Vivid and intense memories from the beginning of the siege of Sarajevo. Friends turning into enemies and loved ones leaving the city. Disbelief as the war starts tragically to unfold
Aleksey Gogua is one of the most notable Abkhaz-language writers of the twenty-first century. During the Soviet era, his novels were translated into Russian and hundreds of thousands of copies were printed. Literature in Abkhazia today, relations with Russia, the situation of the Abkhaz language. An interview
The basic idea behind Go Group Media is simple: give a camera to people from all walks of life, living in isolated parts of the country, and tell them to make films about their lives or things that matter to them. The result is an amazing way to get to know the lives of people living in different parts of the Caucasus
Religion, education, politics. Observations on some recent events in the Bosnian news, a few weeks before the activities scheduled to remind Europe and the world of the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Sarajevo and the war in Bosnia Herzegovina
In March 20 years ago, after the victory for the affirmative vote in a referendum abandoned by the majority of the Bosnian Serbs, Bosnia Herzegovina declared its independence. A month later the war began. Here are some observations of Jovan Divjak on the twenty-year period
Azerbaijan's authorities have intensified their efforts to improve the country's image abroad, hiring PR companies and lobbyists around Europe to burnish its image. Lavish business meetings and events ostensibly dedicated to culture are meant to boost the country's image abroad and make people forget about democratic shortcomings and human rights violations at home
A phenomenon that has exploded in the last 20 years. In Albania an increasing number of women undergoes surgery in order to regain virginity. For marriage. A report
The agreement between Kosovo and Belgrade, reached through EU mediation, enables Kosovo to be represented at regional summits and sign commercial agreements with third countries. At one condition, though: the country's name must be marked by an asterisk linking it to a footnote. The meaning of which is explained to us by Andrea Lorenzo Capussela's
Two years ago, in February of 2010, Magomedsalam Magomedov became the President of Dagestan. His appointment was accompanied by the hope that this successful entrepreneur, young and educated, could bring actual change to the Caucasian Republic. A hope that was widely thwarted, leading to previously unseen street demonstrations and spelling out of the strong desire for social dialog that characterizes today’s Dagestan
In December's parliamentary elections, Putin's "United Russia" party obtained 99.48% of votes in Chechnya. Sceptics attributed this result – a record for the whole Russia – to a massive use of administrative resources. However, the wonders of Chechen arithmetic do not stop here: President Kadyrov anticipated that Putin would get 150% of Chechen votes at March's presidential elections
Weeks of street demonstrations in Romania, where citizens have rarely protested against the “power”. We have discussed it with Vintila Mihailescu, an anthropologist amongst the most lucid intellectuals in Romania
The referendum organised by four Serbian municipalities in North Kosovo riaffirmed their refusal to accept Pristina's authority. As expected, the vote was rejected by the Kosovo government and international authorities. But the referendum marks a turning point in the relationship between North Kosovo and Belgrade, which opposed it fearing repercussions on its EU integration process
The arrest in Spain of four Serbian citizens alleged leaders of one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the Balkans, the infamous Zemun clan, has inflicted a heavy blow on organized crime in the region. But is it truly over?
Recent estimates give 93% of the software used in Georgia as pirated. Nearly everyone uses illegal software without seeing it as breaking the law. Shops in Tbilisi sell computers with Windows and other programmes already installed without the licence. Music shops happily sell copies of CDs and DVDs. In the short term the situation doesn't look like changing
There are thousands of orphans in Albania. At the age of 14 they are expelled from orphanages by law, and often have no alternative to crowded dorms where, in poverty and without prospects, they remain for most of their life. A report
Sentenced by the Hague Tribunal to 18 years in prison for crimes committed in Mostar during the war, Vinko Martinović returned to the city after benefiting from a significant sentence reduction. The weight of the past on the banks of the Neretva
20 years ago a group of Serb paramilitaries destroyed a Roma village in Eastern Bosnia, killing all the residents. A child survived and, today, he is asking for his people justice before the Belgrade's War Crimes Prosecutor
International Alert, an NGO based in London working on conflict resolution, did a study on how people on opposite sides of the conflicts in the South Caucasus perceived each other. Our correspondent focused on how Armenians were depicted in online discourse in Baku. An insiders' look into the dark side of the Azerbaijani blogosphere
The historic daily Eleftherotypia has not been published for over a month. It is not the only one: at least 15 newspapers in Greece have shut down or cut staff, among which is the authoritative To Vima
If it's a male, all is well. If it's a female, there's a dilemma. In Albania selective abortion is a widespread practice. According to the Council of Europe, in Albania for every 100 females 112 males are born: a rather disproportionate figure compared with the ratio of natural demographic growth. A report from the clinics in Tirana
