The country already leads in vaccination rates in the South Caucasus. Many expect the new rules to drive a black market for fake vaccination passports.
The coronavirus inoculation program is the first in the Caucasus and Central Asia, starting out with Chinese vaccines but incorporating Russian and Western ones at later stages.
The COVID-19 vaccination experiences of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia show that if you’re a small and poor country, you need to rely on powerful friends.
The appearance of the self-defense units is the second time this year that civil society has been forced to hold the line. Where the state repeatedly fails to live up to its obligations, volunteers step in.