Latest Articles about The Caucasus
SAAKASHVILI’S U.N. ADDRESS TRANSFORMS DISCUSSION ON POST-SOVIET CONFLICTS
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s September 22 address to the United Nations General Assembly has transformed the terms of international discussion on the post-Soviet “frozen” conflicts. After Saakashvili’s address, hardly any international actors other than Moscow’s ad-hoc supporters could any longer defend Russia’s “peacekeeping” and “mediation”... MORE
NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE PARTY OF AZERBAIJAN RALLIES FOR AZERIS IN IRAN
Parliamentary elections in November 2005 brought severe negative consequences for the Azerbaijani opposition. Most opposition parties are in a state of collapse; others have seen their activities stagnate because they have no results to show for the past 12 years. Yet, recent events suggest that... MORE
ABKHAZIA REQUESTS GEORGIAN APOLOGY AND DREADS NEW WAR
Abkhaz separatists have dismissed Tbilisi’s “fresh roadmap” to resolve Georgia’s secessionist conflicts. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili proposed the new approach in his address to the UN General Assembly on September 22. Saakashvili called for a direct Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue, but he hinted that force could become... MORE
REBEL “NOGAI BATTALION” SPURS RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES TO OFFER ASSISTANCE TO NOGAI MINORITY
"The leaders of bandit formations plan to carry out several terrorist acts in several republics of the North Caucasus,” Dagestan’s interior minister, Adilgirei Magomedtagirov, told journalists on September 14. But despite the broad statement by Magomedtagirov, who has fully recovered from a recent attempt on... MORE
OPPOSITION FRAGMENTS AHEAD OF GEORGIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS
On October 5, Georgians will vote to fill 1,683 seats in 69 local municipal councils. Unlike the 2002 local elections, where voters directly elected the mayors except in Tbilisi and Poti, the October ballot will chose city councils, which will later elect mayors. In Tbilisi... MORE
JOURNALIST’S BEATING SPARKS CONCERN ABOUT PRESS FREEDOM IN ARMENIA
The reported beating of the editor of a leading Armenian newspaper has sparked domestic and international concerns about the state of press freedom in Armenia. The September 6 incident was the latest in a series of attacks against local journalists critical of the government. Armenian... MORE
NGOs IN AZERBAIJAN CRITICIZED FOR CONTACTS WITH KARABAKH
Public protests have erupted in Azerbaijan after the chair of the Azerbaijan branch of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly visited the disputed Karabakh region and met with the leadership of the unrecognized Karabakh republic. Arzu Abdullayeva and several young activists from her organization went to Armenia’s... MORE
GEORGIA INDICTS PRO-MOSCOW ACTIVISTS AHEAD OF PLANNED DISTURBANCES
A dozen activists of pro-Moscow groups in Georgia are being held in pre-trial custody for a period of up to two months; and two others have been freed on bail, pending trial. They all face charges of treason and conspiracy to overthrow the government and... MORE
FIRES IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES PUT BAKU AND YEREVAN AT ODDS
Since June, officials in Azerbaijan and Armenia have been at odds over the question of who caused massive fires burning Azerbaijani territories currently under Armenian control. The fires have become an environmental disaster for the region burning vast fields, forests, and some vacated residential areas... MORE
DISPUTABLE ANNIVERSARY COULD PROVOKE NEW CRISIS IN ADYGEYA
On September 9 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed three decrees that could deepen the crisis in the volatile North Caucasus. Putin issued the decrees to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the voluntary unification of Adygeya, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, and Kabardino-Balkaria with Russia. In the 16th century, a... MORE