Joshua Kucera is a journalist living in Tbilisi. He also contributes to Eurasianet, The Economist, and other publications.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian first came to prominence in 2008 when he helped lead anti-government demonstrations, which were violently broken up by police. But now, with sustained anger over the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, the tables have turned.
As Georgia's ruling party has taken a sharp turn toward authoritarianism and unleashed unprecedented rebukes of its Western partners, it has prompted speculation about the once unthinkable: a Georgian geopolitical shift toward Russia.
Since Georgia reintroduced its “foreign agent” law two months ago, the country has seen an unprecedented level of attacks on opponents of the ruling party. Government officials have admitted that they have been making “lists” of enemies and that they have been carrying out the attacks.
Now that Georgia's controversial "foreign agent" law has been passed, government opponents are trying to channel public anger about the law to fight parliamentary elections in October. But they face an uphill battle.
The toughest challenger in Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's six years of rule is an archbishop who has channeled public anger over Armenia's catastrophic series of military losses and concessions to its foe, Azerbaijan.
Stephen Jones, the director of Georgian Studies at Harvard University's Davis Center, spoke to RFE/RL about the reasons behind Georgia's controversial "foreign agent" law.
Young people -- mostly from Generation Z -- have become the defining element of Georgia's protests, providing energy, numbers on the streets, and, in some cases, inspiration for their elders.
At once in thrall to both soccer mania and a political crisis over democratic values, Georgian aspirations of joining Europe – on the pitch and in the EU – are increasingly intertwined.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has just visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow, days after Russian peacekeepers began to leave Nagorno-Karabakh, more than a year ahead of schedule. With Russia's sway in the Caucasus at a nadir, Azerbaijan's star is perhaps higher than ever.
Georgia's ruling party has introduced laws that would ban "gay propaganda" and create a "foreign agents" registry. Ahead of critical elections in October, critics say that the laws are part of an effort to portray the opposition as captives of foreign interests inimical to Georgian values.
Georgia's opposition calls it the "Russian law." The ruling party insists the bill is simply copied and pasted from U.S. legislation. But the newly resurrected On Transparency of Foreign Influence bill is, more than anything, a product of Georgia's homegrown struggle for political power.
To many, in the Caucasus, in particular, the tragedy of the killings of Lilit Israelian and Vugar Huseynov was compounded by the improbability of a match that spanned the deep ethnic divide stemming from a decades-long conflict.
Fraying Armenia-Russian ties have led to speculation about the future of Russia’s military base in Armenia. But locals find it hard to imagine it leaving.
If there were a Guinness record for most world records per capita in one town, it would doubtless be held by Talin, Armenia. The town has just 7,000 inhabitants but they have broken dozens of records, and at the Home of the Titans gym they are training for more.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian posted a photo on Instagram: a mountain with the caption "Aragats. The highest peak of the Republic of Armenia." In normal times, it might have just been an innocuous bit of trivia. But in today's Armenia, it is a direct challenge to the nation's identity.
For decades, negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh were conducted with mediators -- varying combinations of Russia, the United States, and European powers. But now Azerbaijan says the Western mediators in its talks with Armenia are biased and has pushed them aside.
In a show of power, Azerbaijan's leader, President Ilham Aliyev, cast his vote in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was retaken by Azerbaijani forces last year. With Aliyev still riding high on the victory and without any true democratic process, the election is just a way to rally and solidify support.
Ahead of Azerbaijan's February 7 presidential election, the political parties that could offer a genuine opposition to the incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, are all boycotting the race. The only intrigue is whether the margin of Aliyev's victory -- in light of the retaking of Nagorno-Karabakh -- will be his biggest yet.
Tens of thousands of Russians moved to Tbilisi after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They managed to work remotely for Russian tech companies and made Georgian friends. Now, though, the Russian newcomers are quietly -- but in large numbers -- going home.
With its September offensive, Azerbaijan regained control over the rest of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Over 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled en masse for Armenia. While the refugees received a warm welcome and support from the government, many are living in difficult circumstances.
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