· July, 2009

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from July, 2009

Armenia: Kim Kardashian, national identity and peace

  31 July 2009

Ianyan continues its regular feature compiling mention of Armenia and Armenians on the Internet. In its latest column, the blog comments on reference to celebrity socialite Kim Karashian and fashion, national identity, breaking down ethnic divides, and more…

Armenia: Homophoia and intolerance

  31 July 2009

Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on a round table held in Yerevan on homophobia and intolerance in society. The blog says that Armenia cannot afford to allow xenophobia, homophobia and intolerance towards others to go unchecked.

Azerbaijan: Watermelon season

  30 July 2009

Sheki, Azerbaijan says that watermelon season has started in the country, posting photographs and detailing some of the traditions associated with the summer fruit.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Musical collaboration

  28 July 2009

Despite the unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh which has left many citizens of both countries intolerant and bitterly opposed to the other, a Baku-based newspaper has discovered a video on YouTube of an Azeri girl singing traditional mugham backed by Armenian musicians. Remy_G tweets that the...

Armenia: Political graffiti

  27 July 2009

The Hima! [AM] youth movement blog posts a photograph of graffiti appearing in Yerevan. The blog posts a photograph of one example remembering 1 March 2008 when 10 people died in clashes between opposition supporters and police in the Armenian capital.

Azerbaijan: Smashing idealism

  27 July 2009

Thoughts on the Road comments on the English translation of an interview with the official investigator on the case of recently detained video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli posted on the OL! blog. The blogger says that he still considers the case against the two youth activists to be...

Azerbaijan: Fighting mirrors

  24 July 2009

Fighting windmills? Take a pill. recounts various events that have happened to Azerbaijan's youth movements in the past few months, including the detention of dozens of activists. The blog says that tomorrow a new initiative will be established to protect their rights.

Armenia: An interview with Liana Aghajanian

  23 July 2009

Born in Iran, but raised and now living in the United States, Liana Aghajanian is a writer and a relative newcomer to the Armenian blogosphere. However, Aghajanian has set an important precedent for alternative voices and an independent media in Armenia and the Diaspora with her Wordpress-based e-zine, Ianyan.

Kazakhstan: Astana, as it is

  23 July 2009

The bloggers share with us their impressions from the new capital of the country. Drudg writes in his post, filled with figural turns of speech and euphemisms [ru]: “The streets of Astana should be renamed one more time: Gluttony Street, Immoderation and Excess Avenue, Vulgarity Boulevard, Corruption Road 1, Corruption...

Azerbaijan: An interview with Arzu Geybullayeva

  22 July 2009

Despite the accent formed from education in the United States and the United Kingdom, Arzu Geybullayeva, now a regional analyst, has become one of Azerbaijan's most well-known bloggers on the country with her Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blog.

Azerbaijan: Adnan Hajizade, Emin Milli appeal rejected

  22 July 2009

Despite significant outcry from leading human rights groups, press freedom watchdogs, and the international community itself, two youth activists and bloggers have been sentenced to two months pre-trial detention. Their appeal, originally planned for last week, was eventually heard on Monday, but few expected them to be released.

Armenia: Vardavar

  19 July 2009

Ianyan marks the much-loved Armenian holiday of Vardavar. The blog examines the roots of a tradition which usually revolves around children dousing complete strangers with buckets of water.

Azerbaijan: Activists’ support site goes down

  19 July 2009

Yesterday, as Önər Blog [AZ] reported, the Appellate Court in Baku was to consider again the case of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, the recently beaten and detained youth activists and bloggers sentenced last week. Yesterday, however, one of the main websites created in their defense went down.

Azerbaijan: Overzealous minions?

  18 July 2009

Following the recent detention of online activists and bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli in Azerbaijan, Business Week and former New York Times journalist Steve LeVine comments on the case on The Oil and the Glory, wondering if the arrest wasn't simply a case of an overzealous police official trying...

Kyrgyzstan Sets Up the Anti-terrorist Centre

  18 July 2009

15, July, the President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev gave interview to the American New York Times. During the interview, he told [ru] that Kyrgyzstan was going to set up the anti-terrorist centre at the south region of Kyrgyzstan. The representatives of the Kyrgyz and the Russian Ministries of Defence are...

Afghanistan: Dostum denies massacre

  18 July 2009

Nick Fielding reports that General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who is believed to be a war criminal, but is about to getting rehabilitation in Afghanistan, gave a recorded statement to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in which he denied that any Taliban or al-Qaeda prisoners were abused in November 2001 by troops...

Tajikistan: Rasht fighting

  18 July 2009

Gavin reports that a shootout has taken place in the Rasht Valley of Tajikistan, when national guardsmen were attacked by unknown armed grouping, presumably by the drug trafficking gang or by extremist militants.

Kazakhstan: New Internet Law Passed

  18 July 2009

Katya Fisher Yoffe reports that Kazakhstan president signed a new law placing blogs, social media networks, and chatrooms under the rubric of “mass media”, effectively creating criminal liability for users of these internet communication platforms and permitting the government to shut down and censor websites as it sees fit.

About our Central Asia & Caucasus coverage

Nurbek Bekmurzaev
Nurbek Bekmurzaev is the Central Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.

Arzu Geybullayeva
Arzu Geybullayeva is the South Caucasus editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.