The recent defeat in the Estonian parliament of a resolution denouncing Moscow’s russification of non-Russian peoples reflects two diametrically opposed trends. On the one hand, the down-vote is a product of the increasing unwillingness of Europe and the West to focus attention on this issue—an... MORE

On November 2, the “Opposition Coalition of Georgia” (OCG), which includes former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM) party, held a rally in the Black Sea coastal city of Batumi, where its leaders announced the beginning of a mass protest movement. Demonstrators would demand... MORE

On October 25, United National Movement (UNM)—Georgia’s main opposition party, established in 2001 by former president Mikheil Saakashvili—released a statement regarding the hospitalization of its founder. In the statement, the party appeals to the international community, the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia, and international and... MORE

On October 13, at the 54th round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) on the Russian-Georgian conflict, the Georgian delegation raised the issue of Russia granting dual citizenship to residents of Georgia’s breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers... MORE

At a time when the efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran to expand their influence in the South Caucasus have received attention internationally, the ongoing moves by China to solidify its role in Georgia have slid under the radar. Nonetheless, Georgia promises to give Beijing... MORE

On September 21, 2021, Iran kicked off military drills near the Azerbaijani districts of Fizuli, Jebrayil and Zangilan, which Azerbaijan had de-occupied last year, during the Second Karabakh War with Armenia. The Iranian exercises marked the first time in history that Tehran carried out war... MORE

On October 1, one day before Georgia held local elections, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated that the police had arrested former president Mikhail Saakashvili in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi (Radio Tavisupleba, Civil.ge, October 1). Saakashvili was detained almost immediately upon his return to... MORE

On September 17–19, elections to Russia’s State Duma (lower house of Parliament) were unlawfully staged in Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia—territories seized from Moldova and Georgia, respectively. Russia also unlawfully staged elections to its Duma in the occupied territories in Ukraine’s Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk)... MORE

On September 6, former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who now heads the Executive Committee of the National Council of Reforms in Ukraine, announced that he will come back to Georgia for the upcoming October 2 municipal race. According to all polls, Saakashvili’s United National Movement... MORE

With the emergence of China and other manufacturing powerhouses in Asia that constantly seek access to new markets, the Caucasus has become attractive as a transit route for the movement of goods between the two parts of the Eurasian continent. Georgia (and by extension Armenia)... MORE