OC Insider

92 Posts

•

0 Followers

Vance’s Armenian Genocide gaffe said the quiet part out loud

•1 min read

‘In solemn remembrance of the lives lost, we honour the resilience and enduring spirit of the Armenian people,’ US Vice President JD Vance wrote in the guestbook of the Armenian Genocide memorial after he visited the site during his working trip to Armenia. Not only did Vance avoid clarifying when, by whom, and how those lives were lost, but he also became a centre of online controversy after his post explicitly using the term ‘Armenian Genocide’ was deleted. The US recognised the mass murder

OC Insider

The scourge of domestic violence and honour killings in the North Caucasus

by Elizaveta Chukharova

•2 min read

Honour killings in the North Caucasus continue, despite being clearly counter to both Russian and local laws.

OC Insider

What would an Iranian revolution mean for the Caucasus?

by Nate Ostiller

•3 min read

Whatever happens in Iran will likely have wide-reaching spillover effects in the Caucasus.

OC Insider

Fighting for the paws-ibility of Georgia’s European future

by Mariam Nikuradze

•4 min read

Meet the dogs frequenting Georgia's daily protests

OC Insider

The day riot police poisoned me

by Mariam Nikuradze

•3 min read

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

OC Insider

Azerbaijan has reached ‘peace’ — why is Bahruz Samadov still in prison?

by Aytan Farhadova

•2 min read

Political scientist and OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov, who is serving a sentence of 15 years in prison on charges of treason at the Umbaki facility in the suburbs of Baku, reminds me of Stefan Zweig’s main character, Jacob Mendel, from his short story Buchmendel. During WWI, Mendel, a Russian Jew born along the Russian–Polish border, resides in Vienna without any documentation, his life wholly consisting of books. When he is falsely accused of collaborating with enemies of the Austro-Hung

OC Insider

Marking the anniversary of Georgian protests (and accelerated authoritarianism)

by Mikheil Gvadzabia

•3 min read

A year has passed since Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party halted the country’s bid for EU membership — a move that immediately sparked a massive, nationwide protest movement that, despite relentless state pressure and shrinking in size, continues to this day. Honestly speaking, without any theatrics: I can’t really believe I’m writing this. Partly because it’s hard to realise that such a long, heavy year has gone by so quickly. And second, it’s astonishing to see how the country has changed