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.

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.

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

Thomas de Waal

For me the tragic story of Abkhazia's archive is inseparable from the story of its archivist.

I first met Nikolai Ioannidi in May 1992 in Sukhumi, then capital of the autonomous republic of Abkhazia and still firmly part of Georgia. War was about to break out between the Abkhaz and the Georgians, but I sensed this only vaguely, noticing that there was a curfew at night, a dispute over which security forces had the right to bear arms and worried speculation from the people I spent my time with about the future.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Heather McRobie is a regular contributor to 50.50

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