Latest posts by Onnik Krikorian from April, 2008
Armenia: The Cruelest Month
Blogian says that April has always been considered the cruelest month and, with the inauguration of president-elect Serge Sargsyan scheduled to be held on Wednesday, offers some suggestions to defuse tensions after the disputed 19 February presidential election.
Armenia: Alternative Women's Day
Unzipped reports that today's celebration of Women's Day will take on a political tone in Armenia. The blog says that the opposition will once again gather on Yerevan's Northern Avenue as well as outside the General Prosecutor's Office to demand the release of all “political prisoners.”
Armenia: Hunger Strike
The Armenaker Kamilion posts a list of demands by several opposition activists detained during the recent state of emergency in Armenia. They include declaring the disputed 19 February presidential election invalid and the release of over a hundred opposition figures currently under arrest.
Azerbaijan: Cuisine
Carolyn & Jesse's Azerbaijan Peace Corps Blog introduces its readers to Azerbaijani cuisine. Although the blog says that the nutritional value of many of the meals on offer is questionable it concludes that there are some “real treasures in the country” and provides a culinary tour of some of them.
Azerbaijan: Taza Mosque
An American in Azerbaijan pays a village to the Taza Mosque in Baku. Built in the early 1900s, the mosque is currently undergoing restoration in an area of the Azerbaijani capital that few foreigners visit.
Armenia: Spring Didn't Come – Part 2
The Armenaker Kamilion posts the second installment of pages from a diary chronicling the recent opposition protests in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, written by French-Armenian Karabakh war veteran Sargis Hatspanian.
Armenia: Diary of an Opposition Activist
After a reader sent Unzipped the scanned pages of a diary written during the recent opposition protests in Yerevan by French-Armenian Karabakh war veteran Sargis Hatspanian, the Armenaker Kamilion posts the first installment of an English translation.
Armenia: Water Ownership
The Water Law Blog examines the situation of Armenia's domestic water supply and sewer services following the collapse of the former Soviet Union. In particular, the blog looks at privatization of water facilities in the country which it concludes simply means handing over control to the French. However, the blog...
Armenia: Union With Russia
Unzipped reports that the Vice Speaker of the Russian Duma has suggested that “Russia and Armenia should form a union state.” The blog says it is shocked by such calls and seems interested in starting a discussion on the matter.
Caucasus: Geopolitical Railroads
Window on Eurasia says that while oil and gas pipelines through the region attract more attention, railroads might have more geopolitical significance. In particular, the blog examines what plans for a new railroad linking Iran and Azerbaijan might mean, and not least on Russian and NATO interests in Eurasia as...
Turkey: Assimilation
Blogian posts some fascinating photographs of Armenian women who were kidnapped from their families during the 1915 Genocide and assimilated into Turkish and Kurdish families. Eventually married off, the women in the photographs bear various tattoos as custom dictated. However, the blog says, despite outrage at what it considers to...
Armenia: Young, Gay & Depressed
The Armenian Gay & Lesbian Association of New York (AGLA) responds to an email from a LGBT person in Armenia requesting information on immigration and asylum procedures in the U.S. The blog responds, but also offers its assistance in helping LGBT people in Armenia find others in order to feel...
Armenia: A1 Plus Anniversary
Unzipped remembers the sixth anniversary of the demise of A1 Plus, an opposition TV station stripped of its license in 2002. The blog says that when A1 Plus returns to the airwaves it believes it will mean Armenia is a better country to live in.
Armenia: Environmental Exhibition
Life Around Me reports that an environmental exhibition that will run until 20 April has opened in the Armenian capital. Become the Voice of Voiceless aims to raise awareness of some of the main environmental problems facing Armenia.
Azerbaijan: Weak Regime Index
Social Science in the Caucasus comments on the latest Brookings Index of State Weakness which ranks 141 countries according to their weakness as states. The blog examines why Azerbaijan is considered the weakest of the three South Caucasus republics.
