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Latest Articles about The Caucasus
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Restrictive Anti-Pandemic Measures Reveal Confrontation Between Georgian Government and Orthodox Church
On April 19, Georgians celebrated Orthodox Easter. But this year, the date highlighted a confrontation between the national authorities and the governing institution of the Orthodox Church of Georgia (the Patriarchate). As worshippers flocked to attend Easter vigils, virologists expressed concern that the holiday might... MORE
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EU Emerges as Leading Donor for Partnership Countries in Fighting COVID-19 Pandemic and its Economic Consequences
On March 30, the European Union announced it would provide substantial support to the six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine—to mitigate the health and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic (Ec.europa.eu, March 30). About a week later, additional details of... MORE
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Azerbaijan Hopes to Minimize Ramifications of Coronavirus Crisis
Thanks to having quickly adopted strict countermeasures, Azerbaijan, so far, appears to have succeeded in flattening the curve of new COVID-19 infections and slowing the domestic spread of the novel coronavirus responsible for this disease. As of April 14, 1,197 persons tested positive, 351 persons... MORE
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Authorities Alarmed by Reported Spread of Islamic Extremism in Russian Prisons
On April 3, Russian news agencies reported that the country's security services killed one and detained another member of an Islamic State (IS) cell in Stavropol Oblast. Russian officials alleged that members of the extremist group were preparing terrorist attacks in Stavropol as well as... MORE
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The Political Implications of COVID-19 in Georgia
The agreement on Georgia’s electoral reform, signed between the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the united opposition at the US Embassy in Tbilisi on March 8 (Ge.usembassy.gov, accessed April 13), appeared to bring some level political peace back to the country. According to the... MORE
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The COVID-19 Pandemic Starts to Have Its Toll on the North Caucasus
COVID-19 has now started to spread to Russia’s North Caucasus republics, and regional authorities have been scrambling to mobilize scant resources to stave off the pandemic. As of March 30, officials confirmed infections in Adygea, Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, as well as Krasnodar and Stavropol regions. The... MORE
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Armenian Government Stabilizes COVID-19 Cases, but Structural Risk Factors Remain
The COVID-19 situation in Armenia presently remains under control, although the peak of infection almost certainly has yet to occur. As of Sunday, March 29, 2,054 persons tested negative, and 424 positive, with 33 closed cases—30 resulting in recovery and 3 deaths. Each of the... MORE
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The Outflow of Dagestanis to the Middle East Has Lasting Consequences
The Russian Southern District Military Court, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, recently sentenced Biysoltan Jamalov, a resident of Dagestan, to 12 years in prison on charges of terrorism and participation in the activities of an “illegal” armed group in Syria. Several years ago, the Russian... MORE
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Collateral Damage: Azerbaijan and Central Asia Are Caught in Russia’s Oil War
As the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread across the Eurasian landmass and beyond, the energy-producing states of the South Caucasus and Central Asia were dealt a separate, serious economic blow by Russia. Specifically, Russia’s decision to pull out of the... MORE
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Moscow Now Seeking to Make the Caspian Both a North-South and an East-West Hub
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, discussions of trade routes in the Caucasus have mostly been premised on the conviction that the north-south route and the east-west route, backed by Moscow and the West, respectively, are competitors. Every positive development in one is treated... MORE