caucasus: regional fractures

From the 2008 Georgia/Russian war to the "rose revolution" of 2003, with contested elections in Azerbaijan and the continued trauma of Chechnya, openDemocracy writers trace the roots of turmoil.
Friday 20th January

Georgia: from diplomacy to politics

Tedo Japaridze, 20 January 2012
A veteran Georgian diplomat has chosen to enter his country's disputatious political arena. A hard decision that had to be made, says Tedo Japaridze.
Friday 30th December

Armenia-Turkey: the end of rapprochement

Vicken Cheterian, 30 December 2011
A diplomatic process designed to normalise relations between Armenia and Turkey led to the signing of two protocols in 2009. Its failure is rooted in the miscalculations of both sides, says Vicken Cheterian.
Saturday 22nd October

Abkhazia's archive: fire of war, ashes of history

Thomas de Waal, 22 October 2011

The documented history of the cosmopolitan Black Sea territory of Abkhazia was destroyed in war on 22 October 1992. Its Greek archivist Nikolai Ioannidi devoted the rest of his life to restoring and conserving what remains, reports Thomas de Waal.

(This article was first published on 20 October 2006)

Tuesday 6th September

Europe’s Armenian policy: the cost of indulgence

Armen Haykyan, 6 September 2011
The story of a powerful and ambitious Armenian oligarch is also a case-study in the flaws of European Union policy in the small Caucasian republic, says Armen Haykyan.
Tuesday 30th August

Abkhazia: presidential election, political future

George Hewitt, 30 August 2011
The Black Sea republic of Abkhazia has elected its third president since securing effective independence from Georgia in 1993. The tiny country faces economic and social difficulties, in part deriving from its lack of international recognition. But its democratic experience deserves more attention and respect than much of the world seems prepared to give, says George Hewitt in the capital, Sukhum.
Wednesday 24th August

Azerbaijani demolitions: an update

Thomas de Waal, 24 August 2011
The authorities’ destruction of a building and precious archive of human-rights workers in Baku is an act of mindless cruelty that damages Azerbaijan itself, says Thomas de Waal.

Georgian democracy: three rows and a lesson

Ghia Nodia, 24 August 2011
A divisive period in Georgian politics has pitted a range of forces - the opposition, the Orthodox church, the media, and civil society - against Mikheil Saakashvili’s government. The disputes carry important messages for the future of democracy in the country, says Ghia Nodia.
Friday 29th July

Azerbaijan: speed without system

Thomas de Waal, 29 July 2011
The authorities in Baku seem intent on building a new Dubai on the Caspian. But there is a dark side to the boom in Azerbaijan’s capital, finds Thomas de Waal.
Wednesday 25th May

Georgians from Abkhazia: beyond limbo

Magdalena Frichova Grono, 25 May 2011
Many Georgians displaced by the Abkhazia war of 1992-93 now live in rudimentary centres around the country. They face great difficulties in building their lives. But a survey of their views and aspirations contains some surprises, says Magdalena Frichova Grono.
Thursday 27th January

Abkhazia and the promises of princes

Magdalena Frichova Grono, 27 January 2011
The success of self-determination efforts in Kosovo and now South Sudan heightens the aspirations to statehood of small Eurasian territories such as Abkhazia. But with the status of this Black Sea entity trapped in a geopolitical limbo, Abkhaz and Georgians will need more than the patronage of the powerful to solve their conflict, says Magdalena Frichova Grono.
Friday 22nd October

Georgia at a crossroads: after the post-war

Jonathan Wheatley, 22 October 2010
In Tbilisi, memories of the bitter conflict with Russia in August 2008 are fresh, but everywhere too are signs that forces of change are pushing Georgia in new directions. Jonathan Wheatley takes the measure of a fluid political moment.
Wednesday 20th October

The Armenia-Turkey protocols: a year on

Vicken Cheterian, 20 October 2010
The process of dialogue between neighbours locked in an enduring dispute over the events of 1915 is already in trouble. But in assessing what has gone wrong, Vicken Cheterian sees history still on the move.
Thursday 16th September

Tricky business in Abkhazia

Anton Katin, 16 September 2010
Since Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia in 2008, Russian money has been pouring in. But when it comes to doing business there, Russians can find themselves coming badly unstuck, as one investor from the Urals found. Anton Katin reports
Friday 20th August

Georgia’s mafia: the politics of survival

Gavin Slade, 20 August 2010
A prominent feature of Georgian life both before and after the Soviet period has been the influence of a powerful criminal network, the “thieves-in-law”. Its rise and endurance is closely linked to the changing character of the Georgian state, says Gavin Slade.
Tuesday 17th August

The guns of August: two years later

Rein Müllerson, 17 August 2010
The bitter conflict over South Ossetia in August 2008 has turned to post-war stalemate. But just as the war and the current impasse involve more than Georgia and Russia, says Rein Müllerson, so progress in the region and beyond requires bold diplomatic thinking on all sides.
Friday 13th August

Abkhazia: two years of independence

George Hewitt, 13 August 2010
The small Black Sea republic of Abkhazia, already free of Georgia’s control since the war of 1992-93, emerged more secure from the Georgia-Russia war of August 2008. But if the “dreadful” years of its modern history have ended, the young state is now living through “difficult” times. George Hewitt, in Sukhum, reports and reflects.
Wednesday 11th August

Sakartvelo: a political prospect

Alexander Rondeli, 11 August 2010
The two years since the war of August 2008 have been tough for Georgia. But in domestic politics and foreign relations alike the country has achieved more than once seemed possible, says Alexander Rondeli.
Friday 6th August

Abkhazia and the Caucasus: the west’s choice

Neal Ascherson, 6 August 2010
The Georgia-Russia war of August 2008 refroze a region. The small Black Sea nation of Abkhazia is the key to its unblocking, says Neal Ascherson.
Thursday 5th August

Georgia, two years on: a future beyond war

Donald Rayfield, 5 August 2010
A vicious short war between Georgia and Russia erupted on 8 August 2008 over one of Georgia's “occupied territories”, South Ossetia. Two years on, Mikheil Saakashvili remains in power, surrounded by another cluster of ambitious young colleagues. Tbilisi’s construction projects are transforming the city’s public spaces and social customs. A new realism governs foreign policy and economic ambitions, with Turkey an increasingly prominent neighbour. But amid the flux, the key to Georgia’s future relationship with Russia may lie in the distant past, says Donald Rayfield in a richly textured portrait.
Wednesday 21st July

Natasha Estemirova: one year on

Tanya Lokshina, 21 July 2010
On 15 July 2009 Natasha Estemirova was kidnapped outside her flat in Grozny, bundled into a car, driven away and shot. One year later Tanya Lokshina still grieves for her, reflecting how difficult it is to come to terms with her death
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