Three years at the OC Media academy

by Ismi Aghayev

• 3 min read

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OC Insider

Azerbaijan’s first independent media outlet closes after 35 years

by Aytan Farhadova

•2 min read

On 13 February 2025, Turan closed its offices. It was the first independent media outlet to emerge in Azerbaijan, working consistently for 35 years. ‘Founded in 1990, in the final days of the Soviet Union, we have endured the challenges of transition, war, and reform while remaining committed to journalism that serves the public interest’, Turan’s director Mehman Aliyev wrote in a statement addressing the outlet’s closing. In his letter to the readers, Aliyev explained the reason Turan was clo

OC Insider

The shameful capitulation of the US

by Nate Ostiller

•4 min read

In a matter of weeks, the US, under President Donald Trump, has shattered its reputation as a reliable ally and partner, perhaps irreparably. While the most harmful and immediate impacts of the retreat from the global stage by the US will likely be felt in the Global South, where USAID cuts will decimate public health programmes and lead to possibly millions of preventable deaths, I would argue that Eastern Europe and the Caucasus will feel America’s retreat most strongly from a geopolitical st

OC Insider

Independent media is on the brink of collapse in Georgia

by Mariam Nikuradze

•2 min read

Months before the parliamentary elections in Georgia, a lot of people I’d meet would ask me what Georgia would be like if Georgian Dream would stay in power. I’ve met a lot of you who are receiving this newsletter, and I’d tell you that Georgia would take the path of Belarus and Russia, where there would be no civil society and media, where people would have to choose between leaving the country or going to jail. While I think it was an accurate prediction, I am still surprised how fast Georgia

OC Insider

Genocide denial: a pattern for the Armenian Government

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•2 min read

The fact that I am writing the second newsletter in less than a year about how the Armenian Government disseminates Armenian Genocide denial narratives is a clear sign that we are dealing with a pattern and not an exception. ‘We need to understand what happened and why it happened. And how did we perceive it, through whom did we perceive it’, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinayn said recently about the Armenian Genocide, sparking outrage. What many in Armenia and the diaspora saw as questio