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On Azerbaijan devouring its son

•2 min read

A lot of bottled up emotions broke loose together with the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in the pandemic year of 2020. While not necessarily surprising, it still hit hard — to watch faces familiar from peacebuilding conferences and peace journalism circles succumb to bloodlust, cheering on advancing troops as any prospect for a peaceful resolution to the decadeslong dispute was rendered forlorn. When I studied peace and conflict studies, I remember my lecturer stressing that even in the bleakest

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The Israel–Iran conflict adds a new layer of complexity on an already tense Caucasus

by Nate Ostiller

•3 min read

We may look back in the future at this time in June 2025 and say that a global conflict, perhaps something like World War III, had already begun. It certainly feels like that these days. Over the past week, a new war — between Israel and Iran — has erupted just neighbouring our region. And while as of now, it has yet to directly involve the Caucasus, the impacts have already been felt. In addition to my day job as an editor, I also write analytical articles, and I’ve been working for a while o

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Georgian Dream’s AI-fuelled surveillance is sowing terror among protesters

by Mikheil Gvadzabia

•3 min read

A sense of privacy in Georgia is quite an abstract concept — especially for socially and politically active people. Concerns that ‘they are listening to us’ along with remarks like ‘I’d rather not say this over the phone’ date back to my own childhood, and even earlier. Even by the time I turned 27, they had not truly gone away. It is not just baseless drama: the fact that the state listens in — at least on certain segments of society — has been confirmed, including in a scandal a few years ago

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What it means to remember a genocide

by Yousef Bardouka

•3 min read

Last Wednesday, I quietly commemorated the 161st anniversary of the Circassian Genocide in Tbilisi, much like I did in the past few years. But as I sat in the OC Media office, editing the news of the day, I could not help but let my mind wander, allowing myself to curiously scan the Telegram channels and Instagram accounts covering Circassian affairs in the North Caucasus just to see what was going down in Nalchik, Maykop, and Cherkessk. I knew the people there would commemorate the genocide a

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Georgian Dream hides its anti-Western course behind EU flags

by Mariam Nikuradze

•4 min read

As Georgia’s Independence Day approaches, construction has begun in Tbilisi to prepare for the celebration. Commemorated on 26 May, the day usually consists of conscripts swearing the traditional oaths in a ceremony on Freedom Square — attended by government officials and their invited guests — as well as various concerts and events across the city and similarly across the country. In addition, the Georgian Parliament building is adorned with banners, decorations which usually include the EU f

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Armenian authorities are choosing the wrong role model

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•2 min read

Armenian authorities are taking steps to introduce new restrictions on media and freedom of speech ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections. At the end of April, Armenia’s Justice Ministry released a series of draft legislative amendments, which, if adopted, would require media outlets — as well as individual social media users — to not only publicly refute or publish a response to insulting or defamatory content, but also to remove such expressions or even the entire publication. The authori

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Russia’s cynical distortion of Victory Day

by Nate Ostiller

•3 min read

On Friday, Russia will hold a grand spectacle in Moscow to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. The official holiday — arguably the most important non-religious holiday in modern Russia — will feature a parade, and will be attended by several leaders from the Caucasus, including Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Abkhazian President Badra Gunba, South Ossetian President Alan Gagloev, and likely the heads of Russian republics in the North Caucas