At the beginning of May 1992, in one of the hardest battles during the recent conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, the Armenians took the city of Shushi/Shusha. A portrait of the city 20 years later
In Azerbajian, many more boys than girls are born every year. This is related to the widespread practice of sex-selective abortions, a phenomenon that is also occurs in neighbouring Armenia and Georgia. Stories from Baku
Azerbaijan's authorities have intensified their efforts to improve the country's image abroad, hiring PR companies and lobbyists around Europe to burnish its image. Lavish business meetings and events ostensibly dedicated to culture are meant to boost the country's image abroad and make people forget about democratic shortcomings and human rights violations at home
International Alert, an NGO based in London working on conflict resolution, did a study on how people on opposite sides of the conflicts in the South Caucasus perceived each other. Our correspondent focused on how Armenians were depicted in online discourse in Baku. An insiders' look into the dark side of the Azerbaijani blogosphere
In tune with the ambitious anti-corruption campaign launched by Azeri president Ilham Aliyev last spring, more and more initiatives for transparency in the oil sector have appeared. Despite a lack of big scandals, some journalists have reported concrete corruption cases in which bribes did not come in the form of cash, but in bids and contracts
The consortium controlling Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field should decide by April 2012 which pipeline will take its gas to Europe once Shah Deniz II becomes fully operational in 2017. There are three established candidates and a late newcomer supported by BP. Who will win the contract? And what about Cardinal Richelieu?
“A boy is OK, a girl is not”. In the Southern Caucasus, male newborns outnumber females by more than 10%. Experts have no doubt that the cause lies in the practice of selective abortions, an already-known phenomenon in China and India. This clearly shows how gender inequality is still highly present in the region
Thanks to its energy resources, Azerbaijan experienced for years one of the world’s highest GDP growth rates (+35% in 2006). A sovereign fund was established to manage these windfall revenues. International initiatives in favour of transparency keep an eye on the country’s main oil and gas company. Yet, opacity and corruption seem to be in the lead when oil wealth is spent rather than when it is accumulated
As a member of OSCE and the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan has made specific commitments to protect freedom of expression – but the current government does not always respect these obligations. International governmental and non-governmental organisations support several projects to improve freedom of expression, especially as regards the media. Yet, oil and gas make Baku increasingly resistant to criticism.
In Soviet Azerbaijan, most people took their holidays in sanatoriums in Azerbaijan or other parts of the Union. Nowadays, sanatoriums in Azerbaijan are often rundown while those in Russia have become much more expensive. Seaside locations in Georgia and Turkey are preferred destinations among those who can afford it, but for many Azerbaijanis, holidays are an unaffordable luxury
The city centre of Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city, has seen plenty of resident evictions and demolitions of old buildings lately, as developers clear paths for luxury real estate projects and fancy new boulevards. Although the demolition of the premises of several local NGOs raised criticism from international observers, it does not appear city authorities have any will to change their approach to urban planning
Countries included in the European Neighbourhood Policy, like the three republics of the South Caucasus and Moldova, are unlikely to join the EU any time soon. Still, according to different rankings, their performance is not so different from that of current candidate countries Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYROM) at the time those countries were granted candidate status (2004-2005)
Each year since 2007, the Imagine Center brings two groups of selected participants from Armenia and Azerbaijan together in a third country to discuss the two communities' histories, perceptions, and attitudes. The intention is to contribute to transforming negative perceptions and attitudes by reaching out to the younger generations
The Azeri duo “Ell and Nikki” won the 2011 edition of Eurovision. Eurovision 2012 will thus be held in Baku. Some believe that the international attention brought by the event will push the Azeri authorities to democratic openings, while others are convinced that the tourism sector will be the only beneficiary of the event
Ngos in the Caucasus often fill the gap left by the state in areas related to children care, including basic education and assistance to the disabled. The Open Society Foundation supports local Ngos active in these fields in both the Northern and Southern Caucasus. Journalist Natasha Yefimov told their stories in a book, Kids Across the Caucasus. An interview with the author
Are the winds of the “Arab Spring” reaching Baku after all? A number of peaceful protests directly calling for the authorities to resign have started in Azerbaijan, with the Internet playing a key role. The demonstrations have so far been met by repression, intimidation and new arrests
Events held in rural Georgia hope to demonstrate how grassroots peacebuilding activities can not only contribute to discussion and debate, but also have some more immediate and practical dividends as well
March 11 is the day anti-government activists in Azerbaijan have set as a day of protest in a campaign that has been publicized online. The protests are planned despite the Azerbaijani government new anti-corruption campaign, launched in January in what seems to be Baku's most visible reaction to the revolutions sweeping the Arab world
The project of an Armenian theatrical director and actor turned peace activist to open a peace center in Tekalo, a small village in Georgia a few kilometers from the border with Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Communication is not betrayal, it is a natural human need.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over Nagorno Karabakh in the early 1990s. Around 25,000 were killed and nearly a million from both sides forced to flee their homes. Although hostilities were put on hold by a 1994 ceasefire agreement, in addition to skirmishes on the frontline, landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to pose a threat to life
Azerbaijani authorities recently instituted an outright ban on headscarves which, according to officials, was already part of existing law. The leader of the unregistered Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, who vocally opposed the ban, has been arrested
Azerbaijan is grappling to come to terms with a fresh Internet news scandal. This one doesn’t concern pesky domestic bloggers who tweak government sensitivities. And it is not about media rights. Rather, it covers a topic generally given a wide berth in Baku, even by Azerbaijan’s political opposition -- First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva
Emin and Adnan were arrested in July 2009. Their detention and later arrest was harshly criticized by local and international organizations. Documents published by Wikileaks suggest that US leadership asked that the two bloggers be “quietly released”
On 7 November Azerbaijan will hold its parliamentary elections, but international observers with the OSCE election observation mission have expressed concerns about a number of issues. Nonetheless, amid a low-key electoral campaign, there are opposition candidates among the choices
Azerbaijan’s parliament on October 22 approved a military budget of 2.5 billion manats, or about $3.12 billion. That figure is higher than the entire state budget of Baku’s neighbor and longtime foe, Armenia. From EurasiaNet.org
The novel "Ali and Nino" tells about the love between an Azerbaijani and a Georgian teenager. Depicted as symbols of Asia and Europe, they meet in the Caucasus and there can be united. Almost one century after Ali and Nino was published, can the Caucasus be European and can it be united?
The reactions to the signing of the August 20 deal between Russian president Dimitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart, Serge Sargsyan, extending Moscow's military presence in its former satellite by more than two decades. The internal and regional scenario, the consequences for the Karabakh conflict
The United States’ willingness to overlook Azerbaijan's democratic and human rights records was revealed by the recent visit of Secretary of State Clinton to Azerbaijan’s capitol, Baku. Azerbaijan has become more important, not only as an oil and gas-rich country, but also for the transit of troops to Afghanistan
Panic reportedly began to spread last week in Yerevan as news of the worst major skirmish between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on the line of contact in two years was reported by the local media. Ironically, the ceasefire violation occurred just one day after the Armenian president and his Azerbaijani counterpart met in St. Petersburg for talks convened by Russia
