Latest posts by Onnik Krikorian from July, 2009
Armenia: Kim Kardashian, national identity and peace
Ianyan continues its regular feature compiling mention of Armenia and Armenians on the Internet. In its latest column, the blog comments on reference to celebrity socialite Kim Karashian and fashion, national identity, breaking down ethnic divides, and more…
Armenia: Homophoia and intolerance
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on a round table held in Yerevan on homophobia and intolerance in society. The blog says that Armenia cannot afford to allow xenophobia, homophobia and intolerance towards others to go unchecked.
Azerbaijan: Watermelon season
Sheki, Azerbaijan says that watermelon season has started in the country, posting photographs and detailing some of the traditions associated with the summer fruit.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Musical collaboration
Despite the unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh which has left many citizens of both countries intolerant and bitterly opposed to the other, a Baku-based newspaper has discovered a video on YouTube of an Azeri girl singing traditional mugham backed by Armenian musicians. Remy_G tweets that the...
Armenia: Political graffiti
The Hima! [AM] youth movement blog posts a photograph of graffiti appearing in Yerevan. The blog posts a photograph of one example remembering 1 March 2008 when 10 people died in clashes between opposition supporters and police in the Armenian capital.
Azerbaijan: Smashing idealism
Thoughts on the Road comments on the English translation of an interview with the official investigator on the case of recently detained video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli posted on the OL! blog. The blogger says that he still considers the case against the two youth activists to be...
Azerbaijan: Fighting mirrors
Fighting windmills? Take a pill. recounts various events that have happened to Azerbaijan's youth movements in the past few months, including the detention of dozens of activists. The blog says that tomorrow a new initiative will be established to protect their rights.
Armenia: An interview with Liana Aghajanian
Born in Iran, but raised and now living in the United States, Liana Aghajanian is a writer and a relative newcomer to the Armenian blogosphere. However, Aghajanian has set an important precedent for alternative voices and an independent media in Armenia and the Diaspora with her Wordpress-based e-zine, Ianyan.
Azerbaijan: An interview with Arzu Geybullayeva
Despite the accent formed from education in the United States and the United Kingdom, Arzu Geybullayeva, now a regional analyst, has become one of Azerbaijan's most well-known bloggers on the country with her Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blog.
Azerbaijan: Adnan Hajizade, Emin Milli appeal rejected
Despite significant outcry from leading human rights groups, press freedom watchdogs, and the international community itself, two youth activists and bloggers have been sentenced to two months pre-trial detention. Their appeal, originally planned for last week, was eventually heard on Monday, but few expected them to be released.
Armenia: Vardavar
Ianyan marks the much-loved Armenian holiday of Vardavar. The blog examines the roots of a tradition which usually revolves around children dousing complete strangers with buckets of water.
Azerbaijan: Overzealous minions?
Following the recent detention of online activists and bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli in Azerbaijan, Business Week and former New York Times journalist Steve LeVine comments on the case on The Oil and the Glory, wondering if the arrest wasn't simply a case of an overzealous police official trying...
Azerbaijan: Baku's Boulevard
After a brief hiatus, Sheki, Azerbaijan is back and posts a brief history, accompanied by photographs, of Baku's 100-year old boulevard.
Georgia: Controversial online game
Unzipped: Gay Armenia, a ground-breaking LGBT blog in the region, comments on news from Gay Caucasus [RU] that a homophobic game, Kill the Faggots, is proving popular among children in Georgia. The blog says the game is disgusting and that the site should be shut down.
Georgia: Nationalist Pop
This is Tbilisi Calling comments on the tendency for pop music to be used for political purposes in countries such as Georgia. Although there have been some songs which have lampooned forces on both sides of the political divide, the blog also notes their use for nationalist purposes in a...
Azerbaijan: Social Networks and Youth Activism
Writing on Quirk Global Strategies, the former Country Director of the National Democratic Institute in Azerbaijan comments on the use of social networking sites such as Facebook by supporters of recently imprisoned video blogger Adnan Hadjizadeh and youth activist Emin Milli. The blog criticizes them for the tactic employed with...
Armenia: Flag display
517 Design [RU] posts a photograph of a billboard made up of the flags of those countries which will be entering films into the Golden Apricot festival in Yerevan. The blog notes the inclusion of flags from Azerbaijan and Turkey, countries with no formal diplomatic relations with Armenia because of...
Azerbaijan: “Hooliganism”
A Fistful of Euros comments on the arrest of Emin Milli and video blogger Adnan Hajizade last week in Baku, Azerbaijan. The blog says that charges of “hooliganism” are a Soviet-era tactic used by authoritarian regimes to silence dissent and have no place in a country seeking closer ties with...
Azerbaijan: Citizen media in defense of detained activists, bloggers
Although most activity can be found on Facebook where users continue to update each other on the case of video blogger Adnan Hajizade and youth activist Emin Milli, detained last week and sentenced to two months pre-trial detention, less activity might be visible in the mainstream media, but the situation is changing. Nevertheless, citizen media remains the main source of information.
Georgia: An Interview with DvOrsky
Giga Paitchadze, better known online as DvOrsky, is no stranger to the Caucasus section of Global Voices Online. In the second of a series of audio interviews with bloggers in or dealing with the South Caucasus, Paitchadze updates Global Voices Online on the development of new media in Georgia.
Azerbaijan: Youth activist, prominent blogger imprisoned after trial behind closed doors
In what might be the first case of a blogger being assaulted and detained in the South Caucasus, two youth activists were yesterday imprisoned for two months pre-trial investigative detention in what many consider to be a travesty of justice.
