Abkhazia: presidential election, political future
The Black Sea republic of Abkhazia has elected its third president since securing effective independence from Georgia in 1993. The tiny country faces economic and social difficulties, in part deriving...
View ArticleAbkhazia's archive: fire of war, ashes of history
For me the tragic story of Abkhazia's archive is inseparable from the story of its archivist. I first met Nikolai Ioannidi in May 1992 in Sukhumi, then capital of the autonomous republic of Abkhazia...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Georgia awaiting the Messiah
Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili has announced he is entering politics, and seemingly in direct opposition to the current Georgian leadership. His philanthropic work has earned him many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tbilisi, Moscow: the language of architecture
Before Soviet rule, Georgian capital Tbilisi had none of the towering blocks, highways and marble palaces that today stand as symbols to a fallen, rejected regime. Why, therefore have Georgia’s young...
View ArticleFrom eastern Europe, lessons for Egypt’s newborn democracy
Ukraine and Georgia - two countries in a region undergoing dramatic change in the past two decades - can help Egypt examine the circumstances in which high aspirations do or do not lead to a...
View ArticleGeorgia: from diplomacy to politics
A veteran Georgian diplomat has chosen to enter his country's disputatious political arena. A hard decision that had to be made, says Tedo Japaridze.The last year proved to be a difficult one for me...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Putin’s plan for Russia’s neighbours - a Eurasian Union
With the current focus on policy interactions between Russia, the US and the EU in the post-Soviet space, many wonder what future awaits the countries of the former USSR after Vladimir Putin’s...
View ArticleGeorgia: the next evolution
The direction of Georgia's domestic politics and international orientation has been much disputed since the "rose revolution" of 2003. The former senior diplomat Tedo Japaridze argues that, in order to...
View ArticleDemocracy in Abkhazia: a testing year
An eventful political period in the Black Sea republic of Abkhazia that began in 2011 with the premature death of its president, Sergej Bagapsh, continued with the election of - then a murky...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is Georgian 'modernisation' leading the country to serfdom?
The 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia was portrayed as a beacon of hope for democracy and progress in the region. Far from developing society towards a free market, however, the current government has...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Democracy: a goal or a merely a commitment for the West?
The 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia heralded a rebirth of democracy and alignment with Western countries, especially the United States. But continuing Western support in the face of the gradual...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tbilisi – where ‘restoration’ means redevelopment
Georgia’s capital is undergoing a massive rebuilding programme, with shabby historical buildings being replaced with facsimiles, complete with plastic ornamentation. But, as documentary filmmaker...
View ArticleAbkhazia, from conflict to statehood
A bitter post-Soviet war in 1992-93 saw the Black Sea territory of Abkhazia resist invasion from Georgia and establish an independent statehood. But amid non-recognition from all but a handful of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Kremlin and Georgia – collusion or illusion?
Georgia’s politicians are hypersensitive to charges of collusion with Russia, the old imperial power. President Saakashvili denounces opposition figures for being tools of the Kremlin. But the record...
View ArticleGeorgia's prisons: roots of scandal
The exposure of violent abuse in the Georgian prison system has shocked its people and rocked the government of Mikheil Saakashvili. The intense focus on zero-tolerance and mass incarceration in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Georgia is not for sale
On 1 October Georgians go to the polls to choose between their president, Mikheil Saakashvili, and Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch. Feelings are running high among the voters, with compromise not an...
View ArticleGeorgia: politics of punishment
Behind Georgia's prison-abuse scandal lies a large-scale, self-funding penal system whose effects - not least psychological - pervade the society, says Gavin Slade.Georgia's prison-abuse scandal has...
View ArticleGeorgia: from roses to ashes
The eve of an election is usually a moment to predict which side might win. But as interesting with regard to Georgia's vote on 1 October 2012 may be to suggest who might lose, says Nino Nanava.Almost...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Georgian divisions: a dangerous poison?
Georgia goes to the polls today for tightly contested parliamentary elections. Despite an horrific prison abuse scandal on the eve of the vote, Mikheil Saakashvili believes his party has done enough to...
View ArticlePost-election Georgia: turning the dream of peace into reality?
Georgian Dream Coalition's election victory will go down in history as Georgia's first peaceful transition of power. The nominees for the new cabinet now also bring names to the fore with long...
View Article
