Stories about Georgia from October, 2007
Russia, Serbia, Georgia: Kosovo Implications
TOL's Steady State writes that “if the application of the ‘Kosovo formula’ to the post-Soviet frozen conflicts takes place, then it will be cooked up in Moscow – that is certain.”
Turkey: An Armenian in Istanbul
Despite warnings from fellow Armenians, Lara Aha at Life in Armenia visited Istanbul in Turkey last week to attend a seminar on women in conflict zones. The Diasporan blogger now resident in Armenia says not only did she feel more at home in Istanbul than Yerevan, but that she also...
Georgia: “Radical” Opposition
TOL Georgia takes exception to a recent article published by the Jamestown Foundation on what the publication terms the “radical opposition.” The site questions why the author, well-known analyst Vladimir Socor, is using such phrases and challenges many other points made in the article.
Georgia: Homophobia
British journalist Matthew Collin writes in a new blog from Georgia about two recent scandals which illustrate to what extent homophobia has taken hold in what is otherwise still considered to be the most liberal country in the Caucasus. On This is Tbilisi Calling he details both, the most recent...
Georgia: Economic Growth
In a region where poverty is still endemic, figures for economic growth are a constant feature of speeches and election campaigns by governments. Georgia is no exception, but TOL Georgia asks if high economic growth rates from a low base mean much when they are compared to lower rates from...
Georgia: Russian Paranoia
Steady State posts a link to an article in Russian detailing territorial claims that the Republic of Georgia might have on Russia since medieval times. The blog treats such claims with scorn and sees it more as anti-Georgian paranoia than anything based on historical fact.
Caucasus: LGBT Report
After mentioning it in a previous post, Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts the text of a new report on the situation of LGBT people in Georgia and Azerbaijan. The blogger says that the comprehensive study is a “historic event” as it was conducted locally by a fact-finding mission to the South...
Georgia: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling… Rawhide!
Kaukasus posts photographs of an annual cattle drive held in Tusheti.
Georgia: Frozen Conflict and the Opposition
Faced with the prospect of an opposition rally on 2 November in Tbilisi, Transitions Online's Steady State reports that the Russian media is speculating that Georgia will seek to “provoke an armed conflict with South Ossetia in order to undermine the mass demonstration.” Meanwhile, the same site asks whether Georgia...
Georgia: Disco for Peace
With a few “frozen conflicts” unresolved and on the international agenda in the South Caucasus, it seems like everybody wants to get in on the act. In an attempt to promote peace in the breakaway region of South Ossetia, for example, Transitions Online's Steady State reports that the Georgian government...
Caucasus: Corruption Perceptions Index
Social Science in the Caucasus, the blog of the Caucasus Resource Research Center in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, looks at Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2007. The blog notes significant improvements in Georgia in the struggle against corruption, but no real progress in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Georgia: Saakashvili's New Initiative
On its newly launched and very welcome blog on Georgia, Transitions Online takes a look at amendments to the electoral code and political system proposed by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. These include lowering the electoral threshold, lessening presidential power, and extending the term of parliament from four to five years.
The War in Abkhazia – ‘Cyxymu’ Remembers
Blogger cyxymu - whose Russian-language blog is devoted to the “memories of Sukhumi, the war and the pain” - spent the second half of September marking the 14th anniversary of the storm of the Abkhaz capital, which dealt a final defeat to the Georgian forces in their war with Abkhazia. Lyndon Allin translates from some of cyxymu's entries, and reviews and comments on the others.
