A man who tried against all odds to build a successful business on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border was killed in fighting last month. Matisa Nadyrov told Eurasianet of his dreams just a few months ago.
The move comes as the fate of the de facto state appears ever more precarious, and it is not clear what Ruben Vardanyan’s wealth, authority, or Moscow connections might mean.
The country would spend 47 percent more on defense in 2023, as Azerbaijan continues to bolster its own military and Russia, Armenia’s security guarantor, is bogged down in Ukraine.
Turkmenistan has traditionally fostered its closest security relationship with Russia. But it has found room to develop military ties with the U.S. and China. Our weekly briefing.
Men seeking to avoid being sent to Ukraine are flocking out of the country, and Georgia is one of the few options that doesn’t require an exorbitant air ticket.
Kyrgyz villagers believe Tajikistan is trying to make life so miserable and unbearable that they will up sticks and move away, ultimately ceding the land by default.
In South Ossetia, meanwhile, the authorities have remained completely silent on the issue. Most residents in both territories hold Russian citizenship, raising the prospect they could be drafted.
Armenians could usually rely on favorable coverage from the media of its strategic ally. Following another escalation, that no longer seems to be the case.
Immediately following the heavy fighting, pro-government media promoted an irredentist Azerbaijani project on Armenian territory. Then, just as quickly, they disavowed it.
Much of last week’s cross-border violence between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan was unleashed by the armed forces. But mobs also rampaged through villages.
Several activists and politicians have been branded “traitors” on government-linked social media after they expressed their opposition to Azerbaijan’s recent attacks against Armenia.