· January, 2012

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from January, 2012

Azerbaijan: #LightYourFire Eurovision Meme

  31 January 2012

Ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku in May, a new Internet Meme has appeared on Twitter. With Azerbaijan known as the Land of Fire, the hashtag for the international singing contest is the same as this year's official motto, #LightYourFire.

Azerbaijan: Eurovision as an Opportunity for Change in the Caucasus

  27 January 2012

Commonspace comments on news that Armenia will participate in this year's Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Despite a still unresolved conflict between the two countries, the site says Azerbaijan should welcome Armenians at the international music competition and Armenians should respond in the same manner.

Kyrgyzstan: MPs Told to Ride the Bus

  24 January 2012

A suggestion that Kyrgyz MPs should give up their state-funded cars and take a minibus to work has moved netizens towards a reappraisal of what their elected representatives should and shouldn't be entitled to.

Global: Pictures Not for Free

  13 January 2012

Edmond Terakopian, one of the UK's leading press photographers, comments on the tendency for some publications to expect photojournalists to supply images for free or for a token payment. The ethnic-Armenian World Press Photo Award winner is also using a Twitter hashtag, #picturesnotfree.

Global Voices Most Read Posts in 2011

  6 January 2012

Global Voices is no longer as lonely a media voice when it comes to reporting tweets and blog posts. Still, where mainstream media interest wanes, we're the ones who continue documenting local citizen media. Discover our top 20 list of most read posts for 2011.

Turkey: Remembering the Turkish Schindlers

Writing on the Huffington Post, Ziya Meral explains why honoring those Turks that saved Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire is important. Meral argues that recognizing these ‘Turkish Schindlers’ would go some way in defusing tensions between Armenia and Turkey, making the events of 1915 a shared tragedy....

Caucasus: The Year in Review

  2 January 2012

As popular uprisings spread through the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, opposition forces tried to replicate the Arab Spring in the South Caucasus. However, they failed.

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.