Caucasus

Cranes tower the Caspian Sea shore in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. The government in the oil-rich nation increased the costs of gas and electricity twice in 2021, but experts warn that there is no economic justification for the price hikes. © IWPR / Monica Ellena

Azerbaijan: Soaring Energy Prices Fuel Discontent

State blames increasing cost on global market, while analysts see exploitation and corruption at fault.

17 Jan 22

Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, overseeing the repatriation of 10 Armenian servicemen in December 2021.

Can the EU Support Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace?

While Brussels is keen to provide technical help and mediation, its role can only go so far.

6 Jan 22

Khor Virap monastery lies a few hundred metres from the Armenia - Turkish border. It overlooks Mount Ararat, a symbol of Armenian identity, which is located on Turkish territory. © Creative Commons

Assessing Armenia-Turkey Normalisation

After decades of strained relations, why are they finally making serious moves towards re-opening ties?

16 Dec 21

An installation of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women featured red ribbons with the names of women killed by their partners, 1 October 2021. © Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women Armenia

Armenia: App Tackles Domestic Violence, One Tap at a Time

An all-women team turned to mobile phone technology to provide a free and easy-to-use tool.

13 Dec 21

Melik Khachatryan, 61, shares a room with Yeghoyan and is waiting for the chance to be vaccinated. © Armine Avetisyan

Armenia: Homeless Amid the Pandemic

It’s hard to protect yourself from the virus without proper facilities.

30 Nov 21

Armenian servicemen in frontline trenches separating the Armenian-controlled territory from the Azerbaijani forces in Nagorny Karabakh, pictured in May 2016. © Monica Ellena

The Open Wound of Armenia’s POWs

As Azerbaijan captures 13 Armenian servicemen amid the worst fighting since the 2020 war, the fate of other prisoners of war remains uncertain.

25 Nov 21

A military cemetery in Yerevan where Armenian soldier's are buried. © Armine Avetisyan

Armenia: Mothers Bereaved by War Offered IVF

Amid trauma of defeat, there has been little discussion of the ethical implications of state-sponsored programme.

15 Nov 21

Ukrainian President Zelensky announced that he would work on returning Saakashvili to Ukraine as he would with any other Ukrainian citizen. © The Ukrainian President's Official Website

Ukraine Fails to Come to Saakashvili’s Defence

Experts say that internal politics and a lack of strong reaction from the West have weakened response to ex head-of-state’s arrest.

9 Nov 21

A school in the Gali region of Abkhazia, where the de-facto government recently made the decision to ban Georgian as the language of instruction, meaning that Georgian students there will now have to learn their native tongue as a foreign language. © IWPR

Abkhazia: Georgian Now Only Taught as a Foreign Language

All students have to learn in Russian, in a move condemned as “an obvious manifestation of racial discrimination”.

3 Nov 21

An empty COVID-19 vaccine center in Tbilisi in late October. Georgia finds itself lagging in getting its population immunized, casting doubt on whether authorities will reach the goal of vaccinating 60 percent of the country's 3.7 million people by the end of 2021. © Rusudan Jakeli

Georgia Confronts Vaccine Disinformation

Infections are on the rise as conspiracy theories fuel scepticism, further hobbling immunisation efforts.

2 Nov 21

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