· July, 2009

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from July, 2009

Georgia: Controversial online game

  14 July 2009

Unzipped: Gay Armenia, a ground-breaking LGBT blog in the region, comments on news from Gay Caucasus [RU] that a homophobic game, Kill the Faggots, is proving popular among children in Georgia. The blog says the game is disgusting and that the site should be shut down.

Georgia: Nationalist Pop

  14 July 2009

This is Tbilisi Calling comments on the tendency for pop music to be used for political purposes in countries such as Georgia. Although there have been some songs which have lampooned forces on both sides of the political divide, the blog also notes their use for nationalist purposes in a...

Azerbaijan: Social Networks and Youth Activism

  14 July 2009

Writing on Quirk Global Strategies, the former Country Director of the National Democratic Institute in Azerbaijan comments on the use of social networking sites such as Facebook by supporters of recently imprisoned video blogger Adnan Hadjizadeh and youth activist Emin Milli. The blog criticizes them for the tactic employed with...

Nabucco: Chorus of the energy slaves

Gabriela Ionita of Power&PoliticsWeblog discusses the recent agreement in Ankara on the construction of the western financed Nabucco gas pipeline and competition with Russia over Caucasian and Central Asian gas supplies and deliveries to Europe.

Lithuania: Russian charter challenges loyalty

Lituanica comments on news that a Russian NGO is starting to issue so called Russian charters – a certificate of allegiance to Moscow – to ethnic Russians outside of the country and sees it as a potential threat that state citizens of other countries may declare loyalty to Moscow.

Armenia: Flag display

517 Design [RU] posts a photograph of a billboard made up of the flags of those countries which will be entering films into the Golden Apricot festival in Yerevan. The blog notes the inclusion of flags from Azerbaijan and Turkey, countries with no formal diplomatic relations with Armenia because of...

Azerbaijan: “Hooliganism”

  13 July 2009

A Fistful of Euros comments on the arrest of Emin Milli and video blogger Adnan Hajizade last week in Baku, Azerbaijan. The blog says that charges of “hooliganism” are a Soviet-era tactic used by authoritarian regimes to silence dissent and have no place in a country seeking closer ties with...

Azerbaijan: Last tweet before arrest

  13 July 2009

Emin Milli, one of two youth and civil society activists severly beaten and jailed for two months for hooliganism in Baku last week, sent a tweet back on 24th June. Not only was it the last before his arrest, but it was also particularly poignant.

Azerbaijan: Citizen media in defense of detained activists, bloggers

  13 July 2009

Although most activity can be found on Facebook where users continue to update each other on the case of video blogger Adnan Hajizade and youth activist Emin Milli, detained last week and sentenced to two months pre-trial detention, less activity might be visible in the mainstream media, but the situation is changing. Nevertheless, citizen media remains the main source of information.

Kazkahstan: Public administration discussed by bloggers

  13 July 2009

The bloggers are trying to understand what is happening in the country and how adequate is the public administration in Kazakhstan. Megakhuimyak thinks over the future of the local political elite by tracing the trends in the their education [ru]: In the beginning of the 20th century and in the...

Georgia: An Interview with DvOrsky

  11 July 2009

Giga Paitchadze, better known online as DvOrsky, is no stranger to the Caucasus section of Global Voices Online. In the second of a series of audio interviews with bloggers in or dealing with the South Caucasus, Paitchadze updates Global Voices Online on the development of new media in Georgia.

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.