 RFE/RL Caucasus Report 03.06.2009 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region.For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page . |
 Aliyev Personality Cult Is Carpet-Maker’s Boon Fatima Sadigova’s carpet business specializes in portraits of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family – and the expensive carpets are selling fast. Their popularity confirms that many Azeris remain devoted to the dynasty founded by former President Heidar Aliyev, the current president’s father. More  Islam's Reformation and Obama's Speech President Obama can say very little about the specifics of the ongoing reformation of Islam. But modestly voicing support for those brave Muslim champions of Islamic diversity and civiilizational richness would actually be saying a lot. More  Corruption Watchdog Says Poor Hardest-Hit By Bribery According to Transparency International's annual "Global Corruption Barometer," bribery is eroding public confidence in many governments and the hardest-hit victims of bribery, even during the current economic crisis, are the poor. More Inspired by The Atlantic's mock "World Leaders" Facebook group, RFE/RL presents a Facebook-style summary of last week's events. More  Baku Lowers Expectations For Karabakh Meeting Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service that he does not expect much progress at the next meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in St. Petersburg on June 4 to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. More  Baku Schools To Be Guarded By State Security Azerbaijani Education Minister Misir Mardanov has said that the state will ensure security at most of the schools and universities in Baku during the next academic year, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More Two other mosques have been razed in the past month: a mosque in the Yasamal district and the only offshore mosque, on Oily Rocks off the coast of the capital, Baku. More The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry says 164 soldiers hospitalized last week simply "caught colds" and were not victims of poisoning, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Georgian Opposition Figure Seeks Middle Ground Georgia's former ambassador to the United Nations, Irakli Alasania, has more recently become the hope of many oppositionists looking for a central leading figure. He speaks to RFE/RL's Georgian Service about his plans for Georgia's opposition and his view of the country's future. More  Armenia's Opposition To Boycott Yerevan Assembly Opposition Armenian National Congress leader and former President Levon Ter-Petrossian called the May 31 municipal vote "the ugliest election in Armenia's history." More  Connoisseur's Guide To Chiaroscuro In The Caucasus Just as in perusing Rembrandt's canvases you should never overlook the patches that look as though they were infused in dark-brown gravy, it makes sense every now and then to shine candlelight into the dark corners of the Russian state to glean insights into its internal politics. And what could be darker than the North Caucasus? More  Child Protective Strains In Azerbaijan Former residents at an Azerbaijani orphanage allege punishments that included beatings for dozing during all-night shifts and the scalding of 4- and 5-year-olds with metal spoons. The politically connected director of the Ganja orphanage rejects them as "lies," but outsiders note that the charges aren't far-fetched in a troubled system of child-protective services. More  'Benetton Diplomacy' In Georgia Benetton's plan to open a store in Abkhazia has been nixed after Benetton retailers in Georgia shut up shop in protest. More  Georgians, And Others, Nervous As Deadlock Persists For almost two months, central Tbilisi has been paralyzed by protesters insisting that President Mikheil Saakashvili resign, which he has said he will not do. Given that Saakashvili's resignation is extremely unlikely, and the radical wing of the opposition remains intransigent, there are two options left: either the opposition gradually winds up its street protests, or police resort to force to quash them. More  Georgian Patriarch Calls For Unity, Pre-Term Elections Georgian Patriarch Ilia II, who on May 26 appealed to the Georgian opposition to reconsider their demand for President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation, issued a written statement on May 28 calling on the Georgian authorities to undertake "real steps" to defuse tensions. More  An Energy Opportunity The EU Seems Determined To Miss The EU must seize the opportunity and set out an unashamedly political external energy strategy that puts its own interests first -- preeminent among them reducing dependence on Russia as a supplier or transit country. More  Russia's Chief Auditor Implicitly Rejects Chechen Leader's Property Declaration Speaking to REN-TV after Russian Justice Minister Aleksandr Konovalov's report to the Federation Council on official corruption, Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei Stepashin was asked about the recent income and property declaration by Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov. Stepashin replied that "the entire republic is Kadyrov's property. There is no need to feel sorry for him." More  Armenian Opposition May Publicize Findings Of Election Violence Probe The future of the five-person Fact-Finding Group of Experts established last fall to investigate the events that culminated in the clashes in Yerevan in March 2008 between police and security forces and supporters of the defeated opposition presidential candidate is in jeopardy following the resignation of its chairman. More  Georgian Opposition Mulls More Radical Forms Of Protest Seven weeks after the Georgian opposition launched its campaign to force President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign, up to 55,000 people congregated at a soccer stadium in Tbilisi on May 26 in support of that demand. Despite dwindling participation at their protest actions in recent weeks, opposition leaders had said earlier they hoped to mobilize 100,000 protesters. More  Rosneft, Abkhazia Sign Agreement On Oil, Gas Reserves Abkhaz Economy Minister Kristina Ozgan and Rosneft President Sergei Bogdanchikov signed an agreement in Sukhumi on May 26 under which Rosneft acquires the rights for a period of five years to prospect for oil and natural gas off Abkhazia's Black Sea coast. Rosneft will also build a string of gas stations in Abkhazia and sell gasoline, diesel, and heating oil. More  Georgia Signals Readiness To Discuss Opening Border Crossing With Russia The Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi submitted to the Georgian Foreign Ministry on May 24 a proposal by the Russian Foreign Ministry to reopen the Verkhny/Zemo Lars border crossing between Georgia and the Russian Federation. More  Is A New Russia-Georgia War On The Horizon? Georgia is marking its Independence Day, but few are in the mood to celebrate. Russia is concentrating troops near the border and fears of a new invasion are gathering momentum. What is Russia's end game in Georgia and how do they hope to achieve it? More  Was Grenade Attack On Georgian TV Station Prompted By Murder Documentary? The station's general director suggested that the blast may have been intended to prevent the screening by Maestro on the evening of May 25 of a documentary film about the January 2006 killing of banker Sandro Girgvliani. More  Does Russia Even Need To Invade Georgia? Nearly nine months after the war between Russia and Georgia last August, the situation surrounding the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains tense. Some observers have warned that fighting in the region could flare up again within the next few months. But would a new war helpRussia achieve its objectives? More  Family Denies Circulating Photo Of Convalescing Chechen Commander Relatives of Sulim Yamadayev, the former commander of the Russian Defense Ministry's renegade Vostok Battalion who was reportedly shot dead outside his Dubai residence on March 28, have denied publicizing photos of him in hospital. More  Georgian Opposition Gears Up For New Mass Protest The Georgian opposition is hoping to mobilize up to 100,000 supporters on May 26 -- the anniversary of the proclamation in 1918 of an independent Georgian republic -- in support of their demands for President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation. More  Abkhaz Leadership, Opposition Exchange Accusations Over the past week, opposition parties and leaders in Abkhazia have issued a series of individual or joint statements criticizing recent moves by President Sergei Bagapsh that, they claim, constitute unwarranted concessions to Russia likely to inflame anti-Russian sentiment within Abkhazia. More  Georgian Legislator Names Mastermind Behind Purported Mutiny Givi Targamadze, who chairs the Georgian parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security Issues, has named St. Petersburg-based Georgian businessman Aleksandr Ebralidze as the mastermind behind the alleged mutiny on May 5 at the Mukhrovani military base east of Tbilisi. Targamadze claimed the objective of that mutiny -- by members of a single tank battalion -- was "at minimum to trigger disorder" and at maximum to "pave the way for the entry of Russian occupation forces into Tbilisi." More |
