Latest Articles about South Caucasus
Defense Minister Alasania’s Ouster Underlines Profound Crisis of Georgia’s Political Elites
The November 4 sacking of Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili (Imedi TV; Rustavi 2, November 4; see EDM, November 5) and Alasania’s Our Georgia–Free Democrats party’s subsequent departure from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition to the opposition (Channel 1... MORE
Can the Georgian Dream Coalition Survive the Sacking of Defense Minister Alasania?
On November 4, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili sacked Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, who enjoys strong backing in Washington. In response to this development, Euro-Atlantic Integration Minister Aleksi Petriashvili vowed to step down the same day, and Foreign Minister Maia Pandjikidze resigned on November 5... MORE
Moscow’s Attempt to Annex Abkhazia Serves as a Bitter Lesson to Russia’s Friends and Opponents
On October 13, the Kremlin unveiled the so called “Agreement on Alliance and Integration” between Russia and breakaway Abkhazia (see EDM, October 23). To summarize this long and verbose text, the new treaty envisages a gradual but ultimately complete merger of the separatist region’s defense,... MORE
Russia Issues Ultimatum to Abkhazia
By the end of October, the authorities in Sukhumi must respond to Moscow’s proposal to sign a new agreement “On Alliance and Integration” between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Abkhazia (abkhaziya.org, October 14). The fact that the draft document was leaked to the... MORE
Is Moscow’s Proposal to Link Abkhazia to the Circassian Parts of North Caucasus a Step Toward Annexation?
On October 9, the well-known Russian-Abkhaz journalist Anton Krivenyuk published an article stating the Russian government may be interested in building a highway connecting Abkhazia to the North Caucasus. Krivenyuk hailed the idea, saying it would potentially help Abkhazia overcome its isolation and integrate itself... MORE
Russia’s Push to the South—A Net Assessment of the Geopolitical Developments in the Black Sea Region Since the Start of 2014
The strategic implications of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine far transcend Ukraine, Russia, Poland and the Baltic States. They also prominently include the entire Black Sea littoral, including the Balkans, and even the Eastern Mediterranean. Historically, domination of the Black Sea opened... MORE
Few Successes and Many Disappointments—A Net Assessment of Developments in Georgia Since the Start of 2014
To date in 2014, Georgia has not experienced anything as cataclysmically destructive as the 2008 Russian-Georgian war. However, this year has not been particularly successful either. And prospects are low that this negative trend will improve much in the coming two months, before the year... MORE
Two Years After the Change of Government in Georgia: Contradictory Results
Two years ago, in October 2012, Georgia experienced a peaceful, non-violent, constitutional change of power for the first time in the country’s modern history. The first president of the Republic of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who was elected on May 26, 1991, was overthrown by armed... MORE
Planned Road From Dagestan to Georgia—Road of Friendship, or of War?
Someone looking at a map of the Caucasus would be surprised to see that only three transportation links cut across the Main Caucasus Ridge connecting the North and South Caucasus. This was not always the case. Prior to the Russian conquest of the North Caucasus... MORE
Possibility of Hosting Anti-ISIS Training Center Creates Confusion in Georgia
On September 23, Foreign Policy magazine’s “The Cable” blog reported that Georgia offered to host a training center for Washington-backed Syrian rebels in order to aid the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS—formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS)... MORE