Between 2000 and 2009 Romania experienced one of Europe's highest growth rates. Yet even before the economic crisis hit Bucharest hard, it became clear that the wealth of the economic boom was built with dramatic social costs, paid mostly by children, unemployed, pensioners, and Roma
In Azerbaijan, intellectual elites began a long struggle for independence and democracy in the 1970s. This story chronicles Azerbaijan's journey after 1989 through a difficult transition, war, and instability
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Western Balkans and the Caucasus are left with many a lost chance. The analysis of Tihomir Loza, deputy director of "Transitions on line", since 1999 among the major online news media devoted to the former Eastern Bloc
The slogans of Perestroika, hopes, war. Difficulties and small advantages in creating democratic institutions in a country not recognised on an international level. Twenty years of changes in Stepanakert
The Romanian generation born in 1989, what they do not know about their past, and what they want from the future. A reportage from Bucharest on the memory of Ceasescu in nowadays' Romania, where the events of 1989 continue to divide society and generations
At the end of the Seventies when Yugoslav society was calm and predictable, punk was born in Slovenia and young people began to mock communism. Then came the death of Tito, the economic crisis, and the road to independence. A new contribution to our dossier "The long lasting '89".
The reactions in Armenia to the signing of the protocols with Turkey. The political scenario, the public debate. A survivor of the 1915 genocide speaks out
A clear strategy is now needed: effective political dialogue and a strong EUSR. A comment on the Butmir negotiations on the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Shifting his focus from Italy's Casalesi crime family to the mafia bosses of the East, the author of the best-selling novel "Gomorra", Roberto Saviano, is now analysing the spread of organized crime in Eastern Europe. This is the topic of his next book. Our interview.
Our correspondents from Baku and Yerevan, Arzu Geybullayeva and Onnik Krikorian, visited an ethnic Azeri village in Karajala, eastern Georgia. A photo-reportage
Glamour and red carpets, together with international star Vanessa Redgrave, characterised Pristina's first film festival. The goal? To launch the Kosovo brand on the international scene
In Georgia, opposition activists are victims of aggression and suffer violent attacks, even at the hands of the police. The government minimises these accusations and speaks of a Georgia which is headed straight on the path toward democracy
Scientific research in independent Armenia after the Cold War and the demise of USSR. An interview with Ashot Chilingarian, director of Yerevan Physics Institute
Street violence, cancellation of the gay pride, attacks on foreigners. But it was only with the death of a French football fan beaten by Serbian hooligans that Belgrade felt under siege and tried to react. Brice Taton, the young French football fan who was brutally beaten by Serb hooligans before the match between Partisan and Toulouse, died of injuries on September 30th
Radu Carp is a Public Law and Political Science professor, vice-dean of the University of Bucharest's Political Science Department, a respected lecturer, and the author of several important studies. Osservatorio spoke with him about Romania's relations with the European Commission
The difficult balances of the EULEX mission, the proposals for territorial exchange between Serbia and Kosovo, and the visa liberalisation issue. Our correspondent talked to Italian ambassador in Kosovo Michael L. Giffoni
Twenty years after the fall of the Wall, the controversial lustration process - the epuration of those who cooperated with the police of Communist regimes - is still in deep waters. And many wonder whether rummaging archives still makes sense. A contribution from our dossier ''The long-lasting '89''
Mugham is a symbol of Azerbaijan's traditional culture. Much more than music played with traditional instruments following a precise style, it is also poetry, inspiration, and improvisation
At a time when the Saxon villages of Transylvania are undergoing a dramatic transformation, one of these villages is hosting an Italian experiment to preserve cultural heritage and promote sustainable tourism development
With their passionate, non-conventional music, theatrical contaminations, and growing domestic and international success, "Foltin" looks like the next best thing in Macedonian music. Osservatorio interviewed the group's singer and front-man Branko Nikolov
