Latest posts by Onnik Krikorian from May, 2008
Armenia: Mr Gay Europe
Unzipped Gay Armenia is excited by news that Armenia might be represented in this year's Mr. Gay Europe. The blog notes that the country's involvement will be a significant event and follows the region's first ever entrant last year from neighboring Azerbaijan.
Armenia: Blogging Comes of Age
Arguably the most active country in the South Caucasus when it comes to blogging, the content and relevance of blogs on Armenia was at first nothing really worth writing home about. Most posts by foreigners living in the capital almost entirely focused on how good their lives were while others...
Armenia: Charity Football Match
Dominic in Armenia, a Peace Corps Blog, posts photographs of a charitable football match recently held in Yerevan with the involvement of international aid workers and under-privileged local children. The blog says the women's team was the most impressive and changed the perception of many local Armenians towards gender and...
Armenia: Surveillance of Gays & Swingers
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on the English translation of an article written by a fugitive opposition newspaper editor and activist on surveillance of prominent gays and swingers by the successor to the KGB, the National Security Service. It is alleged that compromising dossiers are collected which can later be used...
Armenia: Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves
“Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves,” The Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin sang together, and in Blogian's case this certainly seems to be the case. After overhearing one of her husband's friends try to convince him to travel to Europe to “have fun with women,” the blogger's sister ripped up his...
Caucasus: Subjective Well-being
Social Science in the Caucasus, the blog of the Caucasus Resource Research Centers, looks at the the subjective well-being of citizens living in all three South Caucasus republics. Although the data used for the survey is from 2006, the survey finds that the impact of poverty and unemployment is more...
Diaspora: Armenian Student Association Remembers Genocide
Unzipped features a guest blogger from the Armenian Student Association in California who reports on how Armenian-American university students remember the Armenian Genocide through art and performance.
Armenia: Bomb Alert
The Armenian Observer posts photographs and an account of discovering one of Yerevan's main roads blocked off by police after a small home-made bomb was discovered. The bomb was later defused.
Georgia: Russian Miscalculation?
Window on Eurasia highlights the opinion of a Moscow-based military analyst who likens the recent escalation of tensions between Georgia and Russia to the Winter War with Finland. According to Pavel Fel’gengauer, military affairs analyst for a Russian newspaper, Russia might have miscalculated.
Armenia: Youth Activism
Seetizan, the blog of a local youth activist, continues to dwell on the need to encourage the active participation of citizens, and especially youth, in addressing various local issues which are usually related to, or actually part of, much wider problems affecting the whole world. In his latest post, Seetizan...
Armenia: Eurovision Song Contest Blogging
In what is likely the first time an official organizational committee has reached out to bloggers in Armenia, Uzogh announces that Public TV is convening a meeting between the Head of Delegation for Armenia's Eurovision Song Contest Entrant, Sirusho, and all interested citizen journalists.
Azerbaijan: Homophobic Politics
After laying the blame for the stabbing of a pro-opposition journalist by his gay lover, Queerty comments on news that the authorities are once again playing the homophobic card in the run-up to the presidential election in Azerbaijan. State TV claims that a leading opposition leader and possible candidate in...
Armenia: Global Issues
Seetizen, the blog of a local youth activist, decries the tendency of Armenians to rally “around whatever looks big and noisy enough.” Instead, it suggests that people put aside partisan party politics to work locally on global issues.
Armenia: Conciliatory Politics
The Armenian Observer posts a roundup of some of the opinions on radical opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian's apparently conciliatory 2 May speech. While most blogs consider that the former president's words were indeed more moderate than in the past, whether such an approach represents strength or weakness is open to...
Georgia: War with Russia?
The South Caucasus has always been a volatile and unstable region riven by ethnic conflict and instability. This is definitely the case in Georgia where tensions with Russia have increased to the extent that the battle of words between Tbilisi and Moscow might yet turn into war over the breakaway and defacto independent [Georgian] region of Abkhazia. The increased tension follows last month's apparent downing of a Georgian drone allegedly by a Russian MiG-29 and reports that Russian troops are being sent to Abkhazia in case of a Georgian attempt to re-take the territory by force. Russia and Georgia are playing brinkmanship again, but this time the consequences are uncertain.
Armenia: Book Review
The Armenian Odar Reads takes a second look at Penelope by Goar Markosyan-Kasper. The literary blog based in Armenia says that on first reading the book in Dutch it wasn't impressed, but that since living in the country it makes a lot more sense. Although it concludes that the book...
Georgia: Election Video Blogging
Vlog Europe says that it will soon be visiting Georgia to conduct a seminar on video blogging as well as covering this month's parliamentary election there through the Danish SILBA organization. Writing on his own blog, Raymond Kristiansen provides more more details about the exercise and also solicits suggestions and...
Georgia: Soviet Archives Opened
Social Science in the Caucasus reports on the opening of Communist party archives to researchers in Georgia. The blog says that a working group is even releasing archival bulletins in Georgian and English. It considers the material stored in the archive of extreme interest as well as importance.
Armenia: Post-Election Political Dialogue
Unzipped comments on the recent congress held by those opposition forces supporting Levon Ter-Petrossian. The blog says that the former president clearly indicated a “readiness for dialogue” with the authorities, but says that there are certain requirements which need to be met first.
Georgia: Election Time Tensions with Russia
TOL Georgia says that whenever elections are planned, a scandal involving Russia always occurs. The comment comes after the recent apparent downing of a Georgian drone by a Russian MiG-29 and threats from Russia regarding the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Armenia: Balloon Festival
A new blog from Armenia, Lifelines, posts photographs of the first ever balloon festival held in the country. The blog says that the event was a resounding success and enjoyed by all.
