Latest Articles about The Caucasus
TALYSH ISSUE, DORMANT IN AZERBAIJAN, REOPENED IN ARMENIA
On May 20-22, in Armenia's resort town of Tsaghkadzor, an event billed as the "First International Conference on Talysh Studies" was hosted by Yerevan State University's Iranian Studies Department and the Yerevan-based Center for Iranian Studies. Almost certainly, some political circles in Armenia were behind... MORE
ASSASSINATION IN DAGESTAN DAMAGES KREMLIN ATTEMPTS TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT FOR THE CAUCASUS
Early last year Russian President Vladimir Putin solemnly declared, "Armed confrontations and conflicts are becoming history. Even in the most difficult territory, the Chechen republic, the peace process is becoming irreversible" (grani.ru, March 3, 2004). Putin then called for investment in the North Caucasus. However,... MORE
AMENDMENTS TO KEY LAWS UNLIKELY TO FOSTER ARMENIA’S DEMOCRATIZATION
The Armenian authorities claim to have taken a further step toward meeting their membership commitments to the Council of Europe with the May 20 passage of amendments to the country's controversial laws on elections and rallies. President Robert Kocharian's leading political allies say the move... MORE
JAVAKHETI REGION COMPLICATES GEORGIAN RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA
In April Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian held talks in Tbilisi following unrest in Georgia's predominately Armenian-populated southern region, Samtskhe-Javakheti. The disturbances, which calmed down soon, coincided with a parliamentary resolution about the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia,... MORE
RUSSIAN POLICIES DRIVE NORTH CAUCASUS INTO ARMS OF REBELS
On May 16 the separatist Kavkazcenter website published a decree from Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev, the new Chechen rebel leader after Aslan Maskhadov's death in March. Sadulaev ordered the insurgents to establish a new front in the North Caucasus. According to the decree, the "Caucasus Front" will... MORE
GEORGIA AND RUSSIA MARCH TOWARD DIPLOMATIC WAR
On March 10, the Georgian Parliament passed a resolution that set a May 15 deadline for progress in the bilateral negotiations about the terms for closing the two remaining Russian military bases in Georgia. Since the parties have failed to make any progress, beginning May... MORE
U.S. RELUCTANT TO PRESS YEREVAN DESPITE FREEDOM PLEDGE
U.S. President George W. Bush's emphatic endorsement of Georgia's 2003 "Rose Revolution" and its consequences was meant to demonstrate U.S. support for similar change elsewhere in the world. But it exposed a fundamental contradiction in his administration's stated pursuit of democratization across the South Caucasus... MORE
IS RAMZAN KADYROV LEAVING THE LIMELIGHT?
Ramzan Kadyrov, deputy prime minister and leader of the pro-Russian forces in Chechnya, likes to be the center of attention. He makes numerous public statements that tend to be quite extravagant. Last summer, for example, as the conflict in South Ossetia escalated, Kadyrov promised to... MORE
SAAKASHVILI DECLARES BUSH VISIT “A HUGE POLITICAL VICTORY”
U.S. President George W. Bush paid an unprecedented visit to the republic of Georgia on May 9-10. His warm reception in Tbilisi contrasted with Moscow's frosty view of the trip, which one Russian analyst described as "a fly in the ointment" of Russian-American relations. Some... MORE
AZERBAIJAN JOINS ARMENIA AS NEW MEMBER OF DISCREDITED UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
On April 29, Azerbaijan became a member of the UN Human Rights Commission. Azerbaijan's representative to the United Nations, Yashar Aliev, described the vote as an "important step." The election was held following a meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council, to which the... MORE