Civil society

Karine (not her real name) was 15 when she realised that the male body she was born into was not hers. She moved from the rural community she grew up in to the capital Yerevan to be free to be herself. Unlinke many people in her community she was able to find a stable job as a hairdresser and manicurist. © Anahit Zakaryan

Life in the Shadows for Armenia’s Transgender Community

Recent murder highlights widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTI people.

13 Nov 23

Aleksandr Kablov moved to the settlement in 2017. A shift worker at Kazakstan’s oil and gas fields of Tengiz and Karachganak, the 40-year-old lives there when he is on holiday. © Talgat Umarov

Kazakstan’s Eco-settlers: Turning Barren Land Into Forest

A group seeking an alternative way of life started planting trees; two decades on, they have created an oasis.

18 Aug 23

Azerbaijan: Opposition Figure Remains in Detention

Economist had announced launch of UK-based education fund before his arrest.

9 Aug 23

On June 20, riot police confronted residents in Soyudlu, in western Azerbaijan, as they protested against the construction of a second reservoir intended to hold waste from a nearby gold mine. © Still from video shared on social media

Azerbaijani Authorities Crack Down on Eco Protests

Villagers demand end to construction of a second reservoir for a local gold mine.

10 Jul 23

Ukrainian children who fled the conflict play in a shelter organised in an exhibition centre, on March 13, 2022 in Chisinau, Moldova. Among the neighbouring countries, Moldova is the one that has received the most refugees in proportion to its population. This is a major challenge for this nation among the poorest in Europe. © Andreea Campeanu/Getty Images

Moldova’s Ukrainian Refugees Find Stability, But Long for Home

Chișinău has granted Ukrainians temporary protection status, with automatic rights to housing, healthcare, education and work.

20 Jun 23

Designer Kateryna Uvarova transforms used cartridges into art objects. Based in Lviv, western Ukraine, Uvarova is originally from Makiivka, in Donetsk region; she fled to Kharkiv in 2014 and then again had to relocate when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. © Courtesy of Kateryna Uvarova

Turning Shell Casings into Patriotic Souvenirs

Entrepreneurs and volunteers launch schemes to help support war efforts.

2 May 23

Belarus: How Political Persecution Extends to Families

The authorities routinely harass and arrest relatives of activists as a tactic of intimidation.

13 Apr 23

Abkhaz blogger Daur Buava (left) with his friend and colleague Shmagi Samkharadze with whom he co-founded the youth organisation Amra (meaning sun in Abkhaz language). Buava left his native Abkhazia and moved to Georgia where he was granted Georgian citizenship in December 2022. Abkhazian de-facto authorities charged him with treason. © Lana Kokaia

Georgia: “We Have the Right to Unify”

Abkhazian blogger accused of treason continues to campaign for coexistence.

14 Mar 23

A journalist holds a sign labelling a draft law currently under discussion in Georgia as "a Russian law" during a protest staged in front of the Parliament on 2 March, 2023. The government is facing domestic and international calls to backtrack on plans to adopt a "foreign influence agents" bill as critics say it mimics a similar law in Russia. © Gvantsa Seturidze/IWPR

Draft Law on Foreign Agents Sparks Outcry in Georgia and Abroad

Ruling party says that bill ensures transparency; critics argue it mimics Russian laws and will crush EU integration.

3 Mar 23

Family doctor Natalya Tunik conducts a medical appointment in Sunki, a village in the central region of Cherkasy, where there is no hospital. © Photo courtesy of N. Tunik

Doctors on Wheels: Ukraine’s Mobile Medical Teams

Project delivers medical aid to people in remote areas and those displaced by the war.

2 Feb 23

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