Since the break-up of the USSR, the South Caucasus has trodden a chequered path, both political and economic. Is democracy really what the people want? Or just what Western donors and investors think they should have? Stephen F Jones reflects
Mikheil Saakashvili, ex-president of Georgia, was once hailed as the very archetype of a model post-Soviet leader – smooth-tongued and sharp-suited. But was the fluency with which he promoted himself as a modern messiah merely a case of pouring old Georgian wine into new bottles?
In 2009 six post-Soviet nations signed up to the EU Eastern Partnership, aimed at deepening political cooperation and economic integration. Progress has been uneven because old habits die hard and closer integration with the EU has many opponents. Viorel Ursu and Iryna Solonenko consider the varyi
Since Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, the country's grim human rights record has only become worse. The Council's and EU's ambiguous reactions to the October 9 presidential election raise new questions about Europe's role in Azerbaijan's transition to democracy.
Sandwiched between the giants of Russia and China, Mongolia is looking to develop its vast mineral wealth. How will this affect one of the most stable democracies in the region, and what will happen to the benefits of development?
Five years after the Russian-Georgian war, Georgian Premier Bidzina Ivanishvili has announced that Tbilisi is ready for direct talks with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It is an acknowledgment of the fact that improving relations with Russia alone is not sufficient for conflict resolution. Liana Fix
If the primary concern is to establish peace in the region, then the central question is the social status of the people rather than internationally established political norms, such as territorial integrity.
Talking with an opposition educator about the Enlightenment, resistance and populism in Baku.
Sergei Dvortsevoy’s films may have won plaudits internationally, but his uncompromising observational style and ethical stance keep them out of the multiplexes in Russia. Zygmunt Dzieciolowski interviewed this extraordinary director.
Silvio Berlusconi has had lots of friends, or so he says – l’amico George (Bush), l’amico Tony (Blair), and now l’amico Nursultan (Nazarbayev) of Kazakhstan. The Shalabayeva affair has exposed the cost of this particular friendship.
Was there a secret programme to arm and train North Caucasus militants under the previous Georgian government? A clash in the Caucasus last summer exposed secrets that Georgia needs to confront, says Aage Borchgrevink
The chaotic scenes at the trial of a man charged over inter-ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan are damaging the legal process, reports Mihra Rittmann.
