RFE/RL

RFE/RL Caucasus Report 12.07.2013 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 .

 

Daghestani Journalist's Killing Raises Question: Who Will Be Next? Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, deputy editor and political commentator for the independent Russian-language weekly "Novoye delo" and a regular contributor to the website Kavkaz-Uzel, was shot dead early on July 9 close to his home on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Daghestan. More   Culinary Battles For The Longest Tolma Chefs from around Armenia competed in making the longest tolma as they gathered for a national cuisine festival in Armavir Province on July 10. The event celebrated the traditional dish most commonly made with grape or cabbage leaves wrapped around meat filling. The winner managed a 7-meter-long tolma. More   Southern Russian Town Becomes Focus Of Ethnic Tensions The fatal stabbing of a man in a southern Russian town has led to days of sometimes violent protests and calls for the eviction of ethnic Chechens. RFE/RL takes a look at the social tensions that this incident has exposed. More   Journalist Shot Dead In Daghestan A journalist known for his criticism of local authorities has been shot dead in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan. More   Global Corruption 'Worsening,' But Citizens Prepared To Act The world’s largest public-opinion survey on corruption shows that more than half of respondents believe graft has worsened in their country in the past two years. More   Armenians Celebrate The Vardavar Water Festival Vardavar is a festival in Armenia where people drench each other with water. Although now a Christian tradition, Vardavar's history dates back to pagan times. The ancient festival is traditionally associated with the deity Astghik, who was the goddess of water, beauty, love, and fertility.   More   Are Sounds Of The Caucasus Shaped By The Mountains Themselves? In a controversial new paper, a U.S. linguist argues that special sounds occurring in almost all of the languages of the Caucasus exist under the "direct influence" of the region's high altitude. More   One More 'Hooligan' Behind Bars In Azerbaijan The real crime in a growing number of cases in Azerbaijan is not hooliganism or any of the other accusations but criticism of the ruling regime, argues Rebecca Vincent. People are serving serious jail time in Azerbaijan for simply disagreeing with the government. More   Make Way For MOOCs: How Free, Online Courses Could Revolutionize Education What do you call free, internet-based classes taught by professors from top U.S. schools? They're known as "massive open online courses," or "MOOCs." But some are simply calling them an educational revolution. More   Interview: Caucasus Expert On The Armenian-Azerbaijani 'Suicide Pact' Thomas de Waal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, author of the book "The Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War," talks about the conflict around the ethnic-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. More