The Caucasus Digest OC Media

Tavush for the Motherland, a movement fronted by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, has made headlines protesting in Armenia’s north and in the capital Yerevan against the delimitation process with Azerbaijan.
This week, we speak to OC Media’s Armenian staff writer Arshaluys Barseghyan about how the protest movement shifted from protesting border delimitation to calling for the government’s resignation, and to analyst Narek Sukiasyan about the border delimitation process and the popular discontent towards it.
Read more:
Police block entry to Armenian village amidst protests against border delimitation Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us, or on Patreon.

The foreign agent law has passed its third and final reading in the Georgian parliament despite mass protests against the law throughout the country.
This week, OC Media’s Robin Fabbro, Mariam Nikuradze, and Shota Kincha talk about President Salome Zourabichvili’s expected veto of the law, the possibility of Western sanctions against members of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and the future of the protest movement against the law.
Read more:
Georgian parliament adopts foreign agent law Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us

Georgians have once again come out to protest the foreign agents bill after the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced the draft law a year after aborting it.
This week, we spoke with OC Media’s Mariam Nikuradze and Shota Kincha about the daily mass protests against the bill, the government’s reactions, and how the coming weeks might unfold.
Read more:
Georgian foreign agent bill passes first reading in parliament amidst massive protests Georgian Dream eliminates taxes on offshore assets brought to Georgia Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us, or on Patreon.

Chechnya’s Culture Ministry said earlier this month that the Russian republic would issue restrictions on music slower than 80 bpm and faster than 116 bpm. At the time, the ministry stated that the Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov had instructed them to introduce the restrictions, however, last week, Kadyrov said that the restrictions were meant to be ‘recommendations’ for performers and composers of folk music in Chechnya.
This week, OC Media’s Luiza Mchedlishvili talks about Chechnya’s repression of musicians and culture, and musicologist Ben Wheeler breaks down the apparent contradictions of the new restrictions.
Read more:
Chechnya bans ‘fast and slow’ music Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us, or on Patreon.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has reintroduced its controversial foreign agents law, a bill that the party was forced to abort after two nights of mass protests in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
The ruling party’s reintroduction of the bill was met with wide condemnation both domestically and internationally due to its similarity to legislation that was used to crush civil society and media in Russia.
This week, OC Media’s Robin Fabbro, Mariam Nikuradze, and Shota Kincha talk about why Georgian Dream brought the law back and the potential response to the law in Georgia.
Read more:
Why is Georgian Dream reviving the foreign agent law? Georgia’s foreign agents bill faces international condemnation Georgian Government to bring back aborted foreign agent law Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us, or on Patreon.

Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg toured the South Caucasus to visit the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
This week, we speak to political analyst and head of the Regional Center for Democracy Tigran Grigoryan about the significance of a new partnership agreement between Armenia and NATO, to independent researcher Shujaat Ahmadzada about the importance of Azerbaijani gas after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to Giorgi Shaishmelashvili about the latest developments surrounding Georgia’s protracted bid for NATO membership.
Read more:
NATO and Armenia to finalise new agreement as Stoltenberg tours South Caucasus Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us, or on Patreon.