· December, 2009

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from December, 2009

Azerbaijan: Education, free thought and development

  19 December 2009

Following a previous post from Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines on European concerns with the situation of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan, and especially following the imprisonment of video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, the blog comments on remarks made by the country's Minister of Education. The...

Armenia: Embracing multiculturalism

  19 December 2009

Ianyan hosts a guest post responding to nationalist perceptions of identity, culture and language. The entry concludes that all nations and ethnic groups absorb other influences, benefiting from such a reality greatly while also evolving into something with their own unique peculiarities.

Armenia: Music Awards

  15 December 2009

Ianyan covers the 10th annual Armenian Music Awards in Los Angeles. The blog also live tweeted the event on her Twitter account.

Armenia: 21st Anniversary of the 1988 Earthquake

  9 December 2009

Monday marked the 21st anniversary of the 1988 earthquake which devastated many areas in northern Armenia leaving around 25,000 dead and many more homeless. Bloggers examine conditions in the region more than two decades later.

Kazakhstan: Big city lights, gerontocracy and Photoshop

  9 December 2009

Kazakhstan’s bloggers continue to monitor the state’s traditionally non-transparent politics and comment on the news. Among their concerns is the government’s announcement that due to the economic crisis, wage increases for state employees, pensioners and students on stipend, scheduled for the beginning of 2010, would have to be postponed for...

Armenia: Human Rights Irony?

  9 December 2009

The Armenian Observer comments on a human rights conference to be held this week in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, and questions the participation of one of the invited speakers. Before falling from grace with the current authorities, former Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian was accused of violating the human rights of...

Ukraine, Afghanistan: Mayors and Corruption

  8 December 2009

Petro's Jotter praises Kabul residents for having their mayor sentenced for corruption and misappropriation of $16,000 – and offers a Ukrainian perspective: “Imagine how full the Kyiv jails would be if the corruption bar was dropped to a paltry USD 16,000 — wouldn't even cover ONE of the Oligarch's watches.”

Azerbaijan: Culinary Blogging

  7 December 2009

Leyla's Room interviews Farida Sadikhova Buyuran, the blogger behind AZ Cookbook. Posting recipes, backgrounds and photographs of traditional Azeri cuisine, as well as other dishes, the interview details Farida's passion for food and cooking and says a book is on the horizon.

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.