Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from March, 2012
Georgia: Tongue-in-cheek development forecast
A satirical video posted on YouTube takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the development of Georgia ahead of parliamentary elections later this year and a presidential vote in 2013. With the...
Azerbaijan: Novruz comes to an end
Novruz, the Persian New Year which is also celebrated in Azerbaijan, has come to an end and, using the example of the oil-rich country, Eastbook says that during the holiday...
Armenia: US Ambassador urges free, fair and credible elections
Ambassador Heffern's Video Blog's comments on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia. Posted on the U.S. Embassy's YouTube Channel, the American diplomat stresses the need for free and fair elections,...
Macedonia, Kazakhstan: Triumphal Arches to Celebrate 20 Years of Independence
The leaders of Kazakhstan and Macedonia have chosen the same architectural devices - triumphal arches - to mark the two decades of their states' divorce from the larger unions. Filip Stojanovski reports on how the Skopje arch, known as Porta Makedonija, is viewed by the local netizens.
Georgia: Anti-discriminatory legislation ahead of Armenia, Azerbaijan
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on the passage of legislation in Georgia outlawing discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, age, and political as well as religious views. The blog notes that the...
Armenia: Ushahidi deployed for parliamentary elections
Georgia was the first country in the South Caucasus to deploy a bespoke crowd-sourcing and crisis mapping platform for its local elections in May 2010, but Armenia will be the...
Azerbaijan: 17 March youth protest in images
Narmin Noqte posts video footage and photos from the 17 March youth protest in Baku, Azerbaijan. The video is subtitled in English and available on Vimeo.
Azerbaijan: Novruz Bayram
Alongside Iran and elsewhere, Azerbaijan once again celebrated Novruz, the Zoroastrian or Persian New Year. One of the most important dates in the country's calendar, foreigners blogging from Azerbaijan, as well as Azerbaijanis themselves, naturally introduced the holiday to their readers.
Armenia: Opinion divided on Eurovision withdrawal
Writing for Ararat Magazine, Global Voices’ Caucasus Regional Editor says that not everybody is happy about Armenia's withdrawal from this year's Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Armenia: Parliamentary elections
Writing on Ararat Magazine, Global Voices’ Caucasus Regional Editor interviews analyst Richard Giragosian and examines the political situation in Armenia ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 6 May 2012. Following...
Azerbaijan: Investigative Journalist Defiant After Blackmail Threat
According to Freedom House, Azerbaijan continues “to imprison journalists and bloggers who express dissenting opinions.” However, as one journalist discovered last week, there are other ways to silence critical voices in the oil-rich former Soviet republic.
Georgia: Bloggers assaulted
Shota tweets that two bloggers were physically assaulted allegedly by representatives of Tbilisi University's Student Union, itself reportedly controlled by the ruling party of power in the country. News of...
Armenia: Bridging the divide?
Global Chaos comments on the launch of a new web site by the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora. Charged with the task of bridging the divide between Armenians in Armenia and...
Afghanistan: Sunday’s massacre
Joshua Foust reviews media reactions and provides his own comments regarding the massacre on Sunday of 16 innocent Afghans — 9 of them children.
Kyrgyzstan: Local elections in the uneasy southern province
Nathan Hamm writes about the last week’s municipal elections in Osh, where nationalist opposition parties seem to get a significant share in the city council, analyzes the southern city's electorate,...
Azerbaijan: Pyrrhic victory
Again writing on Facebook, journalist Khadija Ismayil, recently under pressure with an alleged threat of blackmail, provides five reasons why the Eurovision Song Contest to be staged this May in...
Armenia: Eurovision withdrawal a wasted opportunity
Cilicia.com comments on recent news that Armenia has withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, capital of neighboring Azerbaijan. Taking a pro-Armenian line on the matter, the blog says...
Barbados: Media Ownership
Veteran Caribbean journalist Julius Gittens touches on issues of media ownership and calls for reflections on the adequacy of the existing structures and for ideas to spawn new ones…he is also sceptical of...
Armenia: International Women's Day
Marking International Women's Day, Ianyan features guest posts on gender in Armenia. In the first, three writers take a glimpse into the lives of women in the post-Soviet country, while...
Armenia: Homophobic Online Media
Unzipped: Gay Armenia adds another Armenian media outlet to its Homophobia Hall of Fame. This time it's the turn of Internet TV Slaq.am. The blog that reports on LGBT and...
Afghanistan: US army missing well-equipped SUVs
Nick Fielding digged out an amazing story about the US Army offering a $10,000 reward for any information as to the whereabouts of two SUVs equipped with classified technology used...
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