Latest posts by Onnik Krikorian from August, 2008
South Ossetia: Olympic Truce
Often overshadowing the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing in the international media, the conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia has started to raise questions about what the international sporting event is meant to represent. With military action coinciding with the opening of the games, some bloggers are reminding readers of the Olympic Truce.
South Ossetia: Georgia, Russia and the U.S. Presidential Election
With the massive deployment of Russian forces in Georgia, the small South Caucasus country's conflict with Moscow over the breakaway region of South Ossetia has obvious political ramifications thousands of miles away in the United States where presidential elections will be held on 4 November. With some alleging that the crisis reflects a struggle between the West and Russia, where the U.S. Presidential candidates stand on the matter is fast becoming a significant campaign issue.
Georgia: 10 Russian Planes Downed, 40 Tanks Destroyed
Regional Reporters [RU] quotes the Georgian government as claiming 10 Russian aircraft have been downed in the continuing conflict over South Ossetia and that 40 tanks have been destroyed. Two Russian pilots are reportedly receiving medical treatment in Tbilisi.
Georgia: Missing Journalists
Regional Reporters [RU], a new blog set up by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting posts an announcement expressing its concern that two reporters, Alexander Klimchuk and Giga Chikhladze, have not been heard from for two days. The last time the journalists were seen was yesterday morning near Tskhinvali,...
Georgia: Armenians Evacuated
Unzipped says that 150 Armenian citizens in the Georgian resort towns of Batumi and Kobuleti are being evacuated from the country as military conflict with Russia intensifies. The blog also says that the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports no casualties among Armenian citizens in Georgia.
Georgia: History Repeating?
Writing from Tbilisi, Wu Wei says images of Russian tanks entering the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia bring back memories of Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. Meanwhile, although no official evacuation of foreign citizens from Georgia has started, one USAID team is departing, and the blog provides...
Georgia: Seeing Friends off to War
My The Caucasian Knot quotes a friend in Tbilisi who reports he is seeing friends off to war as Georgian reservists are called up to fight against Russian troops in South Ossetia. He also says that the majority of Georgians are behind their president and that the town of Gori...
Georgia: Saakashvili's Miscalculation
The Armenian Observer says that the latest military confrontation between Russia and Georgia was a miscalculation by the Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili. The blog also says that with a defacto state of war waging in Armenia's northern neighbor, there are concerns at home about the conflict with Azerbaijan over another...
Armenia: Beijing Olympic Team
The Armenian Observer reports on the 25 Armenian athletes who are taking part in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Georgia: The Blame Game
With the international media reporting that Georgian forces are now engaged in direct conflict with the Russian military on the outskirts of Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, the situation still remains tense and unpredictable. Yet, with ethnic separatists claiming 1,400 civilians have been killed, views on the conflict remain polarized and ultimately appear to reflect what some see as a conflict over Russian and Western interests in the region.
Georgia: South Ossetia Update
With local and international media outlets reporting that fighting is spilling over into Georgia proper, the latest military confrontation with Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia looks increasingly like war. Bloggers from the region say signs are ominous.
Armenia: Lesbian Environmentalists
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on Russian media reports that a recent exhibition organized by Armenian lesbians in Yerevan focused on environmental issues.
Armenia: Oil, Genocide and Obama
Voices Without Votes takes a look at why many Armenians at home and abroad support U.S. Presidential Election Democratic Party Candidate Barack Obama and how Azerbaijanis and Turks are responding to his campaign promise to recognize the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
Georgia: War in South Ossetia
Following clashes and allegations of the shelling of Georgian villages by separatists in the breakaway territory of South Ossetia, there are fears that war will once again rage in the volatile South Caucasus. With the media reporting that Georgian troops have surrounded the capital, Tskhinvali, all eyes are on how Russia reacts to the latest developments.
Armenia: Blogger Interviews Acting U.S. Ambassador
Blogian interviews the acting U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Chargé d’Affaires Joseph Pennington. In an extended entry, the blog details some of the main points from the interview which includes reference to Armenian-Turkish relations, the post-election situation in the country and a recent visit by Pennington and his wife, The Economist's...
North Caucasus: Persecution of Journalists
Dzutsev's Weblog reports that Rosa Malsagova, editor of an Ingush news web site, has had to leave Russia because of alleged political persecution. The blog says that killings of civilians and police happen on an almost daily basis because of the colonial policies of the Russian authorities.
Armenia: Turkish Football Fans
Ahead of September's historic football match between estranged neighbors Armenia and Turkey, Unzipped comments on rumors circulating in Yerevan that as many as 10,000 Turkish football fans might descend on the capital. The blog notes that “football diplomacy” might yet represent a real possibility for a breakthrough in relations between...
Armenia: Corruption
The Armenian Observer commends the new prime minister, former Central Bank Chairperson Tigran Sargsyan, for what appears to be genuine efforts to combat some of the corruption that has infested government structures and skyrocketed since the early 1990s. Even so, the blog notes that the radical opposition led by Armenia's...
Azerbaijan: Corruption
Thoughts on the Road says that it raised the issue of corruption with a group of Azerbaijani students who determined that both the government and citizens were responsible for fighting against the phenomenon. However, the blog notes, such a reality is first of all dependent on their being the political...
Armenia: New Transgender Blog
As the LGBT community in both Armenia and the Diaspora continue to adopt blogs in order to communicate in what otherwise remains a media vacuum, Unzipped: Gay Armenia announces the establishment of Transgender in Armenia. The blog, written in Armenian and Russian, is based in Yerevan and Unzipped: Gay Armenia...
Azerbaijan: A Political Lunch & Blogs
Thoughts on the Road, the blog of an American journalist in Azerbaijan, recounts lunch with an economic and political figure in Sheki, but also reports that the blogging component of a local media training course went very well indeed.
