Georgia - Articoli

Russia-Abkhazia: where to set the border

03/10/2011 -  Francisco Martinez

A border dispute over a small village near the ski resorts where the winter Olympics of Sochi 2014 are set to take place has caused some skirmishes between Moscow and the de facto authorities of Sukhumi


A new President for Abkhazia

29/08/2011 -  Marilisa Lorusso

Acting President Aleksandr Ankvab won the 26th of August elections in the self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia. The reactions in Moscow, the statement of the new President on the future relations with Georgia


Neighbour or Friend? EU aspirations of the ENP countries

17/08/2011 -  Nelli Babayan*

Countries included in the European Neighbourhood Policy, like the three republics of the South Caucasus and Moldova, are unlikely to join the EU any time soon. Still, according to different rankings, their performance is not so different from that of current candidate countries Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYROM) at the time those countries were granted candidate status (2004-2005)


Imagine track II diplomacy for Karabakh

05/08/2011 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Bakuriani

Each year since 2007, the Imagine Center brings two groups of selected participants from Armenia and Azerbaijan together in a third country to discuss the two communities' histories, perceptions, and attitudes. The intention is to contribute to transforming negative perceptions and attitudes by reaching out to the younger generations


Kids Across the Caucasus

20/06/2011 -  Amanda Wilson Budapest

Ngos in the Caucasus often fill the gap left by the state in areas related to children care, including basic education and assistance to the disabled. The Open Society Foundation supports local Ngos active in these fields in both the Northern and Southern Caucasus. Journalist Natasha Yefimov told their stories in a book, Kids Across the Caucasus. An interview with the author


Armenia-Azerbaijan peacebuilding kicks off in Tekali

07/04/2011 -  Onnik Krikorian Tekali, Yerevan

Events held in rural Georgia hope to demonstrate how grassroots peacebuilding activities can not only contribute to discussion and debate, but also have some more immediate and practical dividends as well


Georgia: inflation pushing farmers into debt trap

25/03/2011 -  Molly Corso

Hit by low harvest yields and double-digit inflation, hundreds of Georgia’s 700,000 small-scale farmers are confronting the start of the spring planting season without the money to purchase seeds. From EurasiaNet


As tensions mount, plans for an Armenian-Azerbaijan Peace Building Center in Georgia

22/02/2011 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

The project of an Armenian theatrical director and actor turned peace activist to open a peace center in Tekalo, a small village in Georgia a few kilometers from the border with Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Communication is not betrayal, it is a natural human need.”


Baku, is it Asia or Europe?

12/10/2010 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The novel "Ali and Nino" tells about the love between an Azerbaijani and a Georgian teenager. Depicted as symbols of Asia and Europe, they meet in the Caucasus and there can be united. Almost one century after Ali and Nino was published, can the Caucasus be European and can it be united?


Georgia, the Military Ally

27/09/2010 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

Almost 1,000 Georgian soldiers are taking part in international operations in Afghanistan and the first Georgian soldier death was registered in September. A look behind the scenes of a decade-long international engagement - one that Georgia's current government sees as a sort of life insurance


The Georgian television that speaks Russian

13/08/2010 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

“Pervyj Kavkazskij” (First Caucasus). It is the name of the satellite channel in Russian, financed by the Georgian government and dedicated to all the people of the Caucasus, but not only. Transmission problems, lack of qualified reporters and the opposition of “Gazprom Media” do not seem to be enough to make Tbilisi back down


The Caucasian Eurovision

07/06/2010 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Oil money and ethnic voting lose out to simplicity in Eurovision


Alasania: 'Democratic change is possible in Georgia'

14/05/2010 -  Francisco Martinez

Irakli Alasania, 35, one of the emergent leaders of the opposition in Georgia, is currently running for mayor of Tblisi. If Alasania is elected mayor in local elections in the capital city (May 30), he could become one of Saakashvili's most credible opponents in the presidential elections scheduled for 2013. OBC interviewed him


Georgia: costruction fever

26/04/2010 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

A real construction boom is taking place in Georgia, but the recent world financial crisis has had serious consequences for the construction sector; a sector in which the state is one of the major stakeholders


Borders aren't forever

01/04/2010 -  Francisco Martinez Sukhumi

Perspectives on the development of Abkhazia, a territory whose self-proclaimed independence has not been widely recognised at the international level, the country's strained dialogue with Tbilisi, and its relations with Russia and the EU. An interview with Maxim Gvinjia, de facto foreign minister of Abkhazia


Double standards or fair approach?

10/02/2010 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Baku

Russia and European Union member states have shown different approaches to the South Caucasus. Finding some common ground with Russia might help resolve the conflicts in the region


Andy Garcia plays Saakashvili

26/11/2009 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

Film director Renny Harlin started filming his new movie on last August's conflict, in Georgia. Besides the army and aviation, Andy Garcia and Val Kilmer will also take part in the filming


An Azeri village in Georgia

16/10/2009 -  Arzu GeybullayevaOnnik Krikorian Karajala

Our correspondents from Baku and Yerevan, Arzu Geybullayeva and Onnik Krikorian, visited an ethnic Azeri village in Karajala, eastern Georgia. A photo-reportage


Tbilisi: batons and metal rods

14/10/2009 -  Giorgio Comai

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


Inexperienced

18/09/2009 -  Giorgio Comai

Akaki Asatiani, among the signatories of the Georgian Declaration of Independence, reflects on the last 20 years, the civil war, tensions with Russia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and the inability to achieve ideals or search for compromise


It could have been different

25/08/2009 -  Giorgio Comai Tbilisi

On 9 April 1989, Soviet troops dispersed demonstrations in Tbilisi, killing 20 people. That event changed the political debate in Georgia and deeply influenced further developments in the two decades that followed, a period of great expectations and missed chances. An interview with Marina Muskhelishvili


Territorial Integrity and Democracy in Georgia

12/08/2009 -  Giorgio Comai Tbilisi

Twelve months after the conflict in South Ossetia, tension in the border area is running high again. In reality, Tbilisi does not expect renewal of the hostilities, but there is concern about domestic politics. An article by our correspondent


Points of view

03/08/2009 -  Giorgio Comai

Both Russia and Georgia have devoted considerable efforts to promoting their own points of view on the conflict of August last year. Narratives remain strongly contrasting


Mountains, seas and crisis

19/06/2009 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

Georgia has great touristic potential with beaches, mountains, ancient cities, castles and churches, but political instability, conflicts and economic crisis have not made the country attractive to visitors from the West. The war and the global economic crisis have hit all sectors of the Georgian economy, but the tourism sector, which had begun to recover in the last 2 to 3 years, has taken the hardest fall


Armenia struggles to adapt to shifts in regional security

28/05/2009 -  Richard Giragosian Yerevan

Yerevan and the NATO exercise in neighboring Georgia. The aftermath of the Russia-Georgia conflict on regional security and the challenges for Armenia


Eurovision opens new wounds in the Caucasus

22/05/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Already notorious more for its political block voting than even its kitsch and glitzy musical entries, nothing could have prepared anyone for the controversy surrounding the three countries of the South Caucasus in this year's Eurovision Song Contest


Caucasian Knot

14/05/2009 -  Giorgio Comai Moscow

Osservatorio met Grigory Shvedov, the editor-in-chief of 'Caucasian Knot,' the largest news outlet dealing with the region, to talk about freedom of the media, the role of international organisations in the Caucasus and his web portal


An online revolution in the making?

08/05/2009 -  Onnik Krikorian Yerevan

Internet penetration remains low in regions such as the South Caucasus. However, as costs come down and connection speeds increase, there is no doubt that online and mobile communication will become important tools in the hands of civil society and political activists alike


No way out of the protests

14/04/2009 -  Tengiz Ablotia Tbilisi

On 9 April, the government opposition in Tbilisi, Georgia started a new wave of protests to demand the resignation of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili. The protests have been peaceful but are rapidly heading into a stalemate


Grozny Dreaming

16/01/2009 -  Roberta Bertoldi

A multiethnic orchestra with artists from different parts of the Caucasus; their dreams of performing in the tormented region and of demonstrating the possibility of peaceful coexistence. Our interview.