Onnik Krikorian is a British journalist and photojournalist who has been resident in the Republic of Armenia since 1998. He also works extensively in Georgia and until moving to Armenia worked on the Kurds in Turkey since 1997 and the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh since 1994.
He has worked contracts at The Bristol Evening Post, The Independent, and The Economist in the U.K., and his articles and photographs have been published by The Los Angeles Times, New Internationalist, The Scotsman, Transitions Online, Middle East Insight, Oneworld.net, EurasiaNet, The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, New York University Press, UNICEF, and Amnesty International, among others.
Krikorian also regularly fixes for Al Jazeera English, the BBC and The Wall Street Journal. He maintains a blog from Armenia and the South Caucasus at http://blog.oneworld.am and also posts for the London-based Frontline Club at http://frontlineclub.com/blogs/onnikkrikorian.
Last year he started a personal project using new and social media in order to assist in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict resolution at http://www.oneworld.am/diversity/. He also regularly presents on this topic at conferences worldwide. His personal web site is at http://www.oneworld.am.
Latest posts by Onnik Krikorian
Armenia-Georgia: Typography Without Borders?
Behance features a typographic project to write the Georgian word for hello phonetically in an Armenian script stylized in such a way that it resembles Georgian. Although some letters in the Armenian and Georgian alphabets can resemble each other depending on the fonts and case or styles used, they are...
Azerbaijan: Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center On Fire
Reports have come in that the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, is on fire. The building was opened in May 2012 and was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid.
Georgia: Elections Portal Goes Online Ahead Of Parliamentary Vote
Democracy and Freedom Watch reports on the launch of an online monitoring platform ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2012. The site, Elections Portal, is available in Georgian and English at http://www.electionsportal.ge.
Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia Compared
Katie Going Global visits the South Caucasus and compares Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Assessing the three countries on many levels, the travel blog considers that Georgia is the most tourist-friendly.
Social Media and Armenia’s 2012 Parliamentary Elections
Following a bitterly disputed presidential election in 2008, parliamentary elections held on 6 May 2012 were a crucial test for Armenia’s democratic system. What role did social media play?
Russia: Caucasus Stereotypes in Film
Global Chaos comments on a recent video report by Radio Free Europe examining changing stereotypes of the Caucasus in Russian cinema. The blog asks whether the caricatures often adopted for public diplomacy purposes are counterproductive or not.
Armenia: Public Outcry Over Killing Tests Oligarch's Power
The controversial reign of Armenia's oligarchs might be challenged following the death of an army doctor at the hands of security guards at a restaurant owned by businessman, politician, and Armenian Football Federation President, Ruben Hayrapetyan.
Armenia: Military Doctor Dies after Oligarch MP Guard Beating
Unzipped updates its readers on the recent beating of three military doctors at a restaurant owned by one of Armenia's most infamous and controversial oligarch MPs. Following the death of one of the victims from his injuries, the blog posts a subtitled video detailing the attitude of Ruben Hayrapetyan, also...
Armenia: Intolerant Society
Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts a video animation produced by the Civilitas organization illustrating how intolerant society in the virtually mono-ethnic Republic of Armenia can be. The blog also notes that according to the data compiled from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Caucasus Research Resource Centers...
Georgia: Men Can Wash Their Own Feet
Making Connections not only posts a recent video by Georgian bloggers against homophobia, but also one calling for gender equality in the South Caucasus country. The blog notes that the second video, featuring Georgian men saying they can wash their own feet, is in response to a comment by the...
Armenia: Online Petition to Support LGBT Rights
Following the recent firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan as well as homophobic comments from government officials and politicians setting the scene for the aggressive disruption of a diversity rally in the Armenian capital two weeks later, Unzipped draws its readers attention to a new online petition calling for...
Armenia: A Slow Descent Into Fascism?
Following the 8 May firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan and the disruption by ultra-nationalists of a march for diversity two weeks later, the Huffington Posts asks if Armenia is slowly sliding towards fascism? In recent months nationalist actions have become more evident in the predominantly mono-ethnic country, including...
Nagorno Karabakh: Opposition Presidential Candidate Interviewed
CivilNet posts a video interview with Vitali Balasanyan [AM/EN], a former military commander and candidate running against the incumbent and defacto president of the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh in an election scheduled for 19 July. Although the vote is not recognized by the international community as legitimate, in another...
Georgia: Bloggers Against Homophobia
Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts a video by Georgian bloggers against homophobia set to the song F*ck You by Lily Allen. The move comes less than a month after a Gay Pride march in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, was disrupted by priests and conservative elements in society. The same month a...
Azerbaijan: British Embassy Awards 4,000th Facebook Page Member
The British Embassy in Azerbaijan has awarded the 4,000th member of its Facebook page with a certificate and a small prize. With the British Embassy in Armenia and Georgia boasting 1,526 and 2,581 likes respectively at time of writing, the announcement shows how diplomatic missions in the Caucasus are increasingly...
Azerbaijan: Musical Talent on YouTube
Gultekin Garadaghly continues to post her own renditions of well-known songs on YouTube, including those from this year's Eurovision Song Contest held in her native Azerbaijan. The young singer living in Baku, who also covers Azerbaijani folk songs, has even been featured in the local press with 1news.az [RU] reporting...
Armenia: Army Doctors Beaten In Oligarch's Restaurant
Unzipped comments on the severe beating of three army doctors dining out at a restaurant owned by notorious oligarch MP and Armenian Football Federation President Ruben Hayrapetyan. Better known by his ‘Nemetz Rubo’ nickname, the blog notes that the violent assault, allegedly by his bodyguards or security guards, is not...
Armenia: Bloggers Criticize Public TV Eurovision Coverage
Forced to reluctantly broadcast the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan, Armenia's Public TV used the occasion to continue the ongoing information and propaganda war against its rival in the region. Some Armenian bloggers respond.
Armenia: Memories of Historic Yerevan Market
Ianyan takes its readers on a photographic tour of a closed market on one of the capital's main central streets. Taken over by a notorious oligarch, public reaction to demolish the ornate building in which the market is contained has been negative.
Armenia, Azerbaijan: Spectre of War in the South Caucasus?
Following clashes on the Line of Contact (LoC) separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, South Caucasus Diary ponders the likelihood of war once again breaking out over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. Meanwhile, Yerevan-based Armenian-American analyst Richard Giragosian tweets that Azerbaijan's new strategy appears to be reaching operational readiness for...
Armenia, Azerbaijan: Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Resumes… On Twitter
In war, as the old saying goes, the first casualty is always the truth. This is particularly true in the South Caucasus where the media in Armenia and Azerbaijan more often than not spreads misinformation or subjective propaganda concerning the long-running and unresolved conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. On 7 June that was certainly the case on micro-blogging site Twitter.
