 RFE/RL Caucasus Report 7/2/2010 2:27:50 PM 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 . |
 U.S. House Panel Backs Aid To Karabakh The House Foreign Aid Subcommittee also said in its decision on June 30 that the administration of President Barack Obama should also slightly increase U.S. aid to Armenia and maintain absolute parity in separate military funding for Yerevan and Baku. More  Georgian Teachers Fear Massive Layoffs Georgian teachers and their unions worry that thousands of teachers might lose their jobs before the start of the school year. More  Polish Airlines To Begin Regular Flights To Georgia Poland's national airline, LOT, will begin flights between Warsaw and Tbilisi as of September 1. More  Armenian Railway 'Still Readying' For Turkish Border Opening The head of Russia's state railway (RZD) says its Armenian subsidiary is continuing technical preparations for the possible opening of the Turkish-Armenian border and the renewed rail communication between the two countries. More  PACE Vote Mirrors Shift In Russia's North Caucasus Policy A PACE resolution differentiates clearly between the situation in Chechnya, on the one hand, and that in neighboring Ingushetia and Daghestan, on the other. More  Georgia’s Long Farewell To Stalin On the night of June 25, the monument to Josef Stalin in the city of Gori was removed. And where the statue previously stood, authorities will erect a memorial to the victims of Russian aggression and Soviet repression. The symbolism of these actions is completely obvious. But if this is all there is to it, then why was the operation carried out at night amid heightened security? More  Clinton On E. Europe, Caucasus Tour Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has embarked on a five-day trip to Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. Along the way, Clinton will try to solidify strategic military cooperation, assure nervous allies of Washington's friendship, promote peaceful settlements of regional disputes, and champion democracy. More  Moscow Backs Yerevan Redevelopment The municipality of Moscow has reaffirmed a pledge to support a massive redevelopment project in Yerevan that the Armenian government says will require billions of dollars in investment. More  Armenia Ruling Parties Dispute Freedom House's 'Authoritarian' Tag Armenia's governing Republican and Prosperous Armenia parties have criticized the New York-based group Freedom House for branding Armenia a "semi-consolidated authoritarian" country. More  Europe Rights Official Chides Baku The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner has issued a report on Azerbaijan urging officials to protect freedom of expression in the country. More  IMF Unveils New Armenia Loan Package The International Monetary Fund has announced plans to provide Armenia with almost $395 million in fresh loans in the next three years. More  Armenia Names New Labor Minister Artur Grigorian, 40, was nominated by the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), a junior partner in Sarkisian's governing coalition, and is the third person to hold the post in little more than a year. More  Karachayevo-Cherkessia Sets Up Group To Address Abazins' Grievances Karachayevo-Cherkessia Republic President Boris Ebzeyev met on June 28 with leading members of four public organizations that represent the republic's Abazin minority to discuss how to resolve their grievances. More  Jailed Blogger To Attend Father's Funeral The Justice Ministry's penitentiary service told RFE/RL that Emin Milli would be released from prison for three days to attend the funeral of his father, Pasha Abdullayev, who died on June 28. More  Armenia Seeks Chinese Funding For Rail Link To Iran An Armenian government minister says Yerevan is seeking as much as $1 billion in loans from China to finance a railway link to neighboring Iran, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Last Man Standing? One of the last remaining statues of Josef Stalin has been removed from the central square in the Soviet dictator's hometown of Gori, Georgia, but his likeness continues to stand tall in the northern Tajik village of Asht. More  Gori Residents Divided Over Stalin Residents of the hometown of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin are divided over the controversial removal of his statue from the city's main square. More  Donald Trump Plans Georgia Investments A public relations manager of the Silk Road Group told RFE/RL on June 25 that Donald Trump's group will jointly work with the Silk Road Group to invest in business projects in Tbilisi and the Georgian port city of Batumi. More  Armenian FM Chides Baku Over Karabakh Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has claimed the international community holds Azerbaijan primarily responsible for the latest upsurge in cease-fire violations around the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh. More Five Azerbaijani youths who were demonstrating in support of disabled people on the capital's sea-front promenade were detained this week by police. More  Abkhazia 'Temporarily Suspends' Participation In Geneva Talks Abkhazia will not attend the next round of talks scheduled for July 27 in Geneva on security issues in the wake of the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war, Abkhaz presidential administration head Nadir Bitiyev announced on June 23. More  Despite Boost In U.S. Support, Russia's WTO Bid Still Faces Opposition In Georgia U.S. President Barack Obama says Russia is on its way to winning full U.S. support for its long-delayed bid to join the World Trade Organization. But what the U.S. president failed to mention is that another WTO member, Georgia, has threatened to block Russian accession. How significant a threat does Tbilisi pose to Moscow's bid to join the global trade group? More |
