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Jrpjej, a post-traditional Circassian band, performing in Tbilisi on 22 July 2023. Image courtesy of Astemir Boziev.
Georgia

Podcast | North Caucasian art and activism in Tbilisi

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by OC Media

Last week, a group of North Caucasian immigrants in Tbilisi gathered at the Centre for Contemporary Art to celebrate their culture and discuss the experience of North Caucasians in Georgia. On this week’s episode of the Caucasus Digest, we are joined by the organisers of the event: the founders of Ored Recordings, Bulat Khalilov and Timur Kodzoko, and Zemfira Gogui, a human rights consultant from Karachay-Cherkessia. Khalilov and Kodzoko broke down the cultural significanc

Illustration by Armine Avetisyan/OC Media.
Armenia

‘I dreamt of a carefree life — I was deceived’: the Armenians immigrating illegally to America

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by Armine Avetisyan

For some in Armenia, the dream of a better life for them and their families leads them to illegally immigrate to America. But a bid for a life in the West does not come cheap, with many having to sell everything they own and brave imprisonment, injury, or even death. Karen (not his real name), 31, had long dreamt of moving to America. It started when he was still in seventh grade when a close friend and classmate immigrated with his family to the US. ‘We used to talk on the internet all th

Georgia may increase citizenship requirements
citizenship

Georgia may increase citizenship requirements

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by OC Media

People wishing to apply for Georgian citizenship will need to have resided in the country for at least 10 years, up from the current 5, if a new law currently in parliament is passed. The bill, which passed its first hearing in Parliament on Thursday, would also raise the bar for spouses of Georgian citizens, who would have to have resided in Georgia for 5 years, up from 2, to be granted citizenship under a simplified procedure. According to the explanatory note of the bill on Organic Law o

Rustavi 2 journalists attacked by far-right group for joke about Jesus and Ivanishvili
Bidzina Ivanishvili

Rustavi 2 journalists attacked by far-right group for joke about Jesus and Ivanishvili

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by OC Media

Far-right group the March of Georgians attacked three journalists from Rustavi 2 on Monday afternoon in Tbilisi. The attack was in response to an on-air joke by anchor Giorgi Gabunia about former Georgian Prime Minister, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, his tree-collecting hobby, and Jesus Christ. The Interior Ministry said they had arrested six people for hooliganism after the incident, and have launched an investigation into the attack. At around 16:30 Monday afternoon, dozens of member

Seeking acceptance: the Pakistanis building a new life in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan

Seeking acceptance: the Pakistanis building a new life in Azerbaijan

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by Bahruz Samadov

Having moved 2,000 kilometres to a new country, a small community of Pakistanis have built a new life for themselves in Azerbaijan. Even for those who have married locals, have Azerbaijani children, and say they are Azerbaijanis themselves, obtaining official recognition for this — citizenship — is not straightforward. Reports have emerged in recent weeks of a number of South Asian people being deported from Azerbaijan for violating immigration laws. On 1 March alone, five Indian citizen

March of Georgians (Luka Pertaia/OC Media)
Analysis

Who was in and who was out in Tbilisi’s far-right March of Georgians [Analysis]

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by Volodymyr Soboliev

Hundreds took to the streets in Tbilisi on 14 July, in a xenophobic, ethno-nationalist rally. The ‘March of Georgians’ railed against ‘illegal immigrants’, meaning anyone not Christian and white. But some on the far-right dissented against pro-Russian sentiments within the movement. Participants started to gather from 19:00 at a school on Tbilisi’s Aghmashenebeli Avenue. Aghmashenebeli, a central street with an array of restaurants serving a variety of national cuisines provided a potent

Georgian Interior Ministry responds to ‘humiliating’ treatment of Indian at Tbilisi Airport
Georgia

Georgian Interior Ministry responds to ‘humiliating’ treatment of Indian at Tbilisi Airport

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by OC Media

Georgia’s Interior Ministry has responded to an accusation that border officials at Tbilisi International Airport subjected an Indian citizen to ‘humiliating’ treatment, after her open letter to Georgia’s Ambassador to India went viral on Facebook. Khushbu Kaushal, who flew to Tbilisi from India on 29 June, claims that she was falsely denied entry to Georgia. Georgia’s Interior Ministry released a short statement on 4 July responding to the accusations, claiming that ‘border guards have the

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