Constitutional Court of Russia has ruled that a controversial land deal between the Russian republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia is legal, contradicting an earlier judgement by Ingushetia’s constitutional court that it was not.
Shatili (Robin Fabbro /OC Media)
Georgian authorities have denied plans outlined on Chechen state TV to construct a second border crossing between Georgia and Russia linking Khevsureti with Chechnya.
The 27 November protest in Nazran, Ingushetia (Dominik K. Cagara /OC Media)
Russia’s Constitutional Court has began hearing an appeal from the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, against a decision by the Constitutional Court of Ingushetia outlawing a controversial border deal with Chechnya.
Aslanbek Dadayev (/Facebook)
A journalist from RFE/RL’s Chechen-language service, Radio Marsho, was denied entry to Georgia on Thursday. Aslanbek Dadayev wrote on his Facebook page that Georgian border guards had decided his ‘stay in the country would be dangerous’.
12 October protest in Magas (/Memorial)
Activists in the Russian Republic of Ingushetia announced on Wednesday that protests in the capital, Magas, were to be put on hold, after the official permit for holding them expired.
Protests in Magas (Screenshot /MixNews)
A political crisis in the Russian Republic of Ingushetia is continuing over a border agreement with neighbouring Chechnya. Protests entered their ninth day in the Ingush capital Magas on Friday, with demands for repealing the agreement, a referendum, and the resignation of Ingush Head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.
(Margaret Arakelyan/OC Media)
In many remote areas of Armenia, energy poverty remains a serious concern. With no connection to the gas grid, villagers resort to burning illegally cut wood or cow dung to keep warm during winter. But in the border village of Kut, high in the mountains of eastern Armenia, a new hope is emerging in the form of renewable energy. [Read more…]
(David Stepanyan/ OC Media)
In the Armenian villages along the Azerbaijani border, sporadic violence intermingles with people’s daily lives. While people here try to build a future, they are aware that their livelihoods are often at the mercy of politicians from both sides.
A poster in central Stepanakert (Khachig Joukhajian /OC Media)
Aleksey S. Antimonov is a freelance journalist based in Armenia.
With its flat rate taxes and sky-high growth rates, Nagorno-Karabakh has been described by some as a Caucasian Tiger. In addition, money from abroad funds a generous, but militaristic social welfare system — combining to keep and grow its border villages, and swell the army’s ranks.
